The Run Run Shaw Library of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) held the fourth Outstanding Academic Papers by Students (OAPS) awards ceremony to recognise students for excellence in academic writing on 24 April in the Library. All 39 award-winning papers written by 61 students from 11 departments are now on display at the Learning Commons section in the Library.

OAPS stores CityU students’ research output in digital format in order to ensure easy access to all, including those in tertiary communities. Initiated by CityU, the project has received cooperation from universities in the United States, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and the mainland. This year, 11 international universities joined OAPS, including two new member institutions, namely the University of Southern California and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

In his welcoming remarks at the awards presentation ceremony, Dr Jerry Yu Jer-tsang, Chief Information Officer, said OAPS is an important resource for academic information and at the same time it encourages life-long learning among students. Professor Steve Ching Hsianghoo, University Librarian, encouraged students to maintain their passion for both learning and research.

A discussion session at the ceremony, in which students explained their research and the work that went into it, was moderated by Ms Catherine Quinlan, Dean of the University of Southern California Libraries, Mr Choy Fatt-cheong, University Librarian of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Professor Jonathan Webster, Head of Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics, CityU.

Mr Bryan Lee Kwok-wah, CityU MBA graduate, was honoured for his paper that examined how best to enhance knowledge and skills of employees. “My work required me to develop an information system for Hong Kong airport and I found that insufficient employee knowledge and skills adversely affected implementation of the new system. Therefore, I chose this topic for my graduation paper and tried to propose effective solutions to this problem,” said Mr Lee. “In the process, I learned how to solve problems in a systematic way and the importance of time management. The biggest challenge I faced was striking a balance between my family, career and studies.”

Yeung Wing-yee, a graduate from the Department of Computer Science, earned recognition for her paper on use of three-dimensional graphics to market residential properties, as they allow potential buyers to choose houses online without actually visiting the apartment. “I did not think of winning an award but only tried my best to put my best work in my project,” Yeung Wing-yee said. “I was so surprised when I received recognition for my paper. I would like to express gratitude to my supervisor Dr Wong Hau-san, Associate Professor at my department. He offered me much valuable advice and a high degree of flexibility to write my paper.”

Another award recipient was Angela Woo Shun-yan, a graduate of the School of Law, now pursuing the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws. Her award-winning paper examined the extent to which shareholders can participate in management decisions according to the Company Law. “Besides gaining confidence in my writing abilities, I learned from this project how to sort and select useful data from a vast load of information, to enrich the content and enhance the persuasive powers of my paper,” she said.