ABSTRACT

Discussion on Impact Assessment of Non-technology-related Knowledge Exchange

• The establishment of a common nomenclature is generally regarded as a first important step in determining how to define and measure any impact of Knowledge Exchange ("KE") but before we get to that point how is KE to be defined? How does KE differ from "Knowledge Translation", "Knowledge Transfer" and "Knowledge Creation"? These differences in meaning generally matter in evaluating the impact of KE in different settings-community, social,.etc
• Non-Technology related Knowledge per se, may or may not have a value and perhaps, attempting to ascribe an impact to it for purposes of evaluation is the wrong approach. Should we not be looking at what KE aims to achieve and in what context it may prove useful? (Eg community experiences that inform researchers and policy-makers).
• Let's assume we have identified the forms and utility of KE and that those exchanges are an integral component of a larger institutional-engagement or partnership strategy, it would then seem reasonable to examine the validity of adopting certain qualitative and quantitative indicators of impact? Relying on case studies, these may comprise broadly:
  • Increased partnership activity (and research projects) between the institution and key external stakeholders.
  • Expanded opportunities for engagement as between the institution and its external community.
  • Enhanced institutional capacity and capability.
  What other "indicators" of impact should be considered and how do we validate their application?
• The critical challenge is to develop an "evaluation instrument" that will capture and measure in a meaningful and systematic manner the processes (how did it work?); the impacts (what happened?) and the outcomes (the wider ramifications?) resulting from KE.
• Developing a viable "evaluation instrument" must rely on the development of a programme logic that clearly enunciates KE strategies and outcomes (within an institutional context), and the evidence you need to demonstrate those impacts.
• In establishing measurement indicators it must also be acknowledged that the impact of KE is not necessarily static but can be transformative in its impact with the evolution of time. For instance, indicators would need to not only capture changes in behaviour and culture within say, a community but also the institution. The indicators could be context-independent, articulating broad objectives or context-dependent. In either context the quality, purpose and the level and intensity of the interactions should be considered.
• Taking Himmelman's typology of Partnerships as an exemplar of KE may help in developing an effective evaluation instrument. The typology distinguishes the following partnership types:
  • Network Partnerships: Information exchange, individual trust.
  • Co-operative Partnerships: altering activities; sharing resources and goals to achieve a common purpose, with a moderate level of trust.
  • Collaborative Partnerships: Achieving a common purpose through resource-sharing and enhancing the capability of the other party with attached high levels of trust.
  By examining the partnerships per se (not just the numbers), the activities generated through the partnerships (not just the nature and volume) and the creation of learning and capability impacts and not merely the outcomes then an effective evaluative tool can be built.
• Developing processes to support a measurement framework is also an essential ingredient. Consideration could be given to: interview processes; case study methodologies; engagement fora; the development of a relationship continuum ……….etc.
  
  *Himmelman, A.T.(2002). Collaboration for a change (revised January 2002): definitions, decision-making models, roles and collaboration process guide.

ABSTRACT

Innovation and Knowledge Transfer - Expectations and Delivery in HK

Innovation has never been a more crucial activity and it is the outcomes of innovation which are the lifeblood of knowledge transfer. The elements of innovation which lead to a healthy innovation environment will be discussed. To understand the role of knowledge transfer in the context of Hong Kong universities, the recent evolution of universities internationally will be described with particular reference to the UK. Research has become more professional and plays a large part in increasingly influential university rankings. Teaching and learning are much better described and there is an emphasis on learning outcomes. But the most profound change is the incorporation of knowledge transfer as a significant third mission for universities. Universities have for a long time engaged with industry and the community but these interactions were often opportunistic or altruistic. However the adoption of knowledge transfer at the level of mission opens up a whole raft of new considerations. These include the articulation of a strategy, capacity building and the marketing and dissemination of University expertise. A range of mechanisms for knowledge transfer also have to be explored which go beyond the familiar exploitation of intellectual property common to technology transfer. Adopting a goal for universities which explicitly centres on the benefits universities can provide for society, beyond their traditional strengths, raises the question of how that impact can be measured. These issues are considered in the context of present day HK UGC-funded institutions.

ABSTRACT

21st Century Spaces — New Collaborative Approaches in Art and Architecture

Increased diversity in our lifestyles and values has engendered definitions of ‘public’ and ‘community’ that differ substantially from those used throughout the 20th century. Times of change require a social system that is flexible enough to adjust to these new environments; they also evoke a strong emotional response. In an age when politics and economics impact so greatly on our intellectual and emotional well-being, art and culture have become more necessary than ever. In this presentation, I will look at art museums and art spaces that function effectively in the 21st century. Drawing on examples that include the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa and the Inujima Art House Project, I will cross-reference issues related to the cultural and global contexts of our social environment, our changing definitions of the individual, and characteristics of specific locales. I will also introduce the new relationship between art, architecture, and the public that was presented at the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale. Through the use of cross-disciplinary keywords, such as ‘social networking’, ‘collective knowledge’, ‘symbiosis’ and ‘collaboration’, I will discuss the relationship between individual narrative or memory and social engagement, as well as the significance of art spaces as catalysts for dialogue.

ABSTRACT

Roundtable Discussion on Impact Assessment of Technology Transfer

In the specific field of university Technology Transfer (IP, patenting, licensing, spin-outs, consulting) there is plenty to measure and plenty of stats to collect. These reflect activities as much as outputs, and we now need to focus on the impact of the outputs.

• 'What you measure is what you get' – be careful what you wish for
• Looking at the economic, social and policy impacts of the research outputs
• Transferring technologies to make the world a better place
• Learning how to ask the 'so what?' question politely, so academics want to answer it
• Telling stories that people remember and choose to re-tell

ABSTRACT

Exploring the Economic Impacts of Open Access to Publicly Funded Research

An increasing number of funding bodies and research organizations around the world request that publications, and sometimes research data, arising from their funded research be made openly and freely available on the Internet. They do this in the belief that open access increases the economic and social impacts of the research, generating a higher return on their investment.

The release of our UK report Economic implications of alternative scholarly publishing models generated considerable interest and debate. That interest led to a number of follow-on studies, including national studies in the Netherlands and Denmark, and a three-country comparison, which we presented to the European Commission, comparing the impacts of alternative publishing models in one of the larger, a mid-sized and one of the smaller European countries.

During 2010, there were four further projects. The first focused on Germany, and brought the German National Licensing Program (NLP) into the mix of alternative scholarly communication models. The second used the EI-ASPM model to examine the cost impacts of alternative scholarly publishing models for a sample of UK universities. The third significantly extended one aspect of the underlying method used in the original study to explore the possible return on investment implications of the proposed US Federal Research Public Access Act. The fourth approached the issues from the user perspective, exploring the information needs and access levels of small high-technology firms in Denmark, and estimating the economic impact of academic research for such firms. More recent work includes a study for the Australian National Data Service looking at the economic impacts of more open access to public sector information and research data.

