CityU Today No. 42

May2013

二O一三年五月

NO.42

Cutting-edge food science食物科學最新成果

An international dimension to campus teaching校園教與學增添國際化

Project Flame sparks social innovation創新火焰照亮校園

They say “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”, and this could not be more relevant to new research at CityU into food science. It is only natural for us to worry about the quality of the food we eat. We should know exactly what we are buying when we visit the markets. Recent breakthroughs by CityU scientists have put forward new approaches and technologies that we can use to establish the freshness of food quickly, efficiently and cheaply (p. 8) and an identification kit that lets users know exactly what meat is in a dish (p. 13). Related to these food science breakthroughs, we are also seeing more and more fascinating work in how we can transform food waste into fuel and plastics (p. 16), a story that shows what is possible in the bid to make our lives greener and more sustainable.

Also in this edition of CityU Today we hear from some of our Graduate Teaching Assistants (p. 22) who are complementing teaching and research activities on campus and from the people behind a social enterprise initiative at CityU (p. 30). And to brighten things up, we will hear why humour and happiness are so important in learning (p. 26).

So, if the proof is in the eating, bon appetit!

「布丁好不好，吃了才知道。」這句英語俗諺，用來點明城大食物科

學最新研究的意義，真是再切題不過了。吃下肚的食物，我們自然

會關注其品質好壞；走進市場，我們總該知道所買的究竟是什麼。

城大的科學家最近取得多項突破成果，既研究出快速簡便而又成本

低廉的新方法和新技術，用來檢測食物是否新鮮（第8頁），又發明一

套鑑定工具，有助識別肉類成分（第13頁）。與食物科學的突破相關

的技術還包括將廚餘製成燃料和塑膠（第16頁），同樣令人稱奇。這

篇報道表明，有哪些方法可使我們的生活更有利於環保及永續發展。

本期《今日城大》還報道幾位「研究生教學助理」如何出力協助校園

內的教學與科研（第22頁），並介紹幾位在城大推行提倡社會企業活

動的人（第30頁）。此外，有一篇文章介紹幽默與幸福這兩個新的精

進教育科目（第26頁），當可為讀者增添趣味。

食然後知味，祝君胃口大開！

Professor Matthew Lee Kwok-on 李國安教授

Editor-in-Chief 總編輯

From the Editor

Cover Story 封面專題

Editor-in-Chief : Professor Matthew Lee Kwok-on / 總編輯：李國安教授 • Managing Editor : Longgen Chen / 行政編輯：陳龍根 • Executive Editor : Mirror Fung / 執行編輯：馮美玲 • Editor : Michael Gibb / 編輯：鄭智友 • Design and Production : Communications & Public Relations Office and Pixels Graphics Limited / 設計及製作：傳訊及公關處及點子設計有限公司

Phone / 電話：(852) 3442 9317 • Fax / 傳真：(852) 2628 2812 Website / 網址：http://www.cityu.edu.hk/newscentre • E-mail / 電郵：[email protected] • Mail : CityU Today Editors, Communications & Public Relations Office, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong / 通訊：香港九龍達之路香港城市大學傳訊及公關處《今日城大》編輯部收

8 Cutting-edge food science 食物科學最新成果

CityU researchers are uncovering innovative

techniques for detecting the freshness of

food, identifying meats, and turning waste

into fuel and plastics.

城大研究人員研發出多項創新技術，能夠檢

測食物新鮮度，識別肉類成分，將廚餘轉化

為燃料和塑膠。

FeatureS 專題

ColumnS 專欄

22 30 34

22 An international dimension to campus teaching 校園教與學增添國際化

26 Happiness and humour in the classroom and beyond 課堂內外的幸福與幽默

30 Project Flame sparks social innovation 創新火焰照亮校園

34 My gateway to teaching GE 我的通識教育之路

2 newS & notable

城大動態

AC3 opens 學術樓（三）正式啟用

20 through the lenS

光影世界

A brush with cultural exchange 漢字傳文化翰墨促交流

38 Student voiCeS

學生心聲

Internship in Israel 我的以色列實習之旅

40 bookS

新書推介

May 2013二O一三年五月

NO.42

today is published three times a year by City University of Hong Kong. The mission of the magazine is to inform our stakeholders around the world about CityU issues, people, activities and achievements. 《今日城大》每年三期，旨在報道香港城市大學在教學、研究及外務發展上的最新動向。

