Project Reference No.: UGC/IDS14/17
Project Title: Establishment of the Centre for Greater China Studies for the interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences (HSMC)

Abstract
This projects aim to establish a Centre for Greater China Studies (CGCS) to enhance interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences that highlight the dynamic relationships between the growth of China and the transnational exchange of people, technologies, commodities and ideas among China, the Belt and Road countries, and other overseas Chinese societies. CGCS has a dual focus on research relating to transnational China and digitizing China. In particular, the CGCS shall feature digitization as a research methodology in the study of the transnationalization of China. To achieve this, CGCS aims to undertake five key initiatives, namely, (1) developing research databases, (2) building up an online platform of Greater China Network; (3) organizing conferences, workshops, and seminars; (4) a research development scheme to enhance the research capabilities of our faculty members; and (5) a visiting scholar programme to foster more intellectual exchanges between HSMC staff and international scholars.

These initiatives are designed to promote digitization as a research methodology on Greater China Studies, to foster a stronger research culture of HSMC with opportunities for scholarly exchange as well as collaborative research, to enhance the research capacity of our staff by providing research training and necessary technical and administrative support in the utilization of digitization as a research methodology, and to provide a platform for the dissemination of research findings as well as to support interactions amongst researchers, students, practitioners and the larger community. Moreover, the establishment of an online platform of Greater China Network under the focus of transnational China aims to provide up-to-date information of the latest research in humanities and social sciences on transnational and digitized China, and to broadcast news about China studies conferences, workshops, seminars, calls for paper (CFP) of China studies journals within the Greater China region. It is believed that such a network will help establish connection between HSMC staff and the pioneers in Greater China studies within and outside the greater China region.

 

Project Reference No.: UGC/IDS16/17
Project Title: Expertise and Infrastructure Development for Advancing Research Capacity in Selected Strategic Areas (OUHK)

Abstract
The project aims to enhance the expertise and infrastructure of the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) for research in selected strategic areas emerging in the University - innovation, sustainability and entrepreneurship in business and administration, as well as corpus-based bilingual learning and teaching in language education. It proposes diverse strategies for coping with the specific contexts and needs of each of these areas. The key points in the plans for developing the research areas are summarized below.

Innovation, sustainability and entrepreneurship
Corporate sustainability has become a common expectation of companies in recent years. Companies are expected to be responsible in the economic, social, and environmental dimensions. To achieve sustainability, innovation in business models, practices, and processes are indispensable, which in turn calls for entrepreneurial mindsets and skills. In light of such interconnections among corporate sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurial qualities - as well as the significant importance of entrepreneurs to the economies of Hong Kong and the region - a research infrastructure will be established to foster research capacity in these three areas (innovation, sustainability, and entrepreneurship) through a number of initiatives. A new research centre named the Centre for Entrepreneurship will be established under the OUHK’s Institute of International Business and Governance (IIBG). A database for research in innovation, sustainability and entrepreneurship will be developed. The internationally renowned scholar(s) who has the expertise related to corporate sustainability or has extensive experience in utilizing databases for research will be appointed as Distinguished Professor. In addition, annual research activities will be organized to strengthen the collaboration between academia and industry. It is anticipated that these initiatives will not only build up the infrastructure for raising the research capacity in the three areas at the IIBG and the OUHK, but also strengthen collaboration among academia, the professional community, and society.

Corpus-based bilingual learning and teaching
To support research in corpus-based bilingual learning and teaching in the School of Education and Languages (E&L), a Web-based Bilingual Learner Corpus - as a systematic collection of naturally occurring bilingual texts - will be developed under the Research Institute for Bilingual Learning and Teaching (RIBiLT). In addition, senior and experienced academics will be appointed as Distinguished Professors to provide the necessary guidance to selected academic staff in E&L in utilizing the Corpus for research, applying for research funding, disseminating research results, and forming academic networks. Research activities will also be organized to keep relevant academic staff abreast of the latest development in these areas and facilitate the generation of research ideas. The development of the expertise and infrastructure will strengthen the research capacity of the OUHK in the designated areas and support relevant research studies. It will also advance the educational delivery of the OUHK in the long run.