This presentation will summarise what these projects reveal about the viability of open access models and their potential impacts on research and the communication and application of publicly funded research findings. For more information see http://www.cfses.com/EI-ASPM/

Acknowledgements

The speaker would like to acknowledge the contributions of many collaborators on these various projects and the support of project funders, including the UK Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), the Netherlands SURFfoundation, The Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and Denmark's Electronic Research Library, The European Knowledge Exchange, the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungs gemeinschaft), the US Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), and the Australian National Data Service (ANDS).

ABSTRACT

Evidencing the Difference We Make: Evaluating and Narrating the Impact of UK Arts and Humanities Research

In the UK today applying and translating arts and humanities research and widening public access to its findings is no longer an option for a few engaged researchers. Identifying and assessing the social, cultural and economic benefits of the research we do is rapidly becoming a requirement. Both the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) – in which academic research is assessed – and the UK Research Councils (including the AHRC) have included 'research impact' as a key feature of their research review procedures. These changes are driven by a need for accountability to government regarding the value and benefit of the research it funds.

These requirements have led researchers, universities and research councils to think hard about how research impact can be evaluated, measured, evidenced and reported. It is recognised that part of this process is quantitative – particularly in terms of economic benefit, but also in relation to establishing how many people access websites, attend events etc – but it is now widely accepted that such an approach provides a limited picture. The inclusion of social and cultural benefits, including wellbeing, public awareness and widening access to research, and the recognition that evaluation of impact must include a qualitative approach and narration as well statistics has significantly altered the meaning of impact assessment.

Following a discussion of the emergence in the UK of this new phase of impact assessment and its consequences for the arts and humanities, the following issues will be examined.

• The drivers and resources for impact assessment: the HEFCE Research Excellence Framework and the research council requirements
• Evaluating impact using a qualitative approach
• Learning from partners and external organisations
• Using narrative to describe and report on impact.

ABSTRACT

Panel Discussion on Beyond the Measurable? Impact Assessment of Non-technology-related Knowledge Exchange

IImpact assessment in Arts and Humanities:

I. Reflections on the Development of Impact Assessment for REF 2014
II. Assessment via Impact Case Studies
III. Current Structure of a Case Study – Title, Summary of the Impact, Underpinning References to Research; Details of the Impact; Sources to Corroborate Impact

IV. Points arising around assessment via current structure

a) Title

b) Summary of the Impact

c) Underpinning research
1. Research insights that led to the impact.
2. Recent research and impact.

d) References to the underpinning research
3. Quality. Research and impact in parallel. Research underpinning impact.

e) Impact
4. The definition of impact for REF2014
5. Eligible period
6. Identifying the impact.
7. The wider context of the impact.
8. How did the research lead to the impact?
9. Advisory roles.
10. What is not impact.
11. Impacts on the HE sector.
12. Public engagement with research
13. Evidence

f) Corroboration

g) Presentation/Style
14. Cases “… the wrong way ‘round…”.
15. A coherent story.
16. Cases which set out a goal.

h) Other
17. Impact which results in something not happening.

i) Method: Impact Trees

j) Brief description of a couple of good cases

ABSTRACT

Knowledge-learning-work: Making Higher Education Fit for Future Needs

The assumption behind my presentation is that universities should take some responsibility for the careers of their students after graduation, rather than just rely on the institutional reputation to validate a degree.

Partly this can be done by strengthening the university education, which traditionally focuses on knowledge acquisition and development of analytical and social skills, with experiential learning. The most common form of incorporating experiential learning is integrating a substantial element of work experience that helps students to understand the connection between theory and practice and most importantly help them to develop their ability to learn through reflection. The value of this integration of experiential learning to future careers is well understood but in my presentation a further dimension will be added: that universities should consider adding to such work-integrated learning, opportunities for learning-integrated work. To put it simple: that universities stay connected with their graduates throughout their working lives and have available advance level learning on a 'just-in-time' basis. As an example Nyenrode Business University will be introduced that aims to have half of its operations in degree education and the other half at post-degree level. This approach will reinforce the position and usefulness of universities as the pivotal knowledge centres in society whilst also making them less dependent on demographics.

ABSTRACT

Awakening Entrepreneurship in Knowledge Transforming Societies

Entrepreneurship is at a crossroads in East Asia. The former Asian Tigers — Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan — have turned largely to technological innovation, constantly reinventing consumer goods and gadgets at ever-lower prices. Business innovation — the creation of wealth in new ways — is retreating, pushed on by generational change in populations and at the helms of once dynamic corporations. At stake is the prosperity that is all too often considered permanent. In an era of corporations spanning the globe it is well worth recalling that small business established by entrepreneurs drives the world economy. Entrepreneurs use their initiative and imagination to generate breakthrough products and services. Whether social or monetary, wealth is at the very centre of the entrepreneurial spirit. Yet, wealth can be transitory. East Asia's population is ageing rapidly, which has the potential to restrict economic growth. The environment for fostering entrepreneurialism in the region is good but by no means great. R&D is limited throughout the region, with most innovation driven by foreign investors, and there are few incubation centers and limited angel investors and VCs from whom entrepreneurs can benefit. Family businesses predominate in this region, with often less than ideal succession planning, governance and financing. Very few family businesses survive to the third generation. As the economies of East Asia, including China, become freer, problems such as these will proliferate. In places with limited land, most notably Singapore and Hong Kong, "me too" investment mostly in real estate by family businesses intolerant of failure has the potential to create economic bubbles that could burst at any time. Obviously, this must change, and quickly. There is an urgent need to revive the spirit that drove entrepreneurs in East Asia to create an economic powerhouse of the region. Family businesses have the responsibility to reform themselves through professionalization and independent management. Governments, too, must develop adequate and enforceable frameworks in such areas as corporate governance and the protection of IP. The tertiary education sector also has an obligation to revive the flagging spirit of entrepreneurship in the region. HKUST, being well aware of its responsibility in this area, has started to implement campus-wide entrepreneurship programs and activities. The University currently is in the process of renewing its philosophy and restructuring the organizational structure of its EC which was established in 1999. HKUST 2011 Entrepreneurship Competition of May 17th, (http://onemilliondollar.ust.hk) was launched with this new philosophy and an expanded scope. This helped to promote the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem at the campus and its impact was felt in the region. These efforts will be increased in-line with the concept of 1-HKUST in the coming year since the prosperity, and the future in knowledge transforming societies of this region well depend on awakening entrepreneurship.

ABSTRACT

Creative Commons: An Innovative Copyright Model to Promote Creativity and Knowledge Sharing

Creative Commons (CC) is an international system of intellectual property rights management through which creators can choose to distribute their works with “some rights reserved”. An innovative copy-right protocol for the digital age, CC promotes the values of sharing, openness and collaboration. In 2008, the Journalism and Media Studies Centre of HKU, worked with professors Alice Lee and Li Yahong of the HKU Faculty of Law and community volunteers to bring CC to Hong Kong. Since then, more than 400,000 pieces of creative work have been licensed under CC in HK.

