TNAG-0177-FCO40-213-Proposed-Polytechnic-1969 — Page 57

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.C. 6

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CHAIRMAN: THE HON. P. Y. TANG, OBE., JP.

SECRETAR

OUR REF.

YOUR REF.

F. BAILEY, OBE.

POLYTECHNIC PLANNING COMMITTEE

19, QUEEN'S ROAD CENTRAL, ROOM 703

HONG KONG

-2-

TELEPHONE H-243767 H-243766 H-238650

J

we

(d) are you able to give us advice (I am sure you are) about expansion of the commercial and management side? I suggested that it would be invaluable if on his visit to Hong Kong John Marsh could address the Polytechnic Planning Committee on this normally meet on Wednesdays at 11.00 a.m. On the whole the commercial side in Hong Kong lags somewhat behind the industrial and engineering side. The University of Hong Kong is expanding its Engineering work into the Industrial Engineering Management area, and this will leave the non-engineering side trailing badly behind unless we do something about it. The two Universities are not very well placed for pulling up and almost the whole of the non-industrial and non-engineering effort is likely to fall on the Polytechnic. In these circumstances a really massive attack would be needed.

experts?

(e) can you help over the advisory panel of overseas

I suspect that it will within about three years become a Polytechnic Grants Committee operating a block grant analogous to that of the University Grants Committee, but for the moment we are unanimous only on the need for an advisory panel. The University Grants Committee may want to put forward Malcolm Gavin and George Lehmann (Managing Director of Linguaphone) as members; but we shall need about another four or five. My office would probably provide secretariat services for the panel and act as the link with the University Grants Committee.

(f) finally, and perhaps most important, may we assume that your Council will be able to continue supplying us with advisory and other services (on repayment where appropriate) for the future, so that we can be reasonably certain of long-term support?

I am sure the answer is "yes", but as with recruitment, this question is of great tactical importance and we probably need to spell it out.

I think these are the main immediate issues. Other problems will surely arise as we move along, but at this stage it is almost impossible to identify them. We have reasonably good engineering and architectural services in Hong Kong, and I do not expect any difficulties on these. Almost certainly we shall run into arguments over equipment costs but this is a strictly local problem arising from the belief that true education consists of a teacher at one end of a bench and a student at the other - and nothing in between. We have workable arrangements on the University Grants Committee for bringing in assessors on equipment purchases, which we can probably apply to the Polytechnic and I think we just have to sort this one out ourselves.

Yours sincerely, Lillfariland.

(S.F. Bailey) Secretary