Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1993

government attitude towards research activities in institutions of higher learning, and the staunch backing and encouragement from vice-chancellor Kao. We now have more resources to increase postgraduate places, launch research projects, and augment research facilities. One worry though is that student enrolment may not catch up as fast, especially when there is a buoyant job market. • Has the rapid expansion in undergraduate places in local tertiary institutions affected the quality of university students? Will it in turn affect the quality of postgraduate students? • We are not worried about that. A l l our postgraduate students have been carefully selected to ensure that they are up to standard. It' s also worthy of note that the number of overseas applications has been on the rise over the last 10 years. Increased competition for places means better guarantee fo r quality. • Are the majority of students in the Graduate School graduates of this university? • Currently about half of them are graduates of CUHK. Roughly 30 per cent come from other local tertiary institutions, and 20 per cent from mainland China and overseas. De a ns of t he G r a d u a te S c h o ol Dr. C.M.Li 1966-70 Dr. C.T.Yung 1970-74 Prof. C.T. Hu 1974-76 Dr. S.W. Tam (Associate Dean) 1974-75 Dr. S.W. Tam (Acting Dean) 1975-76 Prof. M.H. Hsing 1976-81 Prof. S.W. Tam 1981-93 Prof. Kenneth Young 1993-date • What kinds of subjects do students from mainland China like to study most? Through what channels do they apply for admission and how does the Graduate School ascertain the academic standard of mainland universities which produce these students? • Students from China enrol in a great diversit y of postgraduate programmes: music, fine arts, science, social science, and medicine. The list is indeed very long . Normally they apply through three channels. First, through the recommendation of our teaching staff, who may come across young talents in conferences or while engaged in exchange ac t i v i t i es i n China. Secondly, t h r ough the recommendation of renowned universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Xiamen Un i v e r s i t y, and Lanzho u Un i ve r s i t y. These universities have close links with CUHK for years. Lastly, students can apply on their own according to the normal procedure. We need not worry about the calibre of the candidates who apply through the first two channels, for we have direct references about their academic performance which we can trust. As for the last group who apply on their own, the Graduate School has over the years accumulated sufficient experience to assess their standard and that of their universities. I must hasten to add that each applicant, no matter whether he applie s on his own or through somebody's recommendation, has to go through the same strict screening process and sit relevant examinations before he gets admitted. This is how we ensure quality. • Any special reminiscences after 12 years as dean of the Graduate School? • As the dean with the longest tenure, I owe the three vice-chancellors for their trust in me. I still remember when I first assumed deanship there were only three staff members in my office: one administrative assistant and two clerks. Today we have a team of 13. In these 12 years I have witnessed GRADUATE SCHOOL 11