On 27th September, Hong Kong Shue Yan University celebrated the renaming of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice and Research in honour of Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo, who donated HK$35 million to support the University’s development.
HKSYU Senior Vice President Professor Catherine Sun Tien-lun began the ceremony by thanking the couple for their benefaction on behalf of the University. She said Dr. Koo and Mrs Koo are keen admirers of HKSYU’s educational ideals and are impressed by the unity of the faculty and staff. As a gesture of appreciation, a HK$35 million gift was made to support campus development and academic research.
The newly renamed “Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo Centre for Interdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice and Research” at the Research Complex will be given HK$5 million for training and research. The donation will also fund the renovation of the 35th Anniversary Plaza at Lady Lily Shaw Hall to provide Shue Yan students with a sophisticated venue for various artistic performances. A renaming ceremony for the 35th Anniversary Plaza is expected to be held early next year.
Prof. Sun pointed out that a collision of interdisciplinary perspectives is what it takes to resolve complex societal challenges in the digital era. Taking aging population as an example, sociology can study how an ageing population consumes societal resources, while social work can assist the elderly in making the best use of those resources. Psychology, meanwhile, encompasses the study of emotional and cognitive changes in the elderly, and neurology can precisely identify the causes and remedies for various forms of cognitive decline.
HKSYU Vice President (Graduate School) Professor Catherine Tang So-kum, also the director of the newly renamed centre, also took the opportunity to introduce its five-year research plan. She said the centre aims to establish an interdisciplinary platform to promote and develop professional knowledge in evidence-based practice and research. The initiative will enhance training and education for teachers and students. The centre will also seek to establish and strengthen connections between the University and community partners through collaborative design and implementation of evidence-based practice and research projects.
A group photo of Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo with HKSYU senior management and guests.
The opening ceremony of “Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo Centre for Interdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice and Research”, located at 1st floor of the Research Complex.
Dr Ti Hua Koo and Mrs Dorothy Koo (second from right and third from left), along with HKSYU Senior Vice President Prof. Catherine Sun Tien-lun (far left) and guests Priscilla Ku Kei-wan (second from left) and Eva Cheng Li Kam-fun (far right), took a commemorative photo outside the centre.
A group photo of Dr Ti Hua Koo and Mrs Dorothy Koo (sixth and seventh from right), together with Dr. Hu Fai-chung, HKSYU Deputy President (fifth from right), Prof. Catherine Sun Tien-lun, HKSYU Senior Vice President (eighth from right), Prof. Selina Chan Ching, HKSYU Academic Vice President (fourth from left), Prof. Cheung Siu-keung, Vice President (University Administration) (third from right), Prof. Catherine Tang So-kum, HKSYU Vice President (Graduate School) and director of “Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo Centre for Interdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice and Research” (fifth from left), Prof. Hui Yew-foong, HKSYU Associate Academic Vice President (Accreditation and Programme Development) (far left), Dr. Jason Chow Tak-sang, HKSYU Acting Associate Academic VP (Teaching & Learning Development) and centre associate director (fourth from right), Dr. Bobo Lau Hi-po, centre associate director (third from left), Dr Gigi Lam, centre associate director (second from left), HKSYU PhD student Helen Kwok Sin Hang, centre assistant director (second from right), and Isaac Yu Chun-yeung, centre assistant director (far right).
Prof. Catherine Sun Tien-lun, HKSYU Senior Vice President, delivered a speech.
Prof. Catherine Tang So-kum, HKSYU Vice President (Graduate School) and the director of “Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo Centre for Interdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice and Research”, introduced the centre’s five-year research plan.
Dr. Jason Chow Tak-sang, HKSYU Acting Associate Academic VP (Teaching & Learning Development), also an associate director of “Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo Centre for Interdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice and Research”, elaborated on the funded research project “Human resilience, life adversity, and adaptation to life course transitions from early adulthood to late middle adulthood”.
Dr. Bobo Lau Hi-po, an associate director of “Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo Centre for Interdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice and Research”, elaborated on the funded research project “Hong Kong Older Adults Digital Living Study”.
HKSYU PhD student Helen Kwok Sin Hang, also an assistant director of “Mrs Dorothy Koo and Dr Ti Hua Koo Centre for Interdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice and Research”, elaborated on the funded research project “An interdisciplinary evidence-based approach in understanding resilient functioning to prevent caregiver burden and burnout in families with special needs children”.