8 Cutting-edge food science 食物科學最新成果

May 2013 1

AC3 opens 學術樓（三）正式啟用

The grand opening of Academic 3 (AC3) marked a significant milestone

in the development of the University, providing the extra space needed

to take the University to another level.

Officiating guests at the opening ceremony were The Hon Leung Chun-

ying, Chancellor of CityU, Dr Norman Leung Nai-pang, Pro-Chancellor

of CityU, Mr Herman Hu Shao-ming, Council Chairman of CityU, and

Professor Way Kuo, President of CityU.

AC3 comprises a 20-storey upper block and a 5-storey lower block,

adding an additional 20,500 square metres of net area for learning,

research, administration and social interaction to our vibrant campus.

It houses a state-of-the-art 600-seat theatre, the State Key Laboratory

of Millimeter Waves, an alumni lounge, a sky garden, restaurants,

classrooms and learning commons, multi-function rooms and

administration offices.

More than 300 guests attended the ceremony on 6 May and enjoyed a

guided tour after the ceremony.

學術樓（三）啟用典禮隆重舉行，標誌城大的發展進入又一新里程。

新大樓擴大了校園內的教學、科研場所，有助城大的發展更上層樓。

出席啟用典禮的主禮嘉賓是：城大監督梁振英先生、城大副監督梁乃

鵬博士、校董會主席胡曉明先生、校長郭位教授。

學術樓（三）包含彼此連接的高、低兩座建築物，高座為20層，低座

為5層，為活力充沛的校園總共增添20,500平方米的實用樓面，供大

家在此求學、研究、管理行政，彼此溝通交流。大樓包含可容600人

的現代化演講廳、毫米波國家重點實驗室、校友休息室、空中花園、

餐廳，還有課室、學習共享區、多用途室，以及行政部門的辦公室。

逾300位嘉賓應邀出席5月6日舉行的典禮。隨後，校方安排人員引導

嘉賓參觀學術樓（三）。

National science awards for CityU researchers三位城大學者獲頒國家自然科學獎及科技進步獎

Three scientists took second-class honours in the 2012 State Natural Science Awards (SNSA)

and the 2012 State Scientific and Technological Progress Awards (SSTPA) in recognition of their

outstanding achievements in research. Professor Yang Tong (centre), Head and Chair Professor

of the Department of Mathematics, and Professor Ron Chen Guanrong (right), Chair Professor in

the Department of Electronic Engineering, received the SNSA second-class award. Dr Wu Yufei

(left), Associate Professor of the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, won the SSTPA

second-class award.

三位城大學者憑着卓越的研究成就獲獎。數學系系主任楊彤講座教授（中）、電子工程學系

陳關榮講座教授（右），榮獲2012年度「國家自然科學獎」二等獎。土木及建築工程系副教授

吳宇飛博士（左）榮獲2012年度「國家科學技術進步獎」二等獎。

News &Notable

2 二O一三年五月

Teaching Excellence Awardees share experience 傑出教學獎得主分享教學經驗

The six winners of the 2012–13 Teaching Excellence Awards introduced

their unique pedagogies and teaching experience at a sharing session on

6 March as part of the 2013 CityU Discovery Festival. They were: (from left)

Dr Alice Chong Ming-lin, Associate Professor of the Department of Applied

Social Studies, Dr Chow Chi-yin, Assistant Professor of the Department

of Computer Science, Dr Ron Kwok Chi-wai, Associate Professor of the

Department of Information Systems, Dr Tom Vinaimont, Assistant Professor

of the Department of Economics and Finance, Ms Wisteria Cheung Yuen-yi,

Teaching Fellow of the Department of Marketing, and Dr Christoph Hafner,

Assistant Professor of the Department of English.

