Vice-Chancellor's Report 1990-93

of which are essential in maintaining and raising our academic standard and improving the quality of education we offer. A ll along, student exchange programmes with overseas institutions have been coordinated by the Office of International Studies Programmes. The University's constituent colleges and certain academic units, too, have cultivated links with universities abroad for both staff and student exchanges. Over the years, the number of such programmes has grown tremendously and statistics at appendix 3vi fully illustrate this growth over the last three years. To further reinforce such a healthy development, a Committee on Academic Links was formed in June 1991 to set long-term objectives and formulate policies for establishing and maintaining academic ties with major centres of excellence worldwide. The committee, chaired by a pro-vice- chancellor, also helps to explore resources to support linkage activities, and to set standards and procedures for various exchange programmes run by individual units. A new Office of Academic Links was also set up in September 1991 to assist University departments and units in drafting exchange agreements, liaising with outside institutions, and raising sufficient funds to support their programmes. From 1990 to 1993, ahost ofnew exchange programmes and centres sprang up on campus, all dedicated to collaborative research and the interflow ofknowledge and experience between the East and the West. In addition to new exchange programmes initiated by the BBA programmes, the Two-year MBA programme, and the new Department of Japanese Studies, a US$6 million joint research programme on South China was launched in 1991 by this university and Yale. In the same year the University was invited by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization host the new Bioconversion Technology Microbial Resources Centre for fostering collaboration in the field of microbiology and biotechnology among Asian-Pacific countries. The Universities Service Centre, a major resource centre for China studies previously run by the American Council of Learned Societies, found permanent accommodation on The Chinese University campus in 1992. And a new Hong Kong-America Center opened on the campus in April 1993 to promote academic and cultural exchanges between North America and Hong Kong. New visiting professorship schemes were also established with generous local donations. Both the Wei Lun Visiting Professorship/Fellowship Programme and the Wilson T. S. Wang Distinguished International Professorship Scheme, for example, have brought outstanding scholars to the campus, whose lectures and seminars have broadened the horizons of many of our staff and students. Academic exchanges and linkages such as these serve to increase the exposure of our staff and students, and create more options for them in their career and academic development. The enthusiasm, expertise and energy of visiting scholars on our campus will also help to enrich our academic courses and strengthen our research efforts. In our quest for excellence these activities will continue to thrive. 15