Professor Ying Chan, co-community lead of CCHK, will discuss how CC has helped to promote creativity and knowledge exchange, and the significance of the growing international CC movement. She will also discuss Hong Kong’s experience in the implementation of CC licenses, and how the licenses could be used to promote the creative work of both faculty and students. CCHK works with Creative Commons International (http://creativecommons.org/international/) to localize and promote the use of CC licenses in Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT

Green Art and Community Culture - A Reinvention of Urban River

On Sep 30, 2007, the author led a group of research students to rethink one of our community assets in Wong Tai Sin and renamed the Kai Tak Open Nullah as the Kai Tai River. Since then, the evolving process from a shift of perception to an instrumental agenda has hinged on multi-faceted consideration from environmental education, urban planning, ecological protection, to heritage management. Gradually the academic ideas have been transgressing into social acts including exhibitions in shopping malls, speeches in schools, advocacies in the media, and direct communications with the authorities.

These acts were all relevant to bring forth an attention of the significance in civil rights and public initiatives in transforming our immediate built environment. The directives of these experiences are bringing a new dimension for an alternative quality of life in our city including elements of community planning, cultural sustainability, public education and creative spaces. The approach is a knowledge-base design research initiative integrated into the process by engaging different stake-holders in proclaiming an ownership of their environment and sustaining a progressive self-generated program. The idea helps to translate knowledge from academia towards the society and vice versa, reciprocals of social experience.

The Kai Tak River project is still ongoing, and it is supported by the Environment and Conservation Fund to further the ideas of Community Education and Environmental Art. The paper is meant to consolidate the earlier experiences into a theoretical framework upon which a body of knowledge can be built. It will try to embody the direct inceptions, analytical observations and illustrated figures and cases overseas as comparison. The reflective accounts of the process and the provocative proposition to construct a community-building model for the emerging civil society of Hong Kong are to share with the learning communities from primary, secondary to tertiary educational institutions.

ABSTRACT

Industry and University Partnership

Experiential learning is an important pedagogy in a field like hotel and tourism management studies which are closely related to industry practices. The School of Hotel & Tourism Management (SHTM) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University was able to implement successful industry partnership programs in several unique ways.

First, the School has successfully launched the "Professor For A Day" program with a great amount of success. Prominent managers from the industry are invited to spend a day in the School. They have lunch with a group of invited staff and students, talk with students individually, and give a lecture to students and staff, so they can share with students the current issues and trends in the industry and also have a chance to motivate and inspire the students. Upon completion of the visit, they are presented with a certificate of participation as Professor For a Day, which many of them hang in their offices.

Second, the School has implemented an industry mentorship program. This scheme allows students the chance to receive expert guidance and advice from external mentors. The mentors include senior alumni and industry executives. The mentors meet with their mentees on a one-to-one basis to have lunch and a chat, and to give them some career advice.

Third, several industry relevant subjects are taught entirely in an experiential learning environment. For example, a Restaurant Management subject would involve the students to learn the entire process to plan and price the menu, prepare the food, serve the food and fully responsible for profit and loss of the restaurant for the day. A meetings and conventions management class would involve students to organize professional conferences which are often organized by the School, wherein a class of approximately 30 students would be fully responsible for planning, organizing and executing a professional conference. As the latest development of the School, a teaching and research hotel "Hotel ICON" has been developed and started operation in the second quarter of 2011.

ABSTRACT

Enhancing First Year Transition through a Student-centred, Non-credit Bearing Co-curricular Program

Higher education in Hong Kong is faced with high graduation rate but low motivation in learning, which is contrary to what happens in the West. To enhance first year students' learning motivation and to facilitate their adjustment to university life, a student-centred, non-credit bearing co-curricular program named "Project X for Learning Excellence" (Project X) has been specially designed and implemented since 2008/09 by the Department of Applied Social Studies of the City University of Hong Kong. The following experiential learning activities were organized: (1) small group program-specific learning communities to foster social support, open exchange and self-reflection; (2) academic skills training workshops supported by small group reflection and discussion; (3) student advising through training on goal-setting and individual/group consultation; (4) student-initiated, discovery-oriented community awareness projects (e.g. 3-3-4 project with a secondary school, equal opportunity project etc.) to connect classroom learning with community issues. Since students learn better through peers than teachers, a series of training, support and recognition was provided to student mentors to enhance their generic skills (e.g. management of task/self/others) so that they could be peer tutors. Longitudinal study found participation in Project-X activities positively associated with CGPAs and psycho-educational competence including self-efficiency, social development and leadership.

ABSTRACT

Capacity Building in Care for Demented Persons

Capacity building is a long-term continual process of development that involves all stakeholders. In dementia care, this will engage persons on the individual, institutional and societal levels. Dementia is prevalent among our aging population; 10% of persons aged above 75yrs and 30% of aged above 85 yrs. The approach to dementia care has evolved from a purely medical model, to include social support; educational and protective strategies. The “Ripple Strategy” for capacity building places the family physician at the centre. A local survey reveals only 27% of doctors are confident in the treatment of dementia. Daycare fills the next ring, where training of carers and early detection can take place. Eventually, a person with dementia will be admitted to an old age home. 50% of clients in private residential homes suffer from cognitive impairment. The residential home can provide an ideal facility for educational activities for healthcare workers. The person centered care approach has been proven to be as effective as dementia care mapping in managing BPSD. The broader framework should include family carers to build up a relationship centered care model. The nurse can play a central role in the advocacy of person and relationship centered care across settings. Home care may be limited by increasing disability in the advancing dementia process. An integrated homecare, daycare programme within a residential home may make transition of care setting less disruptive for the person with dementia and family members. The US is looking at the nursing home as a potential market. The UK National Dementia Strategy also considers stimulating the market to achieve sustainability of dementia care programmes. Lying in the outmost rim of the “Ripple” is raising public awareness, which includes rights and empowerment, and enhancing skills and knowledge in both health and social care. The family is the best place to start early detection of symptoms in an elder member. A school project demonstrated feasibility and has been repeated in Macau. Finally, Hong Kong can be play the role of a dementia hub in the Pearl River Delta to provide a model quality care system for other parts of China, which can take part in solving the issues of the aging population in the region. The 12-5 has clearly laid down homecare to be the basis of elder care, to be supported by community resources; while institutional care becomes the backup. Training of healthcare providers is the crux, and Hong Kong can play a role in this aspect. The next level of care will be protective. This will engage preventive approaches to delay the onset of dementia in the life course of an individual. On the societal level, such will be legal and ethical instruments, to include the will, advance medical directive, lasting power of attorney and guardianship.

ABSTRACT

Connecting students to the Real World : the PolyU Experience

With the mission of providing high quality application-oriented education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University offers a wide range of courses which directly meets industrial, commercial and community needs. It is a prime aim of the University to equip students not only with professional competency but also the ability of independent thinking, good communication skills and a global outlook. In view of this, the university-wide “Work-Integrated Education” (WIE) was launched as a mandatory graduation requirement for all full-time undergraduate students starting from the intake of 2005-06. It aims to help students to become ‘all-round students with professional competence’ and to produce ‘preferred graduates’.

