City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has launched the Interdisciplinary Professional Development Awards Scheme to encourage the development of cutting-edge research initiatives and signature Gateway Education courses that emphasise discovery and innovation.

“The awards scheme is among a series of important events to boost CityU’s building of the Discovery-enriched Curriculum, which is a signature element of the Academic Development Proposal 2012-2015,” said Professor Arthur Ellis, CityU’s Provost, at a Town Hall meeting held on 19 April.

“The proposal is a roadmap to excellence that spearheads change in a new world characterised by globalisation and technology. By leveraging the transition to 3+3+4 in 2012 with the introduction of the innovative Discovery-enriched Curriculum, CityU is poised to lead a new era of professional education in support of the development of higher education in Hong Kong,” he said.

The awards scheme provides an in-house sabbatical that allows faculty and teaching staff to have the time, space, and resources to develop inter-disciplinary research initiatives and create broad and dynamic Gateway Education (GE) courses for our students. These GE courses are aimed at broadening horizons and laying the foundation for selecting a major after the second semester of the first-year of study. Proposals that either launch an inter-disciplinary research initiative or create one or more new Gateway Education courses can receive up to $250,000.

Following the Town Hall meeting, there was a symposium titled “Building the Discovery-enriched Curriculum”, featuring keynote speaker Professor Barry Kudrowitz of the University of Minnesota and a team of graduate students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology who have developed a course around the theme of designing a new toy.

Other efforts to promote the new culture of discovery and innovation include a poster session that showcased an impressive array of Discover&Innovate@CityU exemplars by CityU students on 19 April. A number of workshops to be led by Professor Kudrowitz will be organised on 20-21 April to facilitate the creation of courses that promote discovery, innovation and creativity.

Media enquiries: Scarlett Leung, Communications and Public Relations Office, CityU (3442 6807 or 9460 3099).