The OUHK has challenges that no other Hong Kong university must face. As a self-financed institution of learning, we must meet the needs of our students, while carefully maintaining a watchful eye on our budgeting and funding streams. When the OUHK became financially independent from the Government in 1993, we started the Partners-in-Learning scheme to raise funds for the University’s long-term development. We are most grateful for the strong support from numerous companies, charitable organizations and philanthropists, which have resulted in accumulated donations of over $531 million for the development of campus facilities, educational technology, new courses, academic exchange, and scholarships and bursaries. The OUHK continued to receive substantial injection of funds from the Government and private sector last year, ensuring that we remained on track to deliver our students to the bright future they deserve.
Jockey Club funds Audio-Visual Production Centre
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust donated $15.56 million for the OUHK to establish an advanced Audio-Visual Production Centre in support of innovative learning and teaching. The new Centre will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for the production of quality educational TV programmes for broadcast to OUHK students and the public, and the development of visual and kinaesthetic learning objects in study materials to enrich students’ learning experience. The donation will also support the setting up of an advanced video archive system for course development, and provide a studio for teaching students in creative writing and film arts courses.
Donations from Mr Gerald C S Siu, Mr Vincent Woo and Ms Connie Fong
An acknowledgement ceremony for three new donations was held during the Closing-of-the-Lunar-Year Luncheon on 5 February 2010. Sponsorship and Development Fund Committee member Mr Gerald C S Siu donated $10 million to the OUHK for general development. The University also received a $1.5 million gift from Honorary Fellow Mr Vincent Woo, which will go towards the newly established Vincent Woo Matching Donation Fund, pairing donations received by the OUHK Alumni Scholarship and Bursary Fund. Honorary Fellow Ms Connie Fong Yin-king contributed $1 million to support the English Language Immersion Programme, organized by the School of Education and Languages for its full-time English Language Studies students.
$8.6 million in financial awards for OUHK students
Numerous philanthropists, charities, businesses and professional bodies have donated to the OUHK’s Student Assistance Fund to make scholarships available to outstanding students, and bursaries to students with financial needs or disabilities, new arrivals and prison inmates. During the year, the OUHK granted more than $8.6 million in financial awards to students. Among the recipients at the presentation ceremony held on 2 September 2009, about 310 received scholarships or prizes while more than 300 were given bursary grants. The occasion was a good chance for award recipients to share their joy and thank donors, teachers, family members and friends.
Gift for visiting scholars exchange from Dr Tin Ka-ping
Philanthropist Dr Tin Ka-ping, who officiated the Scholarship and Bursary Awards presentation ceremony, donated $3 million to the Mainland China Visiting Scholars Exchange Programme under the Tin Ka Ping Education Fund. The programme will support mainland experts and scholars to come to Hong Kong for academic exchanges, research and professional development. Dr Tin’s father passed away when he was at a young age and he built up his business from scratch through hard work and perseverance. The Tin Ka Ping Foundation he established in 1982 has since supported many projects in Greater China.
Sponsored academic exchange for students
The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce continued to sponsor a number of academic exchange activities for full-time students, including a five-day trip to Beijing of 40 students of the Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration starting 25 May 2009, which included seminars and visits to universities, enterprises and government departments. It gave financial support to full-time nursing students for their summer exchanges and clinical attachments in hospitals in Guangzhou and Zhuhai. Twenty students were sponsored by the CASH Education Fund to attend the 24th Quadrennial Congress of the International Council of Nurses held from 27 June to 5 July 2009 in Durban, South Africa. Led by teaching staff, students conducted a symposium and presented three studies on the psychosocial effect of Tai Chi on three different populations, with one study being the final year project from the students. In addition, the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Chamber of Commerce Ltd – Winnie Ko Student Exchange Fund, which was newly established by Honorary Fellow Dr Winnie P S Ko in May 2009, sponsored four Year 2 students to gain clinical experience and understanding of the mainland’s nursing system from a trip to Beijing on 20-24 December 2009.
Grants for outcome-based education and English cultural literacy
The Education Bureau awarded about $3.5 million in grants to the University under the Quality Enhancement Grant Scheme for the support of its projects on outcome-based learning and teaching in the full-time, face-to-face degree programmes and English cultural literacy. The grants were in step with the University’s preparation for the ‘3-3-4’ system and resolutions on outcome-based education and graduate attributes.