Work-Integrated Education in PolyU refers to “structured and measurable work-based learning experiences which take place in an organizational context relevant to a student’s future profession, or the development of generic skills that will be valuable in that profession. It offers students the opportunity to learn to connect classroom theory with practical workplace applications through on-the-job work placements. Through the implementation of WIE, it is wished to reaffirm the positioning of PolyU as a University offering academic programmes in a professional context and to strengthen the competitive edge of the University’s professional-based programmes with a view to attracting more quality students and to enhancing the employability of students.

We have implemented the WIE for 5 years already and the learning curve has been steep for both the faculty and students.

ABSTRACT

Drastic Reduction of Electronic Waste through Novel Sustainable Technologies

Modern portable electronic products such as mobile phones and iPods have transformed human society in communication and entertainment. However, these products and their chargers also give rise to increasing electronic waste problems. Similarly, electronic ballasts and compact fluorescent lamps have been promoted by many governments which emphasize only energy saving without realizing the serious consequences of the associated electronic waste and highly toxic chemicals. In this talk, the author will address the needs for new international criteria for "Sustainable Technologies" and explain how new technologies in wireless charging and sustainable lighting areas can play significant roles in drastically reducing electronic waste and preserving the environment. Novel wireless charging pad systems for portable consumer electronics and recyclable ultra-low-loss ballasts will be introduced as examples that meet the criteria for sustainability, including not only energy saving but also long product lifetime and recyclability.

ABSTRACT

Teaching Support for the 3+3+4 Biology in Hong Kong Secondary Schools

Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA in 1953. Since then, molecular biology has been developed rapidly and changed our lives in many ways. Another important milestone in biotechnology was the invention of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) by Kary Mullis in 1983 to amplify DNA by chemical reactions. Now, these topics become part of the new senior secondary biology curriculum in Hong Kong. Under this new 334 curriculum, biology teachers in the local secondary schools face two challenges to provide hands-on teaching and learning activities – the lack of hardware and reagent kits supplied at an affordable price. In the light of this, with the support from the Knowledge Transfer Project Fund from CUHK, our team developed some teaching materials to help our students to learn these new technologies better. With the input from secondary school students after running several workshops, we learned how to improve the teaching and learning process, quality of reagent kits and utility of the hardware for PCR. With some more modifications, it is expected that these products will be available in the market at a reasonable price in the near future.

ABSTRACT

Innovations in Models of Care for Older People with Dementia

Dementia is a major cause of disability and dependency in old age. While there is as yet no effective remedy or cure for this common condition in old age, there is evidence that psychosocial interventions may slow the cognitive decline in the demented people and relieve the caregiver burden. Cognitive training may also play an important role in prevention of dementia. The implementation of non-pharmacological interventions may therefore have a major impact in reducing the burden of dementia in Hong Kong.

A locally designed cognitive training programme for the non-demented people is effective in improving reasoning and memory in the less-educated. This is important as most older people in Hong Kong have low education level which is a risk factor of dementia. Similarly, an eight-week calligraphy programme was shown to improve orientation and attention in old age home residents.

Cognitive stimulating activities have been shown in randomized trials to be effective in preserving cognitive function in the demented people. A prospective study of demented people attending a dementia specific day care centre in Hong Kong showed stabilization of cognitive decline and significant reduction in family caregiver stress.

Most family caregivers of demented people are under psychological stress because of the constant need for supervision and communication problems. A local psycho-educational programme delivered by social workers via the telephone has been shown to reduce caregiver stress. A similar counselling programme delivered via the internet is being developed.

ABSTRACT

An Experiential Learning Experience in Engineering – the Mingde Projects

By combining learning and practice, the Mingde Projects gives Civil Engineering students the opportunity to volunteer on community-based projects and contribute their skills to society. Mingde, in Chinese, appears in the motto of The University of Hong Kong carrying the meaning of "understanding the human virtue". Since it began in 2004, the Mingde Projects has united nearly 350 students and teachers, together with some 70 alumni, in a common cause. In the end, the project is not only about volunteering, it is about training a new generation who takes up the duties of society.

The first project began in 2004 when students in Civil Engineering were invited by a donor to design and supervise the construction of Mingde Building, a primary school in the mountainous area in Dalang Village, Rongshui Country in Guangxi Province, China. On completion of the Building, students working on this project learned an unexpected lesson - walls alone do not make a school. To fully realize the dream of a new school for the children, students raised funds among themselves for new furniture, books and equipment to make it complete.

This was followed in 2006 by the Gewu Building, a dormitory for 600 vocational training students also in the Rongshui County. After primary education, most boys and girls in their early teens undertake vocational training before embarking on a career in the society. A dormitory at the training school can help to save everyday long travelling hours of these teenagers coming from scattering villages far away.

The most recent project, the Zhengdong Jie Kindergarten in Chongzhou, is near completion. The original building collapsed during a severe earthquake in May, 2008. Due to site constraints and stringent earthquake resistant requirements, this is a much more complicated project. We were fortunate to have unfailing supports from many professional alumni contributing their valuable time and effort, voluntarily, to guide and supervise the work of students. Over 200 students have been involved in this project. During the monthly supervision visits to the construction site, opportunities have been arranged for students to witness the ruins caused by earthquake as well as various earthquake resistant systems proposed for different new structures.

Through Mingde Projects, the Department of Civil Engineering has been successful in providing students a platform to experience the practical application of knowledge taught in the classroom. Also through participation in real projects, students understand the need of the society; learn how to communicate with the society and to contribute to the society with their own effort and expertise. This experience will fortify their confidence and interests in the programme they have chosen to study at the university as well as to give them a sense of satisfaction when caring the need of the society around them.

ABSTRACT

Green Building as a Solution for Better Life in Hong Kong

Sustainably built and energy efficient buildings are an international phenomenon that is driven by policy and market forces. These "green buildings" have quickly become an important component of the modern global city's skyline and business recruitment materials. My speech talks about the role of policy and business community in fostering green building using findings from analyses of 600 US cities. Hong Kong government and its Environmental Protection Department (EPD) set an ambitious GHG emission reduction target by conducting measures for maximizing energy efficiency. In order to maximize energy efficiency, the EPD proposed promotion of building energy efficiency and building environmental management system. Given that 67% of Hong Kong's total GHG emissions come from electricity generation and 90% of electricity consumption is related to buildings, improving building energy efficiency is imperative to save energy, costs and the environment. In this regard, it is crucial to assess how other cities in the US integrate green building policy into climate change and energy policy. Drawing lessons from US city level policy, I argue that political commitment and "policy by doing" are key factors driving the proliferation of green buildings.

