Dear alumni,
Greetings!
Chinese New Year has always been a time for family union and celebration. Let me begin by offering you my personal thanks for your ardent support to the CityU family during the preceding year. The past twelve months have borne witness to how colleagues, students, alumni and members of the CityU family have joined efforts to successfully promote excellence in our professional education for the benefits of our students and society.
We have spearheaded a new curricular direction under the theme “Discover and Innovate” to strengthen the integration of learning and research in our undergraduate education with the smooth launch of the 3-3-4 academic structure. The University campus has undergone dramatic developments with the addition of new iconic buildings that not only create a more inspiring learning and research environment for our students and staff, but also add a sense of identity to the University. We have also been actively promoting internationalization and opening up new vistas for our students by expanding our overseas exchange and internship programmes. Our target is to raise HK$50 million in donations to help 50% of the students participate in these programmes by 2015.
To further enhance our professional education and the career opportunities of our young generation, we are planning to establish a School of Veterinary Medicine in collaboration with the College of Veterinary Medicine of Cornell University in the US. The School is a key initiative in our Strategic Plan and has received the unanimous endorsement of the University Council. It will benefit Hong Kong and the region by improving public health, food safety and animal welfare.
On the research front, CityU has increased our external grants from the Research Grants Council by 21% and tripled our licensing income through patents and knowledge transfer activities. To cap it all, the University climbed 15 places to 95th in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings. This is an impressive achievement for a university with only 28 years of history.
I am particularly pleased that CityU’s pursuit of excellence is being supported by the strong caring ethos that has been steadily developing among our students, staff members and alumni. Since my arrival, I have participated in numerous alumni activities organized through our Alumni Relations Office. I am proud of your achievements and grateful for your loyalty to the University and the many valuable contributions you have made, both tangible and intangible, to support your fellow students. I want to thank you all sincerely because our alumni are key to building solidarity and unity in the big CityU family.
I would also like to thank our Council, Court, Convocation, staff, students, donors and members of the community for their staunch support to the University. Globalization has brought immense challenges and opportunities to higher education. We need to prepare our students for a fast changing world by educating them to become more open and creative, adaptive and competitive. We need to draw on all our resources and talents to provide them with a first-rate, innovative professional education. I look forward to your continuous support and contribution to enable us to work collectively towards achieving our vision.
In this festive season of fresh starts, let me close by wishing all of you and your loved ones a joyful and rewarding Year of the Snake.
Way Kuo
各位校友，
先給大家拜個早年！
春節是闔家團聚、共慶新年的傳統節日。首先，在此感謝各位在去年對城大這個大家庭的鼎力支持。在過去的十二個月裏，各位同事、學生、校友與城大大家庭的其他成員為了支持學生及社會發展，齊心協力，令到城大的專業教育成功邁向卓越，成績驕人，有目共睹。
城大率先推行以「重探索、求創新」為主題的新課程，加強了本科生教育中學習和研究的融合，三三四新學制得到順利推行。城大的校園面貌也煥然一新，新增了一些極具特色的標誌性建築物，為師生營造更能啟發心智的學習與研究環境，亦增強了對大學的認同感。與此同時，城大積極推進國際化，透過不斷擴展海外交流和實習計劃，開拓學生的視野和思維。我們訂下目標，要在2015年前籌募5,000萬港元，藉以支援全校半數學生參加這些計劃。
為了提升城大的專業教育，增加年輕一代的就業機會，我們與美國康奈爾大學動物醫學院合作，正在籌建一所動物醫學院。創辦動物醫學院是城大《策略性發展計劃》中的首創之舉，得到大學校董會全體成員的支持。成立動物醫學院將改善亞洲的公共衛生、食物安全與動物福利，造福本港與整個亞太區。
在研究領域，城大從研究資助局獲得的研究撥款增加了21%，而透過專利權與知識轉移獲得的特許授權費收入亦增加了三倍。尤為值得一提的是，在國際高等教育資訊機構 Quacquarelli Symonds最新公佈的全球最佳大學排名榜上，城大躍升15位，位列世界第95位。對於一所只有28年歷史的大學來說，這是非常出色的成就。
我尤感欣慰的是，城大在追求卓越之餘，我們的學生、教職員、校友的關懷精神逐步提升、加深。自從我來到城大後，多次參加校友聯絡處舉辦的各項校友活動。城大校友的輝煌成就，令我驕傲；而校友對母校的熱切忠誠，為母校作出的有形無形的寶貴貢獻，對學弟學妹的支持，亦令我感激不盡。增強城大這個大家庭的凝聚力，促進團結合作，各位校友是關鍵，為此我要向校友們表達真誠的謝意。
同時藉此機會感謝校董會、顧問委員會、大學評議會、各位教職員、學生、贊助人、社會熱心人士對城大的鼎力襄助。國際化為高等教育帶來巨大的挑戰，也帶來很多機遇。我們要培育思想開明、富有創意、適應力強、競爭力高的學生，為他們投身於瞬息萬變的未來社會作好準備。我們要彙集各種資源與教研精英，提供一流的創新型專業教育。期望能繼續得到大家始終不渝的支持和奉獻，使我們能夠共同努力，實現願景。
新年伊始，萬象更新。值此佳節來臨之際，謹祝各位與家人朋友蛇年吉祥、幸福安康！
郭 位