News

Two RS colleagues have won faculty awards

Two RS faculty members have recently received faculty awards in recognition of their achievement in research and teaching. Dr Georg Kranz (Assistant Professor) has been given the Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research and Scholarly Activities 2021 (category: Outstanding Young Researcher), while Mr Alexander Woo (Senior Clinical Associate) has won the Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching 2021. Congratulations to Dr Kranz and Mr Woo on their distinguished achievement!

Experiences and feelings shared by recipients of the Bronze Award of The 7th China International College Students’ “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

Dino Lee Leung Pong, Matthew Lo Cheuk Long, Afifah Har Wing Yiu and Heyson Ngai Chu Hei (MOT 2019 graduates) It is hard to put our feelings into words. Above all, we are very glad to receive this award from Mr Alfred Sit, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, at the Hong Kong Science Park. We are deeply honoured by this recognition of our effort. It began with a student project for the subject “Environmental Issues in OT Practice” of our MOT programme. We designed and created a prototype of an assistive device—Cupensator, which is a drinking aid to help sufferers of Parkinson’s disease better handle a drinking cup by reducing unwanted oscillations caused by tremors. This assistive device could not have been accomplished without the guidance and support from many nice people around us. First of all, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Prof. Kenneth Fong, our project supervisor, for his patient guidance throughout our study. We would also like to thank Mr Eddie Hai for his kind guidance and advice on this project. The two mentors are the role models to guide us all along in our early stage of professional development as an emerging occupational therapist. Besides, we owe a debt of gratitude to the Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office at PolyU for their nomination and sponsorship. Finally, we are grateful to each other for giving mutual support and care throughout this project. We have shared our joys and sorrows along the way. Last but not least, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our parents and significant others for their endless support and love, and to God for showing us the way all along.

Inauguration ceremony of MPT and MOT programmes (academic year 2021/22)

RS held the first inauguration ceremony for its Master in Physiotherapy (MPT) and Master in Occupational Therapy (MOT) programmes on 6 January 2022. Thanks to the support from the Social Welfare Department (SWD), relevant NGOs, RS colleagues and students, the ceremony was a great success. We are honoured to have invited Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and International Affairs) of PolyU, to deliver a welcome address at the ceremony. Prof. Young shared in his speech the origin and recent development of the two master’s programmes, including an increase in the student intake for each programme, which is now 48, and the offering of the programmes on an annual basis from 2021 up to 2023. Prof. Young said the university will continue to negotiate with SWD, in an effort to regularise the two programmes so as to meet our society’s ever growing demand. Mr Kok Che-leung, Deputy Director of Social Welfare (Services), SWD, also delivered a speech, introducing SWD’s Training Sponsorship Scheme and relevant new developments. After that, two graduates of the programmes and an NGO representative shared their experiences separately. Finally, Prof. Hector Tsang (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS) delivered closing remarks at the end of the ceremony, summarising the department’s achievements in the areas of teaching, research and knowledge creation, and community service last year, as well as encouraging the freshmen. The inauguration ceremony came to a successful conclusion.  