ABSTRACT

Towards Enhancement of Professional Practicum Teaching and Learning: A Conceptual Model

With no exception, all universities in Hong Kong will provide a new curriculum that emphasizes general education and allows wider choices from different disciplines to nurture an academic curiosity that is as deep as it is broad under the four-year normative curriculum in 2012. On one hand, universities aim to provide a holistic learning experience to produce well-informed citizens as well as leaders, and to prepare well-trained professionals with very practical knowledge to solve today's problems. On the other, a capstone course which will encourage students to engage in research is commonly found in most undergraduate programmes. Some universities aim to create a culture of inquiry, innovation, and discovery while all emphasize that the curriculum will cultivate critical thinking and a concern for society, particularly through service learning.

Economic and social environments are changing at an ever increasing pace in modern cities around the world. It is particularly so in Hong Kong. One of the challenges facing higher education in Hong Kong is that most graduates are being expected to demonstrate different types of competence in handling complicated occupation-related tasks. In response to such a drive, universities provide internship requiring integration of knowledge from different disciplines exposing them to knowledge and skills required for the job. This trend, together with the burgeoning evidence based practice movement in helping professions, highlight the importance of thinking carefully about what knowledge is, how it can be gained, how it should be used, and what the implications of different views are for clients, professionals, researchers, and taxpayers (Gambrill, 2005).

Against this background, this paper focuses on practicum teaching and learning for the helping professions and a conceptual framework on professional practicum teaching and learning is presented. The model integrates the perspectives from the university, the profession, the practicum agency, the student, and the practice teacher. Crucial issues will be highlighted and discussed.

ABSTRACT

A Different Role: Teaching in the Real World

In reflecting on my role as a teacher over the past 9 years, I began to compare myself to the teachers which had the biggest impact upon my own education. The most memorable are those which did not necessarily hold all the right answers. These teachers formulated curriculum around real-life problems and put us into situations where there were no existing answers. I remember distinctly the excitement in discovering unexplored frontiers. In that mome¬nt, I acquired the desire for further knowledge, and the desire to become an architect.

As teachers we cover only a fraction of a person's entire professional career, it is far more important to offer the tools and instill the desire for pursuing a lifetime of learning. Engagement in the world at large is such a bridge. Though the classroom is essential as a place to generate ideas, ultimately ideas must be tested in the complexity of the real world. The ability to engage in unprecedented and complex problems is the difference between simply possessing knowledge and lifelong learning. This fundamentally changes the student-teacher relationship, which may be hierarchical in the classroom, but contemporaneous in the real world; the teacher is an instigator, a critic, a leader, a fellow collaborator and him/herself equally a student. This is why I believe that the most important quality for being a good teacher is the ability to learn from, and in partnership with students.

ABSTRACT

Evidence Based Elder Care - How Research Contributes to Improve the Quality of Care and Quality of Life of Older People in Long Term Care System

The number of institutionalized elderly persons has been rapidly increasing in Hong Kong. In 2009, 58,300 elderly persons, or 5.2% of all elderly in Hong Kong, were institutionalized. Residential care for frail elderly people has grown rapidly since the 1980s, and concerns over the living conditions of residents and quality-of-care in these homes emerged at much the same time. Although the Hong Kong Government has tried to improve the quality of nursing home care through a licensing process, with the expectation that doing so will eventually improve residents' quality-of-life (QOL), very little has been done to systematically monitor and improve the QOL of older nursing home residents. Using the Green House Nursing Home Project in the US as an example, I will present how a small but well-designed research project that focused on QOL of older people, has revolutionized the nursing home care in the United States.

ABSTRACT

Digital Classroom Project: Service-Learning and Information and Communication Technology's Impacts on Student Learning in Hong Kong

This paper describes a collaborative service-learning model between a University and a primary school in Hong Kong that develops a hybrid model of university-community partnerships in service-learning and internet-based learning. Echoing the trend of advancing technology in education and the need for holistic education, the Digital Classroom Project (DCP) integrates the pedagogy of Service-Learning (S-L) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). With the aim of creating a learning environment unconstrained by time and location, the DCP encourages learners to develop independent learning skills and share knowledge with a diverse and global audience. Primary school students participated in guided reading and group discussions led by university students utilizing both online and face-to-face activities. A comprehensive evaluation of effectiveness was implemented that examines eight different areas. This paper reports this program evaluation, which found overall positive impacts on students' learning.

ABSTRACT

Waste to Energy

Worldwide human society produces vast amounts of wastes from our own domestic and social activities, industrial, commercial and constructional activities. Our own community in Hong Kong of just under seven million people produce between nine to ten thousand tonnes per day of municipal solid waste and around tow thousand tonnes per day of sewage sludge. At present almost all of this goes to our three landfill sites a very valuable resource on Hong Kong which could be used for other purposes.

Furthermore, it has been projected that the current capacity of these three sites will be exhausted in the next six to seven years. The proposed extension of one of these sites into a Country Park area has already caused a significant controversy in Legco.

What can we do? There are several pilot projects using different technologies under trial in Hong Kong but most are several years away from a full scale operating waste processing plant. A brief mention of these will be made in the presentation.

However, Hong Kong Government Departments, like most countries around the world in a similar situation, are proposing to alleviate the waste problem initially by the introduction of one or two large scale waste volume reduction processing plants using incineration. This presentation will discuss the advantages and disadvantages, particularly in terms of the emissions, of waste reduction by thermal treatment and show some photographs of some incinerators in other countries. You will see some results from a pilot plant constructed and operated in Hong Kong by Chemical Engineers from HKUST and engineers fron Green Island Cement Company Limited.

ABSTRACT

Transfer of Ageing Knowledge and Myths

"Ageing" is a socially constructed representation of apparent neural-biological and psycho-social changes in advanced age. The construction is open to the influence of not only science, but also folklores, religions, the fear of death, and the politics of "Who should care for the aged amongst us?" Knowledge of what ageing is and what it should be is highly contestable and often mixed with myths. Although ageing research has been relatively successful in "debunking" some of the older myths, it has the potential of creating inadvertently new myths of its own. The present talk addresses some of the modern myths and the need for a broader and more critical approach to the transfer of ageing knowledge.

ABSTRACT

Heart Meets Heat-- Exchange and Mutual Enrichment in Creativity and Cultural Sensitivity in the International Writers Workshop

People cherish different ideals of happiness and have search for this well-spring of their life in different places. Many look for it in the hoarding of riches, some in the pride of power, and others in the appreciation of art and literature. Unlike material possession, great literature opens up new visions, deepens self-understanding, promotes creativity and enhances the meeting with great mind and soul. To get in touch with first rate creative writers around the world can enhance the understanding of different visions and inspirations. Thus, it is important to connect different people and culture and promote exchanges and communication of different literary traditions around the world.

Established in 2004, the International Writers Workshop (IWW) can be seen as a pilot practice of Hong Kong Baptist University in its development towards a creative institute. The IWW supports the exchange and communication of visions, inspirations, literary creativity and cultural sensitivity among famous international writers from different cultures. Throughout these years, around seventy writers from over forty countries have visited IWW, bringing to Hong Kong their visions and inspirations. This paper seeks to capture what have been done in IWW and to explain how IWW, by means of literature, serves humanity in connecting people and cultures and promoting mutual understanding. In order to help to explain the exchange and communicative function of IWW, a three-dimension schema has been developed to depict the different level of connectivity reflected the work and design of IWW.

