Bulletin Number Five 1987

Thirty-fifth Congregation for the Conferment of First and Higher Degrees The University held its Thirty-fifth Congregation fo r the conferment of first and higher degrees on 10th December, 1987 at the University Mall. The Chancellor of the University, His Excellency the Governor, Sir David Wilson, officiated at the ceremony. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Charles K. Kao, addressed the congregation. 212 graduates received their higher degrees this year, of whom 10 were conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 77 Master of Philosophy, 15 Master of Arts, 17 Master of Arts (Education), 4 Master of Divinity, 6 Master of Social Work and 83 Master of Business Administration. 1,213 graduates received their Bachelor's degrees, of whom 272 were awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts, 224 Bachelor of Business Administration, 67 Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, 329 Bachelor of Science, and 321 Bachelor of Social Science. Address by the Vice-Chancellor Your Excellency the Chancellor, Graduands of this University, Ladies and Gentlemen: This is the first time that I am taking part in the University Congregation ceremon y as your Vice- Chancellor and the first time that I am meeting this year's graduands. I am very excited to be here to share with you your joy and happiness. Most of you are already part of the working community contributing your talents towards society and I am sure your future is extremely bright. For those who are continuing further studies, I am confident of you r successful progress in your pursuits. The world today is a technological world. The progress of science and technology has improved not only the living condition for the individual but also has deeply impacted society. It has even influenced our way of thinking. In our day to day living we meet technological problems. If a community would like to claim its rightful place in the world and to achieve prosperity, it must understand the importance of technological development. However, we must be clear about what technology reall y is. We should not be mesmerized by it and trust it beyond what it deserves. Really technology is not as complete as some people would like to make it out to be. Technology is in its infancy. For example, i f we try to deal with humanitarian subjects using technological methods, we would immediately realize how inadequate these techniques are. In a university such as ours which emphasizes academic freedom and good research environment, it is important to understand the nature and progress of a society developing under the influence of technology. The relationship between technology and education is one of the issues, and it is what I would like to discuss with you today. The Analects of Confucius starts with a statement about learning 「學而時習之，不亦說乎？」. I was told by my teacher that it urged us to practise what we learned. In the modem study of computer processing of written texts this sentenc e is difficult to analyse. Does the word ' l ea r n i ng ' ( 學） imp ly understanding or mere memorization of facts? Does the word ' t ime ' (時） mean constantly or timely? Does the word 'practise' (習) mean utilize or revise? Our classical Chinese language is typically like this 2