The 12th Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation

RS hosted the 12th Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation (12th PPCR) on 27-28 November 2021, with the theme of “Innovations and Technological Developments in Rehabilitation”. Due to the continuous spread of the pandemic and the social distancing measures, the PPCR had to be held online this time. Still there were encouraging responses and the active participation of people from the related sectors across different regions, including experts, scholars, clinicians, healthcare administrators and students in Hong Kong, mainland China and overseas countries.  We are delighted to have over 300 people registering for the conference, one third of which are from overseas institutions. Out of the 129 abstract submissions we accepted, 51 were selected for platform presentation, with the rest of the papers presented in poster format. A post-conference workshop was also conducted on 3 December 2021 by Prof. Susan Whitney, on the topic of the “Advances in the treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo”. The workshop attracted more than 70 people to register.     The opening ceremony, with Mr Kok Che-leung (Deputy Director of Social Welfare [Services], Social Welfare Department), Prof. Christopher Chao (Vice President [Research and Innovation], PolyU) and Prof. David Shum (Dean, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, PolyU) as the officiating guests, marked the kick-off of the event. We are honoured to have invited Prof. Christopher Chao to deliver a welcome address and Mr Kok Che-leung to give a speech at the ceremony.  As an essential part of the conference programme, the Organising Committee had invited six distinguished speakers from prestigious universities to deliver keynote lectures on wide-ranging topics in rehabilitation: Prof. Douglas Gross and Prof. Jeffrey Hausdorff shared about the application of machine learning and low-cost technologies to rehabilitation; Prof. Susan Whitney and Prof. William Miller updated us on the advances in the use of technology in clinical interventions and rehabilitation care provision; Prof. Alyssa Wise lectured on the application of advances in data technologies to rehabilitation education; and Prof. Masud Husain talked about the neurology of apathy and motivation. In addition to the aforementioned keynote lectures, workshop and platform presentations conducted online, around 100 local participants even had a chance to visit RS’s advanced equipment and laboratories on the spot in an Engagement Hub session on 27 November.  The PPCR was inaugurated in Guangzhou in 1998 and has since become an iconic biannual event of our department. The 12th PPCR aims to foster multi-disciplinary collaborations among rehabilitation professionals, academics, students and healthcare administrators in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. We are gratified by the great support we received from different parties for this big event, and look forward to seeing you all again in the next PPCR.

RS high-flyer students made the acquaintance of elite alumni at High Table Dinner

RS high-flyer students made the acquaintance of elite alumni at High Table Dinner A High Table Dinner of the High-Flyer Mentorship Programme was successfully held in the evening of 4 November 2021, with almost 100 participants joining the event. Prof. Kwok-yin Wong, Vice President (Education) of PolyU, and Prof. David Shum, Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of PolyU, graced our event as VIPs. After almost two years of pandemic and social distancing, this is the first so-called “big banquet” we organised. The participants, including around 40 mentors and staff and 60 high-flyer students, had a great time together as far as the evening went. The new mentors and mentees were excited to get to know each other, while the current mentors and mentees had a very enjoyable time catching up on each other after their absence from this kind of social gathering for a long time. We are honoured to have invited Prof. Kwok-yin Wong to deliver an opening address. He said that the aim and significance of our High-Flyer Mentorship Programme, launched in February 2019, were to provide a platform for the top year-1 students to meet with the elite alumni from the physiotherapy and occupational therapy sectors, so as to acquire practical knowledge outside the classroom and receive advice from the experienced mentors on their academic and career development. He believed the programme had matched the high-flyers to the most suitable mentors, and the high-flyers would grab the good opportunity to broaden their horizons and interpersonal network through interaction with their worldly-wise mentors. Highlights of the event also included the sharing by Prof. Hector Tsang (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS) in his capacity as a mentor and his mentee, as well as the presentation by three top students. At the end of the dinner, Prof. Tsang delivered his vote of thanks to the participants. He hoped the mentorship programme would allow experienced and accomplished physiotherapists and occupational therapists from various sectors of Hong Kong to share their experience and offer some guidance to our high-quality students, so as to help students develop their future career in the two professions.

Congratulations to Dr Billy So on winning the Bronze Award of the 13th Hong Kong Outstanding OSH Employee Award Scheme!

Congratulations to Dr Billy So on winning the Bronze Award of the 13th Hong Kong Outstanding OSH Employee Award Scheme! Dr Billy So (Assistant Professor of RS) has been honoured with the Bronze Award of the 13th Hong Kong Outstanding OSH Employee Award Scheme in recognition of his excellent work to promote occupational safety and health culture at different levels. At the Award Presentation Ceremony on 18 October 2021, Dr So received the award from Dr David Mong, Chairman and Group CEO of Shun Hing Group as well as Member of the Occupational Safety and Health Council. In the past years, Dr So has contributed to promoting occupational safety and health not only within PolyU but also in other organisations. At the university level, for example, he has developed the PolyU OSH Stretching Challenge Online Platform for PolyU staff members. At the community level, he has been conducting ergonomic risk assessments and health education talks for different organisations and schools, including Auxiliary Medical Service, Occupational Safety & Health Council, Hong Kong St. John Ambulance Association, Hong Kong Police College, etc. Dr So also has rich publications in the area of occupational health including conference presentations and journal publications. We are happy that Dr So’s outstanding achievements in making his own and other people’s workplaces safer and healthier have been well recognised.