ABSTRACT

Making HKU Research Discoverable & Findable: The HKU Scholars Hub

Developed and maintained by the University Libraries, the Hub is the institutional repository of The University of Hong Kong (HKU). On top of its regular work to place HKU publications in open access, it has received funding from the HKU Knowledge Exchange Office (KEO) to make HKU research and researchers highly visible on the web, with the aim of increasing all forms of collaboration, internally and externally. The Libraries extracted data from several internal HKU silos and external databases to create author profiles, or "HKU ResearcherPages" for each of the professoriate staff.

These pages bring together in a public mashup, interlinking publication details, patent records, and grant applications, as well as details of community service, postgraduate student supervision, research interests, etc. Bibliometrics provided by Scopus and ResearcherID, as well as Hub generated view counts and download counts, cumulated to the article level, and to the author level, show that this work and these pages have increased visibility, and thus impact. Serendipitously this work has also received the attention and efforts of many HKU researchers, who now interact with Library staff and their ResearcherPages to ensure that their details are complete and shown in the best light. The Hub is therefore one tool by which a new culture and community of Knowledge Exchange is being forged at HKU.

ABSTRACT

Future Cinema – Creating New Realities

While during its infancy the cinema was full of technological innovation and creative diversity, Hollywood has ended up defining its dominant forms of production and narration. But this situation is now changing because of the new digital modalities of cinematic production and presentation, and over the last ten years we have been witnessing a creative renaissance with a whole new range of experiences, from handheld micro-movies and interactive mash-ups, to video games and immersive telepresence in virtual 3D worlds. Professor Shaw's presentation will discuss the convergent multiplicity of these new techniques of cinematic representation and intercommunication, with illustrated examples of ground-breaking artworks that herald the digitally expanded cinema of tomorrow. Shaw will refer in particular to benchmark research he and his associates are currently undertaking at the CityU Applied Laboratory for Interactive Visualization and Embodiment (ALiVE).

In the realm of digital creation, the essential scale-ability of its codes allows the cinematic imaginary to be seamlessly distributed amongst these various technological systems, opening dizzying perspectives of creative interpolation on all levels and in all places. We are witnessing an increasing multiplicity of techniques of representation and inter-communication, and the emergent expressive possibilities that derive from their invention and application. The social vitality of creative research in this area provides a platform for the broader discourse concerning the co-evolutionary challenges for humankind living in a machine culture. This is the driver of a research trajectory that looks beyond the dominant industrial forms of popular media, and pushes the creative and critical boundaries of the cinematic imaginary in ways that can enrich human experience and be of transforming benefit to society.

ABSTRACT

Designing and Assessing Learning in Transnational Internships

Internships are becoming more popular with students worldwide. Organizing internships for students across national and cultural boundaries is a new aspect of transnational education (TNE). The HKAC has created summer internships in the US for HK students and in HK for US students. Based on this experience, the presentation will focus on key issues for designing quality experiential learning, and challenges for universities and host organizations in framing internships that produce high-intensity learning, student satisfaction and benefits to the host organizations. Achieving one goal may not entail the others.

ABSTRACT

Working with Community, Government, Professional and Business Stake-holders: Knowledge Exchange in the Living Preservation of the Blue House Heritage Cluster

Recently in Hong Kong, persistent preservation movements (e.g. Wedding Card Street, Star Ferry and Queen's Pier) pushed the government to reconfigure its urban development policies to include heritage preservation. How can inter-disciplinary academic research, inter-cultural knowledge and professional know-how assist the affected community, non-government organizations and the government to generate together better policy development and execution and do something Hong Kong people actually like?

The Blue House Cluster Heritage Revitalization Partnership Scheme is the first public-private partnership project of its kind in Hong Kong in which the original grassroots inhabitants are not evicted to give way to heritage preservation and development, but can continue to stay as active participants in the revitalization of their community. Our participatory research, policy making, planning and design have helped in creating a new alternative: a bottom-up, community-led and sustainable "living preservation" model which integrates culture and heritage into development. It can become a beacon for sustainable communities to come and a demonstrative research and educational tool. It preserves not only the architecture and cultural landscape, but also the Hong Kong Tonglau habitual way of life. Its innovative social enterprises and creative financial model are self sustainable while offering at the same time affordable rental homes and services as well as relevant job opportunities for the community. It promotes community participation and generates local knowledge transfer and cultural production. How is this possible?

ABSTRACT

Translating a High-level Policy Directive Into Layman-understood Items for Ageing Policy Evaluation

2012 marked the 10th anniversary of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA). MIPAA is a comprehensive, far-reaching and aspirational document that underscores 3 priority directions, 18 priority issues, 35 objectives and 239 actions that seek to guide policy formulation and implementation towards the specific goal of successful adjustment to an ageing world. The paper reports the development of the Ageing Policy Integrative Appraisal System (APIAS) that translated the essence of MIPAA into operational items that enable policy makers, service providers and service users to monitor, to evaluate and to appraise aging policy in a bottom-up participatory manner. The APIAS has two main components: First, a comprehensive indicator of policy implementation and; Second, a validated instrument for elders' appraisal on ageing services and their quality of life as a result of policy implementation. The APIAS has been the first of its kind, in terms of its design and scale, in Asia Pacific Region to tap on and to move forward the implementation of MIPAA policy directives in local arena from two ends, i.e. Providers' and Receivers'. It is multi-functional, applicable to the whole region/country as well for specific functional areas. The first application in Macao SAR has proven its positive effect and has set a benchmark hereafter upon its periodical review and shall continue to provide scientific evidence for policy-maker and service providers in promoting care and healthy living of elderly people in Macao, and by extension, other countries in the region as the protocol developed will also be of use to its fellow districts or countries in the region.

ABSTRACT

How Can Student Business Plan Competitions Effectively Stimulate Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship?

The question "How can student business plan competitions effectively stimulate knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship?" is critical to knowledge transfer as practiced in universities in Greater China today. In the history of entrepreneurship education in China, the inauguration of what was to become the China Challenge Cup of Entrepreneurship (the Little Challenge) in Tsinghua University in 1998 is counted as Genesis. Since then, the Chinese Ministry of Education has increasingly come to view entrepreneurship, rather than management science in established firms, as the key to continued economic growth. China today is a world leader in terms of numbers of formal tertiary classes in entrepreneurship, and the business plan competition is core to their curricula. In Hong Kong, the move towards active knowledge transfer as opposed to pure research is part of a global change in education emphasis. New business plan competitions are initiated every year. But business plan competitions in general and the Little Challenge in particular have many problems. Several successful businesses have come out of these competitions but many of the competitions have trained excellent prize winning teams that have no interest in rolling out their ventures. What makes a good business plan competition and how educators can work effectively with entrepreneurs, service providers, investors and students to build effective knowledge transfer is the subject of this session. As director of the CUHK Center for Entrepreneurship Hugh Thomas designed and has run The Chinese University of Hong Kong's Vice Chancellor's Cup of Student Entrepreneurship and has worked with colleagues to design and run the Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge, sponsored by the Hong Kong Government's Home Affairs Bureau. The Center has trained teams who have won awards in, among others, Hong Kong's Young Entrepreneurs Development Council E-Challenge, HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards, Asia Moot Corp, Texas Venture Labs, and the China Challenge Cup of Entrepreneurship – the top competition in the world in terms of expenditure of human resources.

