  Peter Wong Hong-yuen Council Chairman June 1998 |
When I joined the Council of the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong (OLI) as Deputy Chairman in 1989, the OLI had a small staff of 125 members. I remember well the long lines of applicants in the territory, totalling around 65,000, who wanted to be admitted to one of the 4,000 places available. It was a very challenging time for us because we had to start from scratch. In the ninth year, which was the year under review, the OLI became a fully accredited university - the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) - an achievement we have every reason to be proud of. Even I would have been very sceptical of any prediction that we would achieve university status in ten years.
I have witnessed the growth of the OUHK from its hopeful beginnings to what it is today. Indeed the OUHK has gone a long way in such a short period of time. When we first started, we had only 4,237 students. Over the past nine years, our student numbers have multiplied five-fold to more than 20,000. Despite the phenomenal growth in our student population and the variety of programmes offered, our organization remains lean. We have under 400 dedicated full-time academic and administrative staff members and 900 enthusiastic part-time tutors.
The OUHK reached self-financing status in 1993. We moved to our permanent campus in Ho Man Tin in 1996. At the Congregation held on 17 December 1997, over 2,200 graduates were awarded degrees and diplomas. For the first time, we awarded 11 graduates a Master of Business Administration degree.
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| Council members, academic staff and 1997 graduates after the congregation ceremony. |
To me the graduates and students of the OUHK are very extraordinary people. Their courage, perseverance and ability to juggle their precious time between work, study and family commitments deserve the highest support and respect from society. Some of them are fortunate enough to have employers financing their studies, and I hope that more employers will provide such support for their employees in the future.
The OUHK has always been regarded as a different kind of university in Hong Kong. First of all, our students are adults who study part-time. Secondly, we thrive on an entrepreneurial spirit. While other local universities receive millions of dollars in funding from the government, we are self-financing and we have to husband all our resources to enable us to maintain a sound financial status.
During the year we started to implement a Performance Related Pay Scheme to provide extra incentives for better performance and higher output. Along with this, we also introduced a President's Award for Distinguished Achievement for outstanding individual staff members.
As the pioneer of open learning in Hong Kong, the OUHK has been honoured with numerous visits from respected academics from mainland China and around the world. These exchanges often result in cooperative efforts in course development, research and other academic pursuits. The year under review recorded a remarkable increase in academic exchanges and a heightened presence of the OUHK in the international education arena.
Working towards the goal of becoming the Centre of Excellence in Distance and Adult Learning, the OUHK sees itself playing an increasingly important role in promoting open learning in Asia. One example of this is the hosting of the 12th Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities from 4 - 6 November 1998. Over 200 administrators, academics and students from around the world are expected to join the conference and throw light on the theme 'The Asian Distance Learner' through vigorous debate and discussion.
I would like to record my thanks to the University's close associates who departed from the Council after many years of service. They are: Prof. Chan Tsang-sing, Dr Diu Chin-kee, Mr Victor Lee, Mr Lo King-man, Prof. Paul Morris, Prof. David Teather, Mr Alexander Tzang and Prof. Enoch Young. In their place I would like to welcome Mr. Edward Cheung Wing-yui, Dr Chiu Chun-bong, Dr Chung Siu-leung, Mr Ian Fok Chun-wan, Dr Ho Kin-chung, Dr William Lo Wing-yan, Mr Anthony Lok Cham-choi, Dr Daniel Ng Yat-chiu, Prof. Danny Wong Sek-nam and Ms Marjorie Yang Mun-tak.
In less than ten years the OUHK has established itself as the premier open learning university in Hong Kong. Given the difficult circumstances we have faced, the reputation and success we have today is really truly-earned. Nevertheless, I believe that if we keep up our vigour and fighting spirit, it will not be long before we achieve our goal of becoming the Centre of Excellence in Distance and Adult Learning.