MoU Signing Ceremony between RS of PolyU and SoD of HKAPA

MoU Signing Ceremony between RS of PolyU and SoD of HKAPA A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Signing Ceremony was held between RS of PolyU and the School of Dance of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (SoD of HKAPA) on 15 October 2021, signifying a closer and more concrete collaborative relationship between RS and SoD. In his speech for the event, Prof. Hector Tsang (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS) said the main purpose of the MoU was to facilitate further discussions between the two parties so as to explore collaborative opportunities on Dance Science, Dance Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention. He went on to explain that with the signing of the MoU, RS and SoD would: 1) explore the development of educational and academic exchange activities and cooperative activities for their students, faculty members and staff respectively; 2) seek to share resources with each other, including their qualified specialists and facilities, to support the collaborative activities; 3) explore the possibilities of research collaboration in the areas of Dance Science, Dance Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention.

PolyU Undergraduate Info Day 2021

PolyU Undergraduate Info Day 2021 PolyU Undergraduate Info Day 2021 was held successfully on 9 October 2021. To support the great event, the OT and PT teams of RS organised a series of interesting activities, which attracted hundreds of secondary school students to join, including those passionate students from top schools such as Diocesan Boys’ School, King’s College and Belilios Public School. The separate OT and PT programme talks in the morning (both physical and online modes) and in the afternoon (online mode only) were each attended by around 300 students online, with additionally around 100 attendees and 140 attendees joining the physical OT and PT morning sessions respectively. Our OT and PT teams also arranged guided visits to their respective teaching laboratories in GH wing. Besides, the OT team organised two live consultation sessions and two sharing talks online, especially for the participating students to ask questions and enjoy the sharing of learning experiences by our existing students.

RS year-3 PT student won the PolyU preliminary of a national essay competition

RS year-3 PT student won the PolyU preliminary of a national essay competition Chan Wing Lam, a year-3 student from the BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy programme, is one of the two winners in the PolyU preliminary of a national essay competition titled “笹川杯品書知日本” 2021徵文大獎賽. The prize ceremony was held on 23 September 2021. Chan Wing Lam and the other winner will represent PolyU in the main competition on the national level and compete for a chance of joining an 8-day cultural exchange tour to Japan. The essay competition aims to arouse university students’ interest in understanding Japanese society, economy and culture. Participants are required to read and then write a reflection on a Japan-themed book.

RS year-one students have won a significant portion of PolyU’s entry scholarships

RS year-one students have won a significant portion of PolyU’s entry scholarships Since its inception, RS has been admitting elite students from Hong Kong and elsewhere into its programmes. We are proud to announce that RS admittees in this academic year perform extremely well in winning over a significant portion of the JUPAS and non-JUPAS entry scholarships offered by the University, an achievement as impressive as that of our past admittees in preceding academic years. PolyU offers altogether 331 Entry Scholarships for Outstanding Academic Achievements to JUPAS admittees this year. Out of these 331 scholarships, 124 go to PT freshmen and 61 go to OT freshmen admitted through JUPAS. These two figures make up a total of 185, or 55.9% of all scholarships of the same category offered to all academic departments of PolyU. As to the Entry Scholarship for Outstanding IB Results offered to local non-JUPAS admittees, RS takes up 12 of them, with 7 and 5 awardees from the PT and OT disciplines respectively. The total figure of 12 constitutes 42.9% of all scholarships of the same category offered by the University. Finally, among the local non-JUPAS admittees being awarded the Entry Scholarship for Outstanding GCEAL/IAL Results, 2 of them are from PT and 3 from OT. These figures make up a total of 5, or 55.6% of all scholarships of this type.