ABSTRACT

Preparing Academic Supervisors and Clinical Mentors for Work-integrated Learning in Nursing Education

It has long been recognized that the workplace is a unique and valuable learning environment for nursing students. However, it is also known that knowledge learned at the university is not transferred readily into practice in the reality of the workplace. Similarly, the transfer of the practical skills learned at university into workplace practice is often limited to an imitation of the context in which it was originally learned. Thus, questions have been raised about the capability of nursing graduates to move seamlessly into the reality of clinical work after their university education. Indeed, the term 'reality shock' has often been used to describe the difficulties experienced by new graduates during the transition from student to professionally practising nurse. Central to the problem is the long-standing, unresolved gap between the actualities of practice in the workplace and the culture of academic nursing in the university. This presentation will describe the planning and implementation of a clinical mentoring scheme that has been designed to prepare final-year nursing students better for their entry into the nursing workforce.

The medical and surgical units of a large, university affiliated, teaching hospital provide the context within which the clinical mentoring scheme takes place. Institutional support was secured through a series of meetings between senior administrators of the hospital and senior academic staff of the university to negotiate the staff development plans, organizational changes and costs associated with the proposed scheme. A model of clinical mentoring was worked out and agreed whereby a designated clinical nurse is appointed as the named tutor for each nursing student undergoing his/her final clinical practicum in a surgical or medical ward over a 4-month period immediately before completion of the baccalaureate programme in nursing. The students work closely with their mentors, even following the same shift patterns, in order to promote their socialization into new professional roles and reduce their sense of isolation and vulnerability. As a part of the capacity-building strategies, a structured mentoring programme, with planned follow-ups, is provided to the clinical mentors prior to their taking up the mentoring assignment. The roles and responsibilities of the academic supervisors and clinical mentors are delineated clearly and agreed. Specifically, models of teaching, facilitation and supervision necessary for the mutual integration of workplace and academic learning have been developed, implemented and refined as needed. Formative and summative evaluations provide feedback for the scheme's continuous quality improvement. The scheme is now in its 5th year of implementation, with positive outcomes in terms of student learning and professional socialization.

ABSTRACT

Witnessing Creativity in Action – Stimulating Learning in the Creative Arts through Direct Engagement with Composers and Performers

The value of direct engagement with the creative process in creative arts education is explored through a discussion of The Intimacy of Creativity – The Bright Sheng Partnership: Composers Meet Performers in Hong Kong. The presentation begins by outlining the format and goals of the internationally-acclaimed, annual two-week workshop hosted by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), which brings an international group of world-renowned performers and composers together with selected emerging composers to Hong Kong to revise and present chamber music compositions through in-depth open discussions and public performances. Specifically, the presentation explains how the workshop aims to turn the normally passive concert-going experience into an active, engaging one by asking audiences to re-think the traditional notion of a complete musical work, offering the unique opportunity to observe the revision process from start to finish. The presentation also explains how this project educates audiences about contemporary classical music, a genre little known and understood by the general public, by asking composers to speak about the ideas behind their work. The discussion continues by summarizing the direct impact of the workshop on Hong Kong audiences, including HKUST students enrolled in music courses, who, as part of the developing Creative Arts Program at HKUST, observe open discussions and public performances and write about their experiences. The discussion concludes with a summary of the project's broader engagement with the Hong Kong community via partnerships with Hong Kong-based arts and media organizations, including Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), and the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble (HKNME), among others, which play a key role in expanding the impact of the project and defining the event as an important part of arts and cultural offerings in Hong Kong.

ABSTRACT

Aspects of Waste Water Treatment by Electrochemical Method and Nano-Technology: Their Possible Application in Hong Kong

This presentation provides a brief overview of recent developments in waste water treatment using electrochemical processes and nano-Technology which can find possible applications in Hong Kong.

The presence of antibiotics as micropollutants in the environment, such as in municipal wastewater, surface water, ground water, and agricultural soils, has gained much attention in recent years. Antibiotics are used not only to prevent diseases and infection, but they are also added to animal feed at sub-therapeutic levels to promote weight production. Approximately 21.9 million pounds of antibiotics were administered to animals annually from 2002 to 2004 in the United States, but only a fraction of them were absorbed in the guts of animals. Consequently, up to 90% of administered antibiotics might be excreted into the environment via animal manure or urine. In this study, electrochemical degradation of antibiotics in water was carried out to provide reference for exploring a feasible way to treat these organics. A Ce doped SnO2 anode and Ti were used as an anode and cathode set in an undivided cell. Metronidazole (MNZ) was used as model compound. Electrolysis was performed in Na2SO4 electrolyte. The results showed that the Ce doping made the structure of the SnO2-Sb electrodes compact and multi-porous, and the efficiency of the process was increased.

Recently, Nano-scale zero-valent iron (NZVI) technology has also been widely used for the treatment of environmental pollutants. It has the advantage that the small particle size of the adsorbent results in a large specific surface area and hence a high density and great intrinsic reactivity of e surface sites. All of these lead to a high efficiency in the elimination of a variety of pollutants. However, the mechanism of contaminant removal by NZVI is still under debate, although several mechanisms have been proposed. In the study reported here, the mechanism for the absorption of MNZ by NZVI particles was established based on the experimental results obtained. The findings can be used for the optimization of conditions to be used for this treatment process.

ABSTRACT

Population Aging and Economic Growth

With populations aging in nearly all countries, there has been widespread concern about the possible effects on economic growth and on the ability of countries to provide support for their elderly populations. In particular, because the elderly are in general less economically productive than younger people, a preponderance of old-age individuals would seem to suggest that (a) economic growth will be slower than in the past, and (b) relatively smaller working-age cohorts of the future will be burdened by the need to care for, and pay for the support of, the elderly population.

ABSTRACT

Cultivating Entrepreneurial Learning: An Out-of-Classroom Approach

To stay competitive in this globalized, dynamically changing world, our society needs to have creative and socially responsible younger generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.

Universities offer an excellent environment to cultivate youngsters' creative and entrepreneurial thinking, skills, and knowledge. Similar strategic focus on entrepreneurship education has also been advocated in China although they are mostly permeated through conventional business plan competitions and entrepreneurship talks. Such education endeavours can leverage on the popularization of social networking across internet and mobile communication domains, as people are very much connected to the world with rich information on new concepts, ideas and opinions on current and social issues.

