We Are With You Project Fund 2013-14 (First Round): Call for Applications

Message from CEDARS – Student Development

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Dear Students and Colleagues,

Applications are now invited for We Are With You Project Fund (Fund).

“We Are With You” (WAY) is a four-year community-based social capital development project in the Southern District.  HKU students and staff will contribute to improve the condition of the less privileged and empower them to improve their own conditions in the long run.  Its objective is to develop a replicable model for social capital development, particularly with the involvement of staff and students of tertiary institutions.  The Fund will support projects initiated by students and staff of HKU under WAY.

The Fund is open to all HKU full-time students and staff.  Joint projects between students and staff will be preferred.  The Fund may be used to support research, direct services, community events, exhibitions, social entrepreneurship, documentary making, art, cultural, history promotion and presentations, and all activities that contribute to the goals of WAY.  The projects should be carried out in the Southern District of Hong Kong preferably in collaboration with at least one community partner/NGO in the District.  The project should normally be completed within one year.  Longer projects are also welcome but funding will be approved for one year in the first instance with possibility of renewal.  The maximum amount to be granted to each project is HK$50,000.

Details of the Fund are available at: http://wp.cedars.hku.hk/fileupload/files/sd/Application%20guidelines.pdf.  To know more about We Are With You Project, please visit: http://cedars.hku.hk/way/.  Applications should be submitted to cedars-programmes@hku.hk on/before 30 November 2013 (Saturday).  Retrospective application will NOT be considered.

For enquiries, please contact us at cedars-programmes@hku.hk (email) or 2857 8387 (phone).

Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS)

Take a break from your research and hang out with your students at Global Lounge, “TGIF”!

Message from Global Lounge

62a8e58d21c708d29994710c25762abbOn behalf of Student Ambassadors: “TGIF @Global Lounge” organizing committee:

Dear Professors and Academic Staff,

We are writing to cordially invite you to an event called T.G.I.F (stands for “Thank God It’s Friday) on:

Date: November 15, 2013 (Friday)
Time: 6:30 p.m. onwards
Venue: Global Lounge

This event is organized by HKU Student Ambassadors from all faculties and supported by Global Lounge. It aims at creating an opportunity for HKU teachers and students to meet outside the classroom setting. We hope that by creating a more relaxing atmosphere, the participants, be it students, professors or staff can meet each other and engage in freer interaction. We believe it will be a wonderful chance for you to show how much cooler you can be in real life than already in class!

Since an atmosphere easy for conversation is key to the event, we think it may be a nice conversation starter that everybody assumes a historical or fictional figure of special importance to her/him. Of course there is absolutely no need to dress up as or act out that figure. We will prepare the name tag for the figure for you and you can simply stick it on upon arrival, only if you feel like doing so. Please still do come and have a drink and a chat with students and staff. Also, you are more than welcome to bring your colleague, just let us know.

This is the first time students try to organize event like this. If this turns out to be a successful one, we plan to make it a regular event. Therefore your support it vital to us.

If you are interested to come, we will greatly appreciate it if you could kindly RSVP with your FULL NAME and FACULTY by email to globallounge@hku.hk by Thursday, 6th November as there is limited space available. We will be utterly thrilled to see you on November 15th, Friday. Hope to see you there.

Best Regards,

TGIF @Global Lounge
Student Organizing Committee

Panopto lecture capture system service suspension on Oct. 18, 2013 (Fri) 6:00am-7:00pm

Message from Information Technology Services

Dear Colleagues and Students

Please be informed that the Panopto lecture capture system will undergo system upgrade from version 4.3.0 to 4.4.1.

All Access to the Panopto RECORDING or VIEWING service will be suspended during the upgrade period:

Date: October 18, 2013, Friday
Time: 6:00 am to 7:00 pm

After the successful upgrade, Panopto will resume service with new version.  Please access it after 7:00pm on that day.

For any enquiries, please send email to e-learningTeam@hku.hk

Thank you for your attention and sorry for any inconvenience that may cause you.

Regards,
Kenneth Siu
e-learning Team

Competitive Bids for UGC T&L Funding

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Message from Academic Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry

Further to the circular dated September 5, 2013 from the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) inviting T&L proposals for consideration of submission to the UGC, this is to inform colleagues that they may submit a preliminary proposal, outlining the objectives, the collaborative partners, the proposed budget (and the arrangement among partners) together with the expected outcomes and impact, by November 1, 2013 (Friday) to seek initial feedback from the Review Group.  The Review Group will mainly look at whether the proposal has addressed the strategic needs for T&L enhancement in the sector, and give suggestions on how it can be strengthened before the final submission by the internal deadline of November 25, 2013.  Preliminary proposals should be submitted to Ms. Synthia Chau, Academic Development and Quality Assurance Section of the Registry.

The preliminary round of submission is entirely optional, which aims to help colleagues focus their proposals on addressing key strategic issues relating to T&L in the sector.  Colleagues may also submit a full proposal directly without going through the preliminary proposal process.

As a reminder, colleagues are encouraged to consult Professor Grahame Bilbow, Director of the Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, during the development of the proposal.

Chi Wah Learning Commons – Activation of access gate on Sep 30, 2013

cwlc2Message from Information Technology Services

Dear staff and students,

Chi Wah Learning Commons is a campus hub for student-centered learning activities. It is for use by HKU staff and students only, and NOT open to the public.

