Newsletter No. 441

10 441 • 19.8.2014 研究及知識轉移服務處處長 葉偉霖博士 Dr. Ralph Ip Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services 加入中大前，你在哪裏任職？ 我在英國取得機械工程博士學位後，就回香港教書。我的研究 興趣是機械系統設計、熱流體力學和自動控制。我教書超過二 十年，最早是在城市大學，後來轉到香港大學，今年初加入中 大。在港大時，除了教學和研究，還領導一個著名的研究中心， 與工業界的夥伴密切合作，向他們提供設計和高科技解決方 案，滿足他們對器材及物料的需求。 你為何會加入中大？ 我很喜歡做研究，但也明白在香港做研究會遇到許多困難。我 在自己的領域可以盡本分，但我覺得，如果可以把工作組織得更 完善，在廣大的研究群體創造可持續的研究文化，促進大學與工 業之間的合作，那麼可以取得更大的成效。所以，看到中大服膺 相同的信念，並着手改組研究行政架構時，我便知道在這裏可以 一展抱負。 新成立的研究及知識轉移服務處（ORKTS），是由原來的 研究事務處和知識轉移處重組而成，可否說說原因？ 研究事務處和知識轉移處是兩個獨立部門，有各自的職能，在不 同的階段協助本校人員的研究工作。把這兩個部門合併為一整 體，融合它們的長處和專業知識，是有其好處，優於各自為戰。 新的ORKTS提供一站式服務，負責範圍也有所擴大，涵蓋研究 發展的三階段：上游（從撥款申請到成果發表）、中游（應用和轉 化為現實的解決方案）、下游（尋找合適的工業界夥伴，與之合 作，把研究成果變成商品）。 舊有兩個部門的人員，在ORKTS重新編成八組，每組負責特定 的工作，在研究發展的這三個階段，分別為研究人員提供協助。 我們不只幫助他們申請撥款或發表研究成果，而是全程照料，在 學院之外尋找合適機遇轉移研究成果，一路協助直至它們於社 會面世。本處矢志成為推動者，將有助改變人類生活的知識，變 成可用於現實的產品。 身為研究及知識轉移服務處處長，你有何大計？ 短期方面，我們會加強本處各組人員的整合，培養大家的服務態 度。本處既名為服務處，「服務」是我們工作的重要一環，因此， 令同事服膺新的服務文化十分重要。我們必須更了解「客人」， 明白他們需要甚麼，知道哪些服務對他們最有幫助，這樣才能快 速有效地履行職責。 長遠而言，我們必須更深入了解中大的實力和潛能，並研究和接 觸香港、亞洲乃至世界的不同領域或學科，尋找機遇去滿足人們 的需要，填補市場的空缺。 對於ORKTS的方向和發展，你有何看法？ 我們得到研究事務委員會和大學全力支持，會致力加強與各學 術部門和教研人員的溝通，又會改善資源和人力，為他們提供一 站式服務，務求提升大學的研究實力，藉以提高大學在社會和工 業界的聲譽。要是這些都能達到，就可在研究發展的三階段創 造良性循環，吸引工業界的興趣和支持。 你用甚麼準則來判斷ORKTS是否成功？ 它的表現可以由傳統的指標來評核，例如處理的研究撥款、發 表的論文數目、專利數目，以及商業合同的收入。不過，ORKTS 也是中大行政體系內的服務單位，教研人員、研究事務委員會成 員、大學管理層和我們的企業夥伴反映的意見，也同樣重要。 大學其他成員如何可以與ORKTS通力合作？ 我希望除了學院院長、研究所所長或項目負責人外，中大有更多 教研人員知道有我們這批人存在，協助他們的工作。我們會透過 我們私下的溝通渠道、研討會和工作坊，主動接觸他們，並且聯 繫校外夥伴。希望本校的教研人員，不論甚麼職位和學科，都會 信任我們，與我們緊密合作，令校內研究風氣更上層樓。 What did you do prior to coming to CUHK? After getting my PhD in the UK in mechanical engineering, I came back to Hong Kong to teach. My research interests are in mechanical system design, thermo-fluid dynamics and automatic control. I had been teaching for over 20 years, first at City University and then at HKU, before joining CUHK earlier this year. At HKU, in addition to teaching and research, I also headed a prestigious research centre that collaborated closely with industry partners in designing and providing hi- tech solutions to their equipment and material needs. What made you decide to come to CUHK? While I enjoyed doing research I had also come to understand the many obstacles of doing research in Hong Kong. I might be doing my bit in my area but I thought a lot more could be achieved if efforts are better organized to create a sustainable research culture across a wider sector of the research community and to foster a closer collaboration between university and industry. Thus, when I saw CUHK embracing a similar vision and starting to revamp its research administrative structure, I knew what role I could play here. Can you talk about the reorganization of the erstwhile RAO and KTO into the new Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS)? RAO and KTO were two independent offices with specific portfolios to facilitate our staff's research efforts at different stages of the process. We saw advantages in combining their strengths and expertise so that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The new ORKTS provides a one-stop service with an expanded scope to cover the three streams of research development: upstream (from grant application to publication); mid-stream (application and transfer to real-life solutions); and downstream (matching and collaborating with industry partners to commercialize the research outcome). The