In this regard, entrepreneurial learning may be facilitated outside conventional teaching environments, putting creativity to innovation and even entrepreneurial engagements with experiential learning.

In 2011, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University launched the PolyU Micro Fund, as a pilot scheme associated with the University's knowledge transfer enhancement initiatives, aiming to cultivate innovation and "Do Well Do Good" entrepreneurial ambiance to stimulate creativity and social entrepreneurship among students and young graduates. The Scheme itself offered out-of-classroom learning platform on major aspects of entrepreneurial thinking for student and young graduates. Participants are enriched with experience gained through actual implementation of their awarded business propositions / innovative projects, supported by seed funding from the Scheme.

In addition to gaining financial, networking and mentoring support for execution of their businesses and projects, awardees also participated in a study mission to visit selected university incubators, start-up ventures and young entrepreneurs in Chinese mainland, with structured training workshops to help equip their skills to kick start their business endeavour.

In the long run, we aim to nurture a group of creative and socially responsible entrepreneurs and leaders as core members of the society to support Hong Kong's knowledge-based economy.

ABSTRACT

Composting a Solution for Organic Waste Management

In Hong Kong, 3,715 and 1,243 tonnes/day of putrescible and special wastes, respectively, were landfilled during 2009, which occupies huge volume of our precious landfill space. Besides, decomposition of organic wastes becomes the source of methane in landfills, contributing to 8-10% of total anthropogenic methane. Hence, diverting waste from landfilling to other alternative treatment technologies such as composting becomes environmentally more sustainable. Composting, an economic and robust biological treatment technology, can convert organic waste into a value added fertilizer product resulting in financial incentives and most importantly conserving our earth resources.

Research at the Hong Kong Baptist University has developed composting technology that can be performed at community to pilot scale for organic waste generated in Hong Kong. A composter with treatment capacity of 100 kg/day was developed for community level-composting and demonstrated the feasibility of food waste separation and composting in public housing estate using Un Chau Estate as an example. The technology was scaled up to apply for the pilot scale 4 t/d in-vessel composting facility for food waste composting. The acidity problems encountered during food waste composting was successfully overcome by modification of the composting feedstock. The composts produced are of excellent quality and can be used in organic farming. Animal manures and other biosolids were also successfully composted in a 10 t/d in-vessel composters at the Ngau Tam Mei Animal Waste Composting Facility. In this case, one of the wastes, horse stable bedding material, was used to adjust the property of other wastes such as pig manure and sewage sludge; thus developed a sustainable resource management. The experience and technology gained from these pilot study should provide an excellent basis for large scale commercial operations. A 'cradle to cradle' approach using wastes as resources would reduce the carbon foot print on our ecosystem and make our environment safe which should be considered by our Government.

ABSTRACT

Enhancing the Self Care Ability through Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer Program in Elder Academy in Tuen Mun

Expanding ageing population coupled with unhealthy lifestyle practices increases the prevalence of non-communicable disease (NCD) for all ages, with evidences telling us that the earlier an individual adopts healthy lifestyle habits, the lower his or her risk of contracting NCD during adulthood and beyond. In response to the Action Plan to Promote Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Participation in Hong Kong (Department of Health, 2010), the Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies piloted a project Health Frontier in Tuen Mun. The project linked universities, secondary schools and elder academies together to work in a coordinated manner for the promotion of positive health behaviors (foci include health promotion, disease prevention, health seeking behavior, chronic disease management) at different levels. The project adopted a train-the-trainer approach where professionals and professors were the master trainers to University students and elders, who adapted the knowledge and skills learned (in form of workshops and resources packs) into the secondary school curriculum. The trained secondary school students brought further the knowledge and skills acquired to elders who studied in their host elder academy. The program put intergenerational relationships on some readily available platforms (i.e. university, secondary school and elder academy) and leveraged on each other's strengths to promote health by advocating a life course perspective toward health. The train-the-trainer approach brought together community stakeholders, teachers, students, agency supervisors, elderly to facilitate cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, inter-generational exchange of experience and knowledge that reinforce the learning and adherence to positive health behaviors.

ABSTRACT

Experience Sharing on Technology Entrepreneurship

Hong KongScience & Technology Parks Corp runs technology incubation programme since 1992. During the course of the programme, we conduct periodic milestone reviews with each incubatees, in which we monitor their development and provide guidance to incubatees. In this talk, I will share my observations on some key areas where some incubatees are doing better than others, hence improving their chance of successes. I will also highlight some key services and financial support provided to incubatees. Key statistics of the programme will be shared.

ABSTRACT

Smart Antimicrobials for Healthy Living Environment

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that one of the most common routes for transmission of infectious diseases is by indirect contact with surfaces contaminated with infectious droplets produced by the patient's coughing, sneezing and talking. Many microbes, including viruses can survive for days on surfaces. Hand contact with contaminated surfaces (i.e., fomites) and subsequent transfer of microbes to mucosal membrane of the mouth, nose and eyes is the cause of many reported gastroenteritis outbreaks (i.e., norovirus) and rhinovirus infections. Other pathogens known to transmit through fomites include cold virus, rotavirus, P.aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Regular cleaning and disinfection are therefore important for breaking the chain of infection, and the use of antimicrobial surface coating provides an additional safeguard against disease transmission. HKUST has developed a system of smart antimicrobials designed to treat and disinfect air, water and surfaces of harmful microorganisms. The antimicrobial systems create synergy in design and function to achieve multilevel action against microorganisms to ensure rapid disinfection and long-term protection. Smart responses were integrated in the design to achieve self-cleaning and self-disinfecting actions that are triggered by contaminating actions of touch and droplets. Laboratory, field and clinical tests were carried out to demonstrate the practical applications of these antimicrobial systems.

ABSTRACT

Turning New Business Ideas into Reality, Cases and Lessons from Hong Kong

New venture creation has been proved to be a crucial driver of job creation and regional economy development worldwide. Hong Kong is no exception. Yet, few new ventures in Hong Kong were able to grow sufficiently to make meaningful contributions to employment and economy. According to the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey, the majority of new firms in Hong Kong still hired fewer than 10 employees and concentrated in industries with small growth potential. The average annual sales of those new firms in Hong Kong were meager compared to financial or real estate groups in the same region. Companioned with low level of high-impact entrepreneurial activities in Hong Kong, most Hong Kong students and novice entrepreneurs have only meager understanding on how to start and grow new ventures even with brilliant ideas. Existing entrepreneurship education in Hong Kong is lack of a practical component. These facts are in stark contrast to the image of Hong Kong as a region friendly to new ventures because of its entrepreneurial tradition, mature legal system, professional workers, and support from Hong Kong S.A.R. government. In this session, I will explain these paradoxical observations. Specifically, I will discuss a few local business ideas and how their founders nurture their businesses. The purpose is to illustrate the challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs in the current and local environment. In the end, I will offer suggestions for students and novice entrepreneurs on what exactly they can do to turn their business ideas into reality.