During the summer holiday, a project to install automated access gates at all entrances to Learning Commons was undertaken. The gates will not only help us to monitor usage of the Learning Commons, but also enable us to collect better information helping us to plan for future needs.

We will activate the gates on opening the Learning Commons on the morning of September 30th, 2013 (Monday) and from that time you will need your staff card or student card to access the facility.

Please note that any visitors to the Chi Wah Learning Commons will need to arrange their visit with the Learning Environment Services Team in advance at ithelp@hku.hk.

If you experience any difficulties, both Learning Environment Services and Security Staff will be on hand at each of the entrances to provide you with help and assistance.

Learning Environment Services
Information Technology Services

Special Funding for Teaching and Learning from UGC

feature-ugcRecognising the importance of teaching and learning in the UGC sector, the UGC has made available a total of $82 million additional funding to support teaching and learning related initiatives in the 2012-15 triennium. The following three types of initiatives will be considered for support on a competitive basis:

  • Theme-based Projects on Teaching and Learning
  • Collaborative Forums
  • Professional Development on Teaching and Learning

Proposals are now invited for consideration of submission to the UGC.  Please refer to the circular below for details. The due date for submission is November 25, 2013.

* HKU Portal Login Required

ITS Orientations for New Staff

Message from Information Technology Services

8619731692_2382cf2b21_cIn order to provide new University staff with useful information about the wide range of services offered by Information Technology Services (ITS), we will have a series of orientation activities running between late August and mid September:

  1. ITS Orientation Seminars
  2. ITS Orientation Trails
  3. Exhibition Booths

1. ITS Orientation Seminars

New colleagues are encouraged to join an ITS Orientation seminar on one of the following dates:

August 29, 2013 (Thu) 10:30 am – 12:45 pm
August 30, 2013 (Fri) 10:30 am – 12:45 pm
September 4, 2013 (Wed) 2:30 pm – 4:35 pm

Each seminar will include a one-hour “Introduction to Information Technology Services (ITS)” which gives an overview of the comprehensive range of central IT and network services offered by ITS.  In addition to the introductory session, a short presentation will also be given by Dr Iain Doherty about the role of the EPSU in supporting teachers who want to innovate in their courses through the use of e-learning.  Colleagues can also attend the 3 parallel sessions through which we will introduce:

– Moodle Learning Management System
– Panopto Lecture Capture System
– Research supporting environment and High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities

Please register NOW and check out the seminar details at http://www.its.hku.hk/documentation/handbook/its-guide/2013-2014/orientation-seminars-staff#schedule.

2. ITS Orientation Trails

In addition to the Orientation seminar, Orientation Trails will also be arranged during the first week of the semester (September 2-6, 2013) at the Learning Commons and centrally timetabled classrooms.  The trails will familiarize new University members with the University’s learning environments and give practical demonstrations on the use of the IT/AV facilities. Classroom facilities at the Centennial Campus and Main Campus will be introduced during the orientation trails for staff.

Chi Wah Learning Commons at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm on September 2-6, 2013  (Assembly point: Main Entrance, Ground Floor by the water feature)

The Oval on 1/F, Knowles Building at 2:30 pm on September 2-6, 2013 (Assembly point: Ground Floor reception area, Knowles Building)

Just walk-in and no registration is required for joining the trails.

3. Exhibition Booths

A joint exhibition together with the University Libraries will be held in the first two weeks of the first semester.

During the exhibition, there will be display boards showing the core IT services, in particular the support for teaching and learning, and research, in the University.  Staff will be there during designated timeslots to answer questions.

Details of the exhibition are tabulated below:

G/F, Main Library, September 2 (12:00 noon) – September 9 (5:00 pm)
G/F, Chi Wah Learning Commons, September 2 (12:00 noon) – September 13 (5:00 pm)

All new University members are welcome to join the above orientation activities.

Student Learning Experience Surveys Now Open

The HKUSLEQ online survey was closed on July 15, 2013. The TPgLEQ is still open.

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HKU conducts institutional surveys on students’ learning experiences for undergraduates and taught postgraduates on a regular basis to yield information for analysis and renewal of curriculum and pedagogy. These analyses help ensure and enhance the quality of learning experiences.

We now invite all first and final year undergraduate students to complete the University of Hong Kong Student Learning Experience Questionnaire (HKUSLEQ), and all final year taught-postgraduate students are invited to participate in the Taught Postgraduate Experience Questionnaire (TPgLEQ). Both surveys are conducted on-line. All target students should have received an e-mail invitation, and we are pleased to announce that students can now access the on-line survey more easily by using either of the following pathways:

(1) Simply clicking the generic survey link https://www2.cetl.hku.hk/cas/survey.php.

By clicking the above link, students will be redirected to the on-line survey after successfully logging in to HKU Portal.

(2) Clicking the survey link under the “My e-learning” tab in HKU Portal.

Students could log in to HKU Portal and then go to the “My e-learning” tab, under which a survey link is available directing to the on-line survey for the students who have not yet responded to the survey.

Each questionnaire should take about 10 – 15 minutes to complete. All answers will remain anonymous and the personal information will be kept strictly confidential.

Faculties or students are welcome to contact the Survey Team at survey@cetl.hku.hk or 3917- 4787 for any technical problems. The Survey Team very much appreciates the students’ participation.