城大六位獲得2012-13年度傑出教學獎的優秀教師，於3月6日的分享會

上，簡介各具特色的教學理念及分享教學經驗。分享會是「2013城大探

索創新節」的活動之一。本屆獲獎教師有：（左起）應用社會科學系副教授莊明蓮博士、電腦科學系助理教授周志賢博士、資訊系統學系副教授郭致

偉博士、經濟及金融系助理教授Tom Vinaimont博士、市場營銷學系特任講師張婉儀女士、英文系助理教授Christoph Hafner博士。

RMB 31.64 million for mainland research projects 城大獲內地撥款人民幣3,164萬元資

助研究

Research teams at the City University of Hong

Kong Shenzhen Research Institute (CityUSRI)

were awarded in total RMB 31.64 million

in funding for 59 research projects on the

mainland in 2012, representing an increase of

177% in actual funding and a 168% increase

in the number of projects granted compared

to figures from the previous year. These

substantial increases reflect the high level of

confidence that funding bodies have in CityU

and CityUSRI.

城大深圳研究院的研究團隊2012年共獲得內

地撥款人民幣3,164萬元，資助59項研究計

劃。資助金額和研究計劃數量分別較上一年

大幅上升177% 和168%。上述數字反映內地

撥款機構對城大和城大深圳研究院的信心。1 2 3 4

New Council appointees新成員加入城大校董會

Four outstanding members of the business and professional communities have been appointed

by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR to serve as members of the Council. They are Mr Andrew Fan

Ka-fai (1), President of Greater China Region, Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.; Ms Dilys Chau Suet-fung (2),

Certified Public Accountant and a partner at Ernst & Young; Ms Connie Lau Yin-hing (3), Chairperson

of the International Advisory Group of Experts on Consumer Protection within the United Nations

Conference on Trade and Development; and Mr Herbert Tsoi Hak-kong (4), a partner in the legal firm

Herbert Tsoi & Partners.

四位社會領袖獲香港特區行政長官委任為城大校董會成員。他們是如新集團大中華區總裁范家輝

先生（1），安永會計師事務所合夥人及註冊會計師周雪鳳女士（2），聯合國貿易及發展會議消費

者保障國際專家顧問小組主席劉燕卿女士（3），蔡克剛律師事務所合夥人蔡克剛先生（4）。

城大動態

May 2013 3

News & Notable

New honour for distinguished scientist傑出科學家獲選為美國材料研究學會院士

Professor Paul Chu Kim-ho, Chair Professor of Materials Engineering, has been elected as a Fellow of

the Materials Research Society (MRS) based in the US, an international recognition for his outstanding

contributions to the development of plasma immersion ion implantation for modifying material

surfaces. His research has extensive industrial and biomedical applications. The title of MRS Fellow has

been given annually since 2008 for accomplishments in materials science research. The Fellows are

internationally renowned scientists who are widely recognised by their peers.

城大物理及材料科學系朱劍豪講座教授獲美國材料研究學會選為院士，以表揚他研發等離子注入技術以改良材料的表面特性，使材料可更廣泛應用

於工業和生物醫學等多個領域。美國材料研究學會自2008年以來每年頒發院士榮銜，以表彰致力研究材料科學而取得傑出成就的人士，獲此殊榮者

均為國際知名的科學家，其貢獻廣受同儕稱許。

Discovery festival showcases CityU’s strengths 城大探索創新節展示卓越教學特色

The 2013 CityU Discovery Festival in March gave visitors and participants a chance to learn about

the unique features of CityU and to experience a taste of the vibrant University life through a variety

of activities. Highlights included a lecture on discovery and innovation by Dr Allan Zeman, Chairman

of the Ocean Park Corporation and an honorary doctor of CityU; displays of students’ achievements

along with mini-fairs on teaching and learning; a fair introducing majors, minors and Gateway

Education courses on offer to students; a walk through various landmark buildings at CityU; and

talks, performances and much more.

