Courtesy Call on Senior Management of Institutions
Right after he took over the chairmanship, Chairman, UGC visited the eight UGC-funded institutions and met with their senior management from October to December 2011. It offered him a very good opportunity to get to know more about the institutions and listen to their views on the work of the UGC and the development of higher education.

Media Briefing on UGC Activities
Chairman, UGC and several UGC members met the media following each of UGC meetings held in June, September 2011 and January 2012 to brief them of main issues discussed.

UGC Members' Visit to HKUST and HKBU
UGC Members visited HKUST and HKBU during their meeting week in April 2012 to meet with the senior management, some faculty staff as well as student representatives. Members also took the opportunity to tour around some parts of the two campuses.

Research Grants Council – Public Lectures and Visit
To promote the work of the UGC and the RGC and the achievements of the research community in Hong Kong, the RGC has been organising public lectures since April 2009. In 2011, four public lectures in eight sessions in total were held in January, April, July and October at the Hong Kong Science Museum covering the achievements of five Areas of Excellence Scheme projects and other RGC competitive funding schemes in various scientific areas.

The RGC visited HKBU on 16 June 2011 for the purpose of exchanges between HKBU and the RGC. Programmes of the visit included an overview of major research strategies and achievements of HKBU given by its senior management, a central poster display on its overall research landscape, visits to faculties/departments in small groups and exchange of views with research postgraduate students and academic staff during meetings.

"3+3+4" Symposia Sponsored by UGC
The UGC sponsored its funded institutions since 2008 to organise a series of 12 symposia on "3+3+4"-related issues, such as student admission, core curriculum, language, outcome-based assessment and e-learning. The last symposium on knowledge transfer was held in December 2011. The purpose of the symposia was to facilitate forward planning of and information exchange among the institutions, so as to ensure smooth implementation of the new academic structure in the higher education sector in September 2012. The symposia were well received by the participants.

"3+3+4"- Related Capital Works Projects
Five out of the 12 major capital works projects necessary for the implementation of the new "3+3+4" academic structure in the UGC-funded institutions have been completed while others are under active construction.

Publication of Quality Audit Reports on PolyU and HKIEd
The QAC published the Quality Audit Reports on PolyU and HKIEd on 9 June and 30 September 2011 respectively. The Audit Panel's findings confirmed PolyU has a strong culture of quality assurance, with robust and well-embedded quality assurance processes. The HKIEd Audit Report confirmed HKIEd has a strong commitment to implementing an effective quality assurance system and to maintaining a focus on excellence in teaching and learning while the Institute builds its research profile.

Mid-Triennium Seminar on Teaching Development Grants (TDGs)
The one-day Mid-Triennium Seminar was successfully held on 17 June 2011, with the participation of the Convenor and Members of the Teaching Development Group, the external consultant, Professor Geoffrey Crisp, as well as over 60 participants from the eight UGC-funded institutions. Participants had lively and fruitful discussions on a number of important issues, including the value of TDGs, dissemination of TDG outcomes, professional development, the feasibility of collaborative projects and the establishment of communities of practice.

The Inaugural UGC Teaching Award
The UGC held its presentation ceremony of the inaugural UGC Teaching Award on 8 September 2011 to honour academics in the UGC-funded institutions for their teaching performance and achievements, as well as their leadership in and scholarly contribution to teaching and learning within and across institutions. Over 100 guests, including Council Chairmen and Heads of the UGC-funded institutions, their senior management responsible for teaching quality, as well as award nominees and other outstanding teaching staff, joined the event to celebrate the achievements of the two award recipients: Professor Richard A Glofcheski of the Department of Law, The University of Hong Kong, and Professor Poon Wai-yin of the Department of Statistics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

One-day Retreat for Community of Practice
A one-day retreat sponsored by the UGC was held on 24 February 2012 at HKBU. About 40 participants from the eight UGC-funded institutions, including the Convenor and Members of the Teaching and Development Group and two guest speakers, Professor Brian Coppola and Professor Diane Ebert-May, took part in the event to discuss the possible way forward for the establishment of communities of practice in the institutions.

Government's Decision on Implementation of the "Aspirations for the Higher Education System in Hong Kong" Report
The UGC welcomed the Government's positive response announced on 3 November 2011 to its "Aspirations for the Higher Education System in Hong Kong" Report. The UGC was pleased to note the Government's endorsement of the overall strategies and directions recommended in the report. The UGC will work closely with the Government, the UGC-funded institutions and other stakeholders to follow up the report.

Outreach Visits for Promotion of 2012/13 Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme
RGC chairman and colleagues from institutions conducted a series of outreach visits to four countries, namely, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and India in October and November 2011. The delegation visited 20 top-tier institutions in these countries to exchange views with university staff as well as the students, and held 15 information sessions in connection with the outreach visits.  

The awardees of the 2011/12 round, RGC members, and representatives of institutions together with some awardees of the 2010/11 round met at a tea reception on 16 November 2011 to exchange views and share experiences.

Strengthening Collaborative Effort to Promote Knowledge Transfer
Building on the success of the Knowledge Transfer Conference in 2010, the Knowledge Exchange Conference 2011: Knowledge Transforming Society was jointly organised by the eight UGC-funded institutions and sponsored by the UGC. HKU and PolyU took the lead in the coordination of the Conference, which was held on December 5 and 6.

The Conference sought to provide insights on how higher education institutions and industry, business, the public sector, non-governmental organizations, and schools, etc., could work together through partnerships to address the many complex issues facing Hong Kong and the region or make a difference in our quality of life. The Conference also explored issues that would have implications on effective delivery of the knowledge transfer mission, including the intricate interplay between government policies, institutional policies and culture, and changing business and community needs; impact assessments of research and knowledge transfer activities; as well as open access. The conference also featured a poster session.

The UGC and institutions saw the Conference as a good publicity opportunity to showcase the success stories and the collaborate effort of UGC-funded institutions in delivering knowledge transfer.