News

Prof. Hector Tsang, Head of RS, has been appointed as Executive Guest Editor of Current Neuropharmacology

Prof. Hector Tsang has been appointed as Executive Guest Editor of Current Neuropharmacology, which is an SCIE journal with impact factor of 4.568. The journal publishes reviews and thematic issues related to neuropharmacology and neuroscience, and it ranks the 59th of 267 in Neurosciences and the 33rd of 267 in Pharmacology & Pharmacy. Prof. Tsang will serve as Executive Guest Editor for three years, and Dr Georg Kranz (Research Assistant Professor of RS) will work with him as Co-Guest Editor. During each year, Prof. Tsang and Dr Kranz will propose and edit a series of thematic issues on the neuroscience of nonpharmacological interventions for mental health. Authors with PhD degree and an h-index over 10 can contribute to the thematic issues. This is an acknowledgement of Prof. Tsang’s and Dr Kranz’s expertise in and contribution to the fields of neuroscience and nonpharmacological interventions. This is also a great opportunity for our faculty members and research staff to publish their research with high quality. Link of Current Neuropharmacology: https://benthamscience.com/journal/executive-guest-editors.php?journalID=cn

Student Forum of 2019/2020

The incident at PolyU has eventually come into an end after months of unrest. Before the start of the next semester, the Department organized a student forum on January 16, 2020 to share new updates about the future development plans of RS. Nine class representatives from undergraduate and postgraduate programmes were invited to exchange their views with Chair Professor and Head, Prof. Hector Tsang, as well as the President of Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association (HKPA), Prof. Marco Pang and the Chairperson of Hong Kong Occupational Therapy Association (HKOTA), Ms Stella Cheng.  Chaired by Prof. Tsang, the forum began with a debriefing by Prof. Shamay Ng on the infrastructural planning of RS in both the short term and long term. Students were excited about the on-going renovation project and the new campus at Homantin which would allow a more flexible use of teaching space in the future.   Another focus of the forum was to discuss the regularization of the current master entry-level programmes. During the meeting, the discussants engaged in a constructive dialogue on various topics, such as the impact of regularization on graduates’ employment opportunities and development of rehabilitation industry. Prof. Marco Pang also shared international experience of hosting postgraduate entry-level programmes of OT and PT, while Ms Stella Cheng spoke about the employment projection of local allied health professionals for the next decade. The feedback from the Professional Associations and the students was positive in general. 

Congratulations to Dr Bolton Chau for being selected as an "APS Rising Star"by the Association for Psychological Science (APS)

Dr Bolton Chau, Assistant Professor of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS) has been selected by the Association for Psychological Science (APS) as one of the "APS Rising Stars" in January 2020. It was announced in the latest issue of the APS communication magazine (please click here and refer to P. 10). The APS Rising Star designation is presented to outstanding APS members in the earliest stages of their research career post-PhD. Drawing its name from an Observer editorial series that featured exemplars of the exciting work being done by the field's newest researchers, this designation recognizes researchers whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions. Dr Chau was being selected as the Rising Star based on his excellence in research with the following criteria: - Significant publications - Significant recognitions - Significant discoveries, methodological innovations, or theoretical or empirical contributions - Work with potentially broad impacts Association for Psychological Science (APS) is the leading international organization dedicated to advancing scientific psychology across disciplinary and geographic borders. It is a highly prestigious professional association for psychologists in the US. For more details about APS, please visit https://www.psychologicalscience.org/.