「2013城大探索創新節」在3月舉辦，向參觀者展示城大的獨有特色，參觀者也可藉着一系列活動，體驗城大充滿活力的校園學習環境。主要活

動有：香港海洋公園主席及城大榮譽博士盛智文博士以探索與創新為題的演講、展示城大學生成就的展覽、展示城大教學成果的小型匯展、為學

生介紹城大主修和副修課程及精進教育科目的展覽、其他多場講座和表演，以及參觀城大造型獨特的各幢建築物等。

Genes identified that accelerate peripheral nerve regeneration研究基因療法　促進受損神經再生

Humans could recover faster from injuries thanks to researchers at the Department of Biology and

Chemistry led by Dr Eddie Ma Chi-him, Assistant Professor, who have developed an innovative form

of gene therapy that accelerates the regeneration of injured peripheral nerves. Peripheral nerves

transmit sensory information collected from around our body to the brain. If damaged, the muscle

that it controls weakens, losing mass and motor functions. Dr Ma’s research can help alleviate the

damage by enhancing the healing process.

城大生物及化學系助理教授馬智謙博士及他的團隊利用基因療法加速周圍神經再生，從而使受傷

的人體可以加速復原。周圍神經將人體各處接收的感覺傳送至大腦。周圍神經若受損傷，受其支

配的肌肉會變得無力，甚至會萎縮而喪失活動功能。馬博士的研究有助加速復原，減輕損傷。


Barrier-free webpages win two gold awards城大無障礙網頁獲兩項金獎

Two Gold Awards were awarded to CityU at the first Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme

Awards Presentation Ceremony on 15 April in recognition of our efforts to use information

technology to make websites more accessible and friendly for all users. The Web Accessibility

Recognition Scheme was jointly organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information

Officer of the HKSAR government and the Equal Opportunities Commission, aiming to

appreciate different organisations’ initiatives in building barrier-free webpages with outstanding

designs. The websites of the University and CityU’s Office of the Chief Information Officer

received the Gold Awards. CityU was the only local university to earn two Gold Awards among

some 100 entries.

城大致力建立無障礙網

站，令大學網站的內容

可供任何人士瀏覽，在

4月15日舉行的首屆

「無障礙網頁嘉許計

劃」頒獎典禮上獲頒兩

項金獎。「無障礙網頁

嘉許計劃」由香港特區

政府資訊科技總監辦公

室及平等機會委員會合

辦，旨在表彰積極推行

無障礙網頁、網頁設計

優秀的企業和機構。在約百家參賽的企業和機構中，城大的網頁及城大資訊總監辦公室的網

頁雙雙獲得金獎，令城大成為本地唯一取得兩項金獎的大學。

CityU offers programmes on nuclear and risk engineering城大開辦核子及風險工程課程

A new undergraduate programme in Nuclear and

Risk Engineering and a postgraduate programme

in Advanced Technology and Management

(Nuclear and Risk Engineering stream) are a

response to the growing concern about nuclear

safety in society and will provide a platform for

bringing together experts to exchange views on

nuclear safety. The new programmes will cover

areas such as the management of nuclear safety,

maintenance engineering for large corporations,

research and development of nuclear radiation

products and equipment, nuclear and radiation

safety, nuclear structure materials, risk and

reliability engineering, and waste management.

城大為應對日益受關注的核安全問題，新近開

辦了核子及風險工程學士學位課程、先進科技

及管理學理學碩士（核子及風險工程）課程，

並會邀請相關專家舉辦工作坊，就核安全議題

交流意見。課程內容包括核安全管理、大型企

業的維修工程、核輻射設備產品的研發、核安

全及輻射安全、核結構材料、風險與可靠性工

程、核廢料處理。

Creative media graduates shine at ifva創意媒體畢業生本地比賽中大放異彩

Five graduates of the School of Creative Media (SCM) garnered two Gold Awards, two Silver Awards and one Special

Mention Award at the 18th Hong Kong Independent Short Film and Video Awards (ifva). The immersive virtual reality

installation Bad Trip created by Mr Alan Kwan Tsz-wai, a 2012 graduate, and the film 6th March produced by Mr Wong

Chun, a 2010 graduate, won the Gold Awards in the Interactive Media Category and the Open Category respectively.

