PolyU President Prof. Timothy W. Tong (6th from the left on the front row) and The Hon. Eddie Ng Hak-kim, Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government (7th from the left on the front row) witnessed the inauguration of the University Social Responsibility (USR) Network with founding members of the Network and guests. Copyright: PolyU
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today (9 October) joined hands with eleven renowned universities around the globe to form a University Social Responsibility (USR) Network to spearhead USR with impact to make the world a better place.
Serving as a global platform to connect and foster partnership among members, the USR Network shares ideas and resources to develop collaborative USR projects with varied scope and scale, advancing higher education as a catalyst for social change through education, research and community service.
The Honorable Eddie Ng Hak-kim, Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government, endorsed the significance of this partnership in the Inauguration Ceremony of the USR Network held today at Hotel ICON. Mr Ng said, "Being the forefront of knowledge, higher education institutions have a principal mission to provide holistic education to students, and to groom them to become educated individuals with self-directed learning ability, a strong sense of social responsibility and commitment to their family and the nation, and responsible global citizens."
Founding members of the USR Network held their first meeting at PolyU yesterday. They agreed to further plan collaboration in research, service learning, and social responsibility related activities, as well as sharing insights and identifying best practices for the continued development of USR.
Speaking at the Inauguration Ceremony, Prof. Timothy W. Tong, PolyU President, said, “In the face of pressing world issues, universities can better address the challenges by sharing experiences, expertise, information and creativity. After all, global public goods are best realized by concerted global efforts.”
Apart from the inauguration of the USR Network, an international seminar was held, with attendance of about 150 delegates from around the world. They exchanged views on topics including “community engagement”, “nurturing student leadership”, and “education and research strategies for enhancing social responsibility”.
Founding Members of the USR Network include leaders from the following universities (in alphabetical order of their country):
Australia
University of New South Wales
Hong Kong, P.R.C.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Israel
University of Haifa
Japan
Kyoto University
Korea
Yonsei University
P.R.C.
Peking University
Beijing Normal University
Sichuan University
U.K.
Clare Hall, University of Cambridge
The University of Manchester
U.S.A.
Tufts University
Washington University in St. Louis
The Network delegates also paid a visit to Aberdeen Technical School, which is one of the partnering secondary schools of PolyU’s Service-Learning subjects, to understand the holistic education that PolyU provides to its students.
Prof. Angelina Yuen, PolyU Vice President (Institutional Advancement and Partnership), said PolyU’s social responsibility model is unique and trend-setting among tertiary institutions in Hong Kong and Asia. The Network is a manifestation of PolyU’s commitment in advancing USR, fostering partnership and bringing social change through education, research and community service.
For details of the USR Network, please visit www.usrnetwork.org. Programme rundown of the Inaugurated Ceremony and Seminar is also attached for reference (English version only).
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Prof. Liu Chuan-sheng of Beijing Normal University (2nd from the left) and other speakers representing the USR Network founding member institutions from different parts of the world shared with about 150 attendees on their innovative approaches in nurturing student leadership for the continued development of USR in their own country. Copyright: PolyU
The Network delegates visited Aberdeen Technical School to understand the holistic education that PolyU provides to its students as a PolyU Service-Learning subject to collaborate with secondary schools in Hong Kong. Copyright: PolyU