Prof. Hector Tsang, Head of RS, shared his views on primary health care in a media interview

Professor Hector Tsang, Head of PolyU’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, shared his views on primary healthcare in a media interview. He said the government initiative of setting up District Health Centre across Hong Kong, with the first one launched this September in Kwai Tsing, is a good move. He elaborated that primary healthcare not only helps the elderly to deal with chronic illnesses, but also covers people of different ages, including children, to promote health awareness and preventive measures before acute/chronic illness is developed. Mental health problems, menopausal symptoms and occupational risks are also in the scope. He said allied healthcare professionals including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, nurses and social workers will play significant roles in providing the community with healthcare education and outreach services. At present, PolyU provides 150 full-time degree places in physiotherapy and another 100 places in occupational therapy. With expanded space and teaching facilities in the forthcoming PolyU Homantin new campus, he hopes that the Government will increase the funded degree places for PolyU so as to cope with the talent demand in primary healthcare. Coverage on printed media: HK Economic Times A24, Oriental Daily A13, am730 A22 Online coverage: HK01 - http://trsurl.com/s/2dsj RTHK1 “Morning News Programme” (around 55:15 to 59:40) - http://trsurl.com/s/2dsl Think Hong Kong - https://bit.ly/2qaVvtu

Photo taking session of PolyU Senior management, RS staff and awardees of PolyU’s Entry Scholarships for Outstanding Admittees

Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS) is proud to announce that over 190 Year 1 students of BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy (PT) and BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy (OT) have been awarded PolyU’s Entry Scholarships for Outstanding Admittees in the Academic Year 2019-2020.  The awardees had been invited to attend the photo taking session with Prof. Philip Chan (Deputy President and Provost of PolyU); Prof. David Shum (Yeung Tsang Wing Yee and Tsang Wing Hing Professor in Neuropsychology, Chair Professor of Neuropsychology, Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences); Prof. Hector Tsang (Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Psychosocial Health, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of RS) and RS staff on 31st October 2019. Delivering the welcome speech, Prof. Hector Tsang explained that PolyU’s Entry Scholarships for Outstanding Admittees aims to recognize the students who admitted by academic merit or non-academic achievements. This year, over 190 out of the total of 350 awardees are from RS. According to the records, RS has remained at around 190 or above awardees in the past three years, and the results are very encouraging. In addition, Prof. Tsang encouraged the students to enjoy their studies at PolyU and  to work hard to become professional physiotherapists or occupational therapists through professional training in RS. The eligible awardee of PolyU’s Entry Scholarship (Academic) has met at least Level 5** in 1 subject or aggregate score of 28 or above for the Best 5 subjects in DSE, the score of 36 in IB or 3A in GCE. Furthermore, the eligible awardee of PolyU’s Entry Scholarship (Non-Academic) needs to have outstanding achievements in a non-academic area, such as art, leadership, music, sports or service.

RS Students awarded Distinguished Thesis Award of FHSS

Distinguished PhD Thesis Award of FHSS - Dr Liu Tai Wa (RS PhD graduate, Supervisor: Prof. Shamay Ng) Dr Liu Tai Wa (right) and his supervisor, Prof. Shamay Ng (left) Sharing by Dr Liu Tai Wa: I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences for presenting me the Faculty Distinguished Thesis Award, and the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences for giving me the chance to accomplish a Doctor of philosophy degree. I am glad that I made a firm decision to pursue a PhD degree at The Hong Kong Polytechnic few years ago and grateful to have a precious opportunity to meet my chief supervisor, Professor Shamay Ng, and co-supervisor, Professor Gabriel Ng. They have provided me with their unreserved support and expert guidance along this path, which has not only helped me to complete the PhD degree, but also inspired me to proceed for greater advancement in the future as a researcher. As a part-time student, the learning process has always been busy but fruitful. I have been involved in various research projects which has given me the chances to work with the most knowledgeable and passionate research team of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. In addition, the Department of Rehabilitation accommodated me with all the equipment needed and technical support during the research process. With all the support and resources from my supervisors and the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, we have published seven academic papers and have presented nine abstracts in international conferences. In August of this year, I have successfully passed my oral defense and fulfilled the PhD graduation requirement. Lastly, it has not been easy to complete a PhD programme, but every little encounter and experience gained throughout these years have been enriching and will certainly remain in my memories for life long. Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been there for me along the way for all their time, effort, support and patience. Distinguished PhD Thesis Award of FHSS -Dr Huang Meizhen (RS PhD Graduate, Supervisor: Prof. Marco Pang) Sharing by Dr Huang Meizhen: It is my great honor to receive the Distinguished Thesis Award. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Prof. Marco Pang. I knew little thing about research when I reached PolyU, and now I feel confident to conduct study independently. As the advice from Prof. Pang, interest and self-motivation is crucial to be a researcher. The ability in goal-orientated, self-learning and time-management will be great asset in my life. It is also very grateful that PolyU and RS offers incredible opportunities and tremendous support in both professional and personal development. From lectures and workshops to conferences and overseas exchange, PolyU and RS provides ample resources to research postgraduate students so that we could gear ourselves up the world. Lastly, I want to express my deepest gratitude to RS . I received BSc in physical therapy from Sichuan University while our lectures/clinical placements were conducted by academic staff from RS due to the earthquake in 2008. I did not know the word "physical therapy" and how important it was until I visited the injured persons in the disaster area. Also, until I started study in PolyU, I can't imagine what a great dedication it is that teachers set aside the busy work in Hong Kong and gave lectures in Sichuan. The great sense of mission to promote rehabilitation demonstrated from RS always motivates me. I thank RS and all my teachers.