In addition, Atypical Installation by Mr Jason Lam Chi-fai, a 2008 graduate, and Waiting to Drown by Mr Nick Cheuk

Yick-him, a 2012 graduate, won the Silver Awards in the Interactive Media Category and the Open Category

respectively. Fishing with Popo by Ms Lilian Fu Wing-yan, a 2008 graduate, received the Special Mention Award in the Animation Category.

城大創意媒體學院五名畢業生參加第18屆香港獨立短片及影像媒體比賽，贏得兩項金獎、兩項銀獎、一項特別表揚獎。2012年畢業生關子維先

生的沉浸式虛擬互動裝置《Bad Trip》及2010年畢業生黃進先生拍攝的短片《三月六日》，分別贏得互動媒體組和公開組的金獎。2008年畢業生

林志輝先生的《非典型裝置》及2012年畢業生卓亦謙先生的《至少在夢裏》分別獲得互動媒體組和公開組的銀獎；2008年畢業生傅詠欣女士的

《想像•外婆》則獲得動畫組的特別表揚獎。

城大動態

May 2013 5

News & Notable

Digitising one million pages of e-material boosts scholarly exchange百萬頁圖書數碼化項目促進學術交流

The Hong Kong Cooperation Centre of China Academic Digital Associative Library (CADAL) was launched at CityU in March. Through CADAL, CityU will

coordinate with local academic and research institutes to introduce a six-month pilot scheme to convert one million pages of materials, including books,

periodicals, magazines, newspapers, dissertations, photos and covenants, into digitised format. The objective of the project is to enhance academic

exchange between Hong Kong and the mainland and to promote the dissemination of knowledge through the sharing of resources.

「大學數字圖書館國際合作計劃」3月在城大開展。城大會統籌本港的學術、研究機構，展開試辦計劃，在六個月內完成一百萬頁圖書、期刊、雜

誌、報紙、論文、照片、契約等資料的數碼化工作，藉以促進香港與內地學者的學術交流，並通過資源共享加速知識傳播。

Commercial potential for new fuel cell technology 創新燃料電池向商業化邁進一大步

Dr Michael Leung Kwok-hi, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Energy and

Environment, and his research team have developed a novel fuel cell that requires not only much

lower production costs; it also purifies wastewater during the operation and uses wastewater to

generate power. The cell reduces production costs by 50%, making it more feasible to turn fuel cells

into commercial applications.

城大能源及環境學院副教授兼副院長梁國熙博士及其研究團隊研發出新型無膜光催化燃料電池，

不但令製造成本降低，更可利用污水發電並同時淨化污水。無膜燃料電池的製造成本可降低達

五成，向商業化應用邁進一大步。

CityU spearheads anti-sexual harassment campaign城大開展反性騷擾運動

A lively programme of events kicked-off the Anti-Sexual Harassment Campaign in April with a

dramatic rendering of a true story about sexual violence, a multimedia art exhibition, a four-legged

race to highlight gender equality, and a slogan competition. Dr York Chow Yat-ngok, the recently

appointed Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission, acted as one of the officiating guests

at the kick-off ceremony. The events were co-organised by the Committee Against Sexual Harassment

and Anti-480 as a means of promoting greater awareness of sexual harassment among staff and

students. The slogans “One More Silence? One More Victim!” and “We Need Your Commitment! Say No

To Sexual Harassment!” won the slogan competition.

