The Undergraduate Office (UGO) organized an academic counselling session for the newly-admitted IBBA students on 31 July 2008 at T.Y. Wong Hall, Ho Sin Hang Engineering Building. The session aimed to help the students prepare their study plans and introduce them to the various enrichment activities offered by the UGO. Following the thought-provoking welcoming speech delivered by Prof. Andrew C.F. Chan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) and Director of Studies, Undergraduate Studies in Business, Mr Chan Chi-ho, Executive Officer of the UGO, highlighted the study schemes and special features of the IBBA Programme and the key academic-related regulations prescribed by the University. Ms Melina Iu, Administrative Director (Undergraduate Programmes) showcased the UGO’s diverse student enrichment and training opportunities, followed by examples of exemplary students who had benefited from their active participation in such activities. Two of these outstanding students, George Lam (current IBBA student with a concentration in Global Business Studies) and Winnie Yeung (2006 IBBA graduate with a concentration in Marketing) shared about their experiences and about the key to the successful pursuit of excellence in both studies and extra-curricular activities. Overall, the academic counselling session held this year was well received with lots of positive and constructive feedback. Here are some of the comments from our new IBBA students:

• “The talk given by Prof. Chan was meaningful and made me think more about my future.”

• “The introduction of the enrichment activities was the most interesting part because now I know that there’s more to the experience here than just studying.”

• “The students’ sharing session was inspiring and encouraging. Plus, it gave us role models we can look up to.”

• “Very well organized and useful for freshmen.”

• “I’m glad to be a student of IBBA! The session was very useful to me.”

Mr Chan Chi-ho, Executive Officer of the Undergraduate Office (UGO), represented the BA Faculty in delivering four sessions of an orientation talk on Plagiarism, Academic Honesty and Protection of Intellectual Property to the newly-admitted undergraduate students on 31 July 2008. During the talk, Mr Chan highlighted the importance of upholding academic honesty, the disciplinary actions students found committing plagiarism face, and the implementation of the Chinese University Plagiarism IDentification Engine (CUPIDE) System. This talk was given along with another three talks on different themes, namely, Ten Clues to a Fruitful University Life and the Role of General Education in CUHK, Internet Security and Good Practices, and Sexual Harassment Prevention, which were grouped under the series of Orientation Talk: TIPS for University Life as organized by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) for all new undergraduate students on registration day.

In order to familiarize the newly-admitted transfer-in IBBA students with the academic structure and specific requirements of the Integrated BBA programme, the Undergraduate Office (UGO) arranged a special Briefing Session for these students on 1 August 2008. During the Briefing Session, Mr Chan Chi-ho, Executive Officer of the UGO, highlighted the study schemes and special features of the IBBA Programme, the faculty language requirements as well as the key academic-related regulations as prescribed by the University, e.g. in terms of changing study period, and issues regarding academic honesty and academic probation. The presentation materials are now available at http://www.baf.cuhk.edu.hk/bba/chooseSub.htm.

The Opening Ceremony of the Orientation Camp for new business students was held on 7 August 2008. Prof. Andrew C.F. Chan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies), was invited to officiate the event. Prof. Chan delivered the welcoming speech in the Opening Ceremony and encouraged new students to take every opportunity offered by the university to prepare themselves for their future and career aspirations.

Microsoft Research Asia's 10th Anniversary Innovation Forum was organized by Microsoft Research (MSR) Asia in collaboration with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and the University of Hong Kong. The Chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates and the vice chancellors of the aforementioned universities participated in a panel discussion in the Forum.

Our business students, George Lam (Global Business Studies, Year 4) and Lee Ming Sum Mazing (Integrated BBA, Year 3), were nominated by the Faculty to attend the Forum. George Lam was selected by the organizer to ask Bill Gates and other speakers a question at the Q&A section under the theme "Technology and Society".

Ms Christina Lee, General Counsel, Asia Pacific, Legal General, Asia Pacific of adidas Services Limited, was invited to be our Heart to Heart Talk guest speaker in February 2008. She shared with our students on “Challenges for Managers in a Multinational Environment”. Her talk was summarized and published in the July issue of our column “商．學” in the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Please click here for details.

The admission results of the 2008 JUPAS recruitment exercise, the main admission channel of local secondary 7 students, was announced on 30 July 2008. CUBA continued to do exceptionally well under JUPAS this year, both in terms of intake numbers and quality. CUBA made a total of 435 JUPAS offers, and the majority of the entrants had an admission score of over 4.0 (close to Grade A in all subjects in public examinations). Among the 435 JUPAS applicants admitted, over 10% (or 50 entrants) achieved three A’s or above in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations. We wish them a fruitful time of study at the University.

Prof. Andrew C.F. Chan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) and Director of EMBA Programme, accepted an invitation from the IBM User Group to deliver a keynote speech on “Winning in Management: Change, Innovation, Enhancing Competitive Advantage”. Please click here for details.

Prof. Raymond So, BBA-JD Programme Director, accepted an invitation from CUHK’s Summer Institute to deliver a presentation to students of the CUHK’s Summer Institute, who were mainly pre-university students. The topic of the presentation was “Business Studies: Myths and Challenges”.

Prof. Andrew C.F. Chan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) of Faculty of Business Administration, was elected by the Assembly of Fellows of Shaw College as a member of the Council of the University for a period of three years from 1 August 2008. Our warmest congratulations to Prof. Chan!