personnel of the original offices were redeployed into eight teams in the new ORKTS, each with its designated tasks to facilitate researchers in each of the three streams of their research itinerary. We would not stop at the grant or the publication of research outcomes, but will follow through with identifying niches for transferring the outcomes outside the academia and chaperoning their seeing the light of day in society. ORKTS aims at no less than serving as the agent of transforming knowledge with real-life impact. What’s on your Do’s list as Director of ORKTS? On the short term, we will work on the better integration of the different teams in ORKTS to foster a service attitude. As the name of the office suggests, ‘service’ is very much part of our work and hence it’s important to hammer out a new service culture among the colleagues. We’d have to know our ‘clients’ better, what they need and what is best for them in order to do our job efficiently and effectively. On the longer term, we'd have to have a better understanding of the strengths and potential of CUHK and study and assess the different sectors or disciplines in Hong Kong, the region and the world for opportunities to address any need or fill in any gap in the market. How do you see the direction and development of ORKTS? With full support from the Research Committee and the University, we will try to strengthen communication with all the academic departments and faculty members. We will optimize our resources and manpower to offer a one-stop service to them with the view to enhancing the research capability of the University and in turn the reputation of the University in society and in the industries. When that happens, a virtuous cycle of the three streams of research development can be achieved and interest and support from the industries would be readily attracted. How would you measure success of ORKTS? Its performance can be assessed by conventional indicators such as the numbers of research grants handled, papers published, patents filed and the amounts generated from commercial contracts. But as ORKTS is also a servicing office within the CUHK administrative system, feedback from faculty members, members of the Research Committee, the University management and our corporate partners is also important. How would you like the rest of the University community to work with ORKTS? I would like more academic staff of CUHK, and not just deans, directors of research institutes or principal investigators, to know that we are there to facilitate their work. We would be proactive in reaching them and reaching out to outside partners through our personal communications, seminars and workshops. I hope that, regardless of positions and disciplines, our academic staff would put their faith and trust in us and work with us closely to take the research culture on campus to the next new height. 觀看錄像，請掃描QR碼或瀏覽以下網址： To watch the video, please scan the QR code or visit: www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/video/?nsl441-ralph-ip 口談實錄 Viva Voce ’ 本刊由香港中文大學資訊處出版，每月出版兩期。截稿日期及稿例載於 www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/chinese/newsletter/ 。 The CUHK Newsletter is published by the Information Services Office, CUHK, on a fortnightly basis. Submission guidelines and deadlines can be found at www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/english/newsletter/ .