TNAG-1072-FCO40-1322-Policy-of-the-Government-of-Hong-Kong-on-education-1981 — Page 148

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15.6

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The staff have not engaged actively in their own scholarly and professional development for whatever reasons. However if the College is to offer a course at an advanced level which is both up to date and relevant, it is essential that the staff do maintain their academic and professional competence and develop it so that they are both active in the prosecution of their subject and able to teach it in an up to date form. As well as maintaining and developing their knowledge of the subject, staff should develop their competence as teachers.

15.7 Some of the senior staff of the College do maintain

academic and scholarly links with other establishments. For most of the staff in the department though this is difficult, there is little opportunity for them to attend conferences outside of Hong Kong and so far there has not been much interaction with staff in the same subject from the Polytechnic or Hong Kong University. Members hope that seminars which at one stage were initiated by the polytehnic may be revived and that the University staff will also be prepared to join in. Members have gained the impression that to some extent the Baptist College staff are looked upon by the rest of the academic community as poor relations. If this is true it is neither fair to the staff at the Baptist College nor in the best traditions of scholarly interactions. It is true though that the Baptist College staff could make a greater effort to meet and interact with other civil and structural engineers in Hong Kong.

15.8

The staff at the Baptist College need vigorous leadership to develop and exploit their expertise.

15.9 At the Polytechnic on the other hand the staff are well

qualified academically and also most of the lecturers are professionally qualified as either Civil or Structural Engineers or as both. The industrial experience of the staff is very good and is recent. Further the staff are active in consultancy and thereby maintain links with industry. The department has an Advisory Committee of industrialists on Civil and Structural Engineering.

15.10 Although the Polytechnic staff are maintaining contact

with professional work and are thereby maintaining their professional competence, there is no established research work or research groups in the department, nor does it appear that the investigations carried out by staff for industry are of a nature which are likely to substantially develop their professional standing and perhaps lead to publication.