RS Students awarded 2019/20 Dean's Honours List

We are proud to annouce that 40 of RS graduates have been placed in the 2019/20 Dean's Honours List and two PhD graduates, Dr Liu Tai Wa and Dr Huang Meizhen, have been awarded the Distinguished Thesis Award of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences.

25th Congregation of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Department of Rehabilitation Sciences

The 25th Congregation of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS) was held in the Jockey Club Auditorium on the University campus on 30 Oct 2019. This year, we were glad to see the conferment of a total of 326 RS graduates, in which 18 of them are with Distinction, 18 of them are with 1st Class honours, and 40 of them are placed in the Dean's Honours List. Congratulations to all the graduates and wish all of you could create a great impact in the rehabilitation sector!

Occupational Therapy 89 Class Reunion Dinner

The occupational therapy graduates from The Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1989 was recently celebrating their 30th anniversary. A dinner reception was held on October 18th 2019 at the Hong Kong Bankers’ Club. Seven guests were being invited and four tables of buddies had attended the event. Our dear guests included Prof. Chetwyn Chan, Dr Francis Kung, Dr Kit Sinclair, Mr Robert O’Brien, Mrs. Shelley Chow, and Dr York Chow, who had taught us at school (Picture 1). Prof. Hector Tsang, Head of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, was representing the pleasure of the Alma Mater to attend the anniversary dinner. During the dinner, the teachers shared their memories of the old days when they were teaching at the occupational therapy programme. Dr. Francis Kung, who currently resides in Melbourne, Australia, travelled afar to attend the dinner. Mr Robert O’Brien, who taught design and printing during the days, is still running a design studio in Cheung Chau. During the dinner, there were sharing of stories of now and then, photo-taking, quizzes, etc. arranged by the organizing committee led by the chairlady Ms Mayee Wong (Picture 2). Moreover, there was a FaceTime session with the past programme leader - Dr Baboo Dasari, who is now teaching at the University of Southampton. Ms Joanna James and Ms Donna Murphy, who are now living in the United Kingdom and on the Gold Coast, Queenstown, Australia respectively, also sent their greetings and very best wishes to our celebration. The graduates also played a game to recall the names of the teachers at their times of study in 1986-87. Although not all graduates were now working as occupational therapists in the field, they were all happy to have such a precious gathering, connecting each other after so many years. They are also looking ahead to meet again at the 35th anniversary.  

Congratulations to Prof. Marco Pang for winning the “Journal of Physiotherapy (JoP) Readers’ Choice Award 2018”

Prof. Marco Pang, Professor (Physiotherapy) of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS) received the Journal of Physiotherapy (JoP) Readers’ Choice Award 2018. The Award was presented to Prof. Marco Pang by the Editor of the JoP at the Australian Physiotherapy Association Conference on 17-19 Oct 2019 in Adelaide, for his research paper entitled "Physical exercise improves strength, balance, mobility, and endurance in people with cognitive impairment and dementia: a systematic review". The JoP ranks the first among all the journals in the Rehabilitation category, with an impact factor of 5.55.