TNAG-1810-FCO40-2571-Hong-Kong-University-of-Science-and-Technology-University-o-1988 — Page 149

W J Hall Esq OT2

Department of Trade and Industry

1 Victoria Street

London SWIH OET

Dear John,

BRITISH TRADE COMMISSION

...

HONG KONG.

6 July 1988

IMED 286/5

E

STE

- 8 AUG 1988

HONG KONG: THE THIRD UNIVERSITY (OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)

In my letter of 29 June about Lord Young's visit, I said I would call on Professor Woo, Vice-Chancellor of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to talk about equipment for the University. I did so yesterday. Ian Macpherson, Secretary General of the Planning Committee was also present.

2.

As yet, the Vice-Chancellor has no academic staff. He said he was hoping to identify key personnel starting in about September this year. These people, particularly the Deans of the five schools, would chart the way ahead and it would be from their recommendations that the Council of the university would decide on the sort of equipment needed.

3. For the time being, the Council was discussiong with the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club the extent of the Club's commitment to build the University: whether it would include certain fittings or fixtures. Professor Woo said he thought the British company, Gallenkamp International (part of the Fisons Group) was giving invaluable advice to the Jockey Club, at present without remuneration. Gallenkamp had commissioned Professor Peter Ford of Nottingham University to produce a preliminary paper. Professor Woo said the paper was very constructive but while it suggested approaches to a number of American corporations it made no mention of British companies.

4. Professor Woo said he had received direct approaches from a number of American firms including IBM, Motorola, Hewlett Packard and Rockwell. Most of them were interested in long term collaboration with the University (research and applications) with the corporations contributing equipment and expertise. In some cases it had been proposed that equipment should be located in the University; in others the University had been promised access to facilities elsewhere in Hong Kong. No agreement had been reached on any of the proposals made so far because it was too early to predict the specific interests of the departments.

5. The Vice-Chancellor said that offers of books from American universities and organisations were "flowing in". They were very welcome but he was concerned that the library should not be too heavily biased towards American thinking and procedures. He would be very pleased to receive books from Britain also. He repeated what he told me the last time we met: that he was hoping to interest large corporations in funding various Chairs. He hoped that a number of other smaller organisations would contribute to a fund that would top up the salaries of "star" staff. Mr Macpherson said he had been talking to Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong about this; they would like to do something

for the University but had not yet decided what.

/..