At a City University of Hong Kong Council meeting on 14 April, lengthy discussions including the University’s role were held. Professor H K Chang, University President, made a presentation titled “CityU’s Adherence to Role: Facts and Figures” to Council members.

At the end of the meeting, Council Chairman Sir Gordon Wu was convinced and agreed that CityU has indeed adhered to its role.

The role issue has become a focus of attention since Ming Pao Daily published an interview with Sir Gordon on 3 March, implying that CityU has drifted from its role, it is an infant university, and it needlessly competes for a high university ranking.

CityU has always emphasized professional education and applied research, Professor Chang said in his presentation to Council members. It is committed to enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. In both rounds of the UGC’s Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review, CityU received accolades and excellent ratings.

In an Education and Manpower Bureau survey of employers’ views on local graduates’ performance, CityU graduates ranked 1^st in information technology literacy, 2^nd in work attitude and 3^rd in analytical and problem-solving abilities and both Chinese and English language proficiency.

From 2002 to 2004, CityU received $63.7 million from the Innovation and Technology Fund and other sources to support applied research activities. About 17.3% of the University’s annual budget is devoted to support research. From 2002 to 2004, at least 82% of the thesis topics of the 484 graduates from the University’s MPhil and PhD programmes fell into the category of applied research.

At the end of the Council meeting, members shared the view that everyone should work together for the benefit of the University.