Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2004

In the early stages of the restructuring exercise, the Vice-Chancellor and his special task force went through several rounds of consultations with all faculty deans, department chairmen, and directors of studies concerned. All teachers affected were also consulted. There was support for the overall strategic approach, and a consensus was reached on the way forward. Preliminary proposals were then drawn up and communicated to students for feedback. They were then modified based on new input and on account of circumstantial changes before being presented to the Senate for consideration. The Senate unanimously approved the proposals in March 2004, as outlined in the following paragraphs: Faculty of Ar t s To achieve synergy in teaching and research for programmes and teachers concerned, the Department of History and the Department of Anthropology will operate in closer collaboration beginning in 2005-6. The two undergraduate major programmes in history and anthropology will continue to be offered but overlapping courses will be streamlined with each major programme being supported by course offerings of the other major programme. The Department of Anthropology will be put under the Faculty of Arts. All existing and future teachers of the two departments will be appointed Category 2 members of the board of the other department. The two department boards will share the same membership and hold joint meetings to decide on matters relating to the two programmes. These arrangements will be reviewed in 2007-8. The Department of Religion and the Intercultural Studies Section of the Department of Modern Languages and Intercultural Studies (MLIS) will merge to become the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies in 2004-5. It will offer two undergraduate major programmes, i.e. cultural studies and religious studies. Also in 2004-5, a new Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages will be set up incorporating the Linguistics Section and the Modern Languages Section of the MLIS Department. It will offer a new undergraduate major programme in linguistics and minor programmes in modern languages. With all its activities absorbed by other units, the MLIS Department will be abolished. The present major programme in MLIS will be phased out and there will be no student intake from 2004-5. Faculty of Engineering The Internet Engineering Programme and the Innovation and Design Engineering Programme will be subsumed under existing programmes in order to achieve synergy and provide greater breadth in studies. There will be no student intake from 2004-5. Faculty of Science The Applied Chemistry with Management Studies Programme will be merged back to the Chemistry Programme, and students can take a minor in business administration for more training in management. There will be no student intake from 2004-5. In line with trends elsewhere, studies in materials science and engineering will be upgraded to the postgraduate level. There will be no intake to the undergraduate Materials Science and Engineering Programme from 2004-5 and the establishment of an M.Sc. Programme in Materials Science is being considered. Faculty of Social Science The Department of Anthropology will be detached from the Faculty of Social Science and placed under the Faculty of Arts. New Developments in Academic Affairs 2 1