城大4月開展反性騷擾運動，舉辦一系列精彩的活動，如反映真實性暴力事件的短劇、多媒體藝

術展覽、宣揚性別平等的二人三足競步、標語創作比賽等。啟動儀式的主禮嘉賓之一是新任平等

機會委員會主席周一嶽醫生。標語創作比賽有兩件作品獲獎，分別是“One More Silence? One

More Victim！”以及“We Need Your Commitment! Say No To Sexual Harassment!”。活動由城

大防止性騷擾委員會及Anti-480反性暴力資源中心合辦，旨在對師生傳播制止性騷擾的信息。


城大動態

International ICT Expo 國際資訊科技博覽會

CityU featured 13 research projects at the

International ICT Expo on 13–16 April at the

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

These projects showcased outstanding CityU

information and communications technology

research with high application value.

城大在「國際資訊科技博覽會」展出13 項

研究成果，顯示城大在信息及通訊技術領域

的研究具有極高的應用價值。展覽日期為

4月13 至16日，地點在香港會議展覽中心。

President’s talk on innovation 校長論述創新的關鍵

In his talk at the Hong Kong Youth Science &

Technology Innovation Competition 2012–13

Award Ceremony in April, Professor Way Kuo,

President of CityU, stressed the need to free one’s

imagination and dare to think radically in order

to achieve innovation, and argued that innovative ideas, solutions and new knowledge would be

found as long as the explorers are patient and never give up.

城大校長郭位教授4月在「2012-13年香港青少年科技創新大賽」頒獎典禮上致辭時表示，創新

的關鍵是不要束縛自己的想像力、敢於大膽思考，並指出只要有耐心和不放棄，就會找到新

想法、新方案、新知識。

Unique Japanese tea room opens at CityU 日本茶室落戶城大

A new tea room on campus, the first of its kind to be located at a university in Hong Kong, will serve

as a centre for promoting chado (the way of tea) and as a hub for promoting intercultural friendship

and understanding between Hong Kong and Japan. The tea room is a collaboration between CityU

and Chado Urasenke Tankokai Hong Kong Association, and will play an important role in promoting

our Gateway Education programme and East Asian cultural exchange activities.

城大與茶道裏千家淡交會香港協會合作，設立本港第一個設於大學校園的日本茶室。茶室取名

「友香庵」，旨在推廣茶道，促進香港與日本的文化交流，增進兩地的互相了解，有助推廣我

們的精進教育課程以及東亞文化交流活動。

Best Paper Award for new image search method 城大學生創網絡圖片搜尋新法奪

最佳論文獎

A computer science PhD student has proposed

a new data processing method that allows

a user to search through billions of pictures,

photos and images on the web at a faster

rate. This innovative technique won Tao Liang

the Best Paper Award at the 2012 Pacific-Rim

Conference on Multimedia, beating more

than 80 other research papers presented

at the event. He combines “image hashing”

and “Cauchy Graph” methods for a new data

processing technique that enhances large-

scale data analysis and results in a higher

speed of image retrieval.

城大電腦科學系博士生陶亮研究出處理圖像

數據的新方法，讓用戶在網絡上數十億幅圖

畫、照片、影像之中，更快速完成搜索而尋得

所需。陶亮將這項新方法寫成論文，提交予

2012年環太平洋地區多媒體學術會議，在80

多篇研究論文中脫穎而出，贏得最佳論文獎。

他結合了電腦科學中「圖像哈希算法」與「柯

西圖」兩種方法，創造出處理圖像數據的新方

法，藉此實現圖像高速檢索，並使電腦更容易

同時處理大規模數據集。

May 2013 7


Cover Story

Have you ever opened your refrigerator, taken out a pack of fish fillet or mince beef and wondered whether you should put the food in the frying pan or the rubbish bin? Millions of people around the world face hunger issues every day so you certainly do not want to waste the food. But you do not want to take a health risk, either. “If there was only a way to know,” you murmur.

By Mirror Fung

文：馮美玲

Detect the rot: sensors for food safety

In answer to your prayers, CityU scientist

Dr Michael Lam Hon-wah (opposite), Associate

Professor of the Department of Biology and

Chemistry, and his research team have found

a promising solution to detect the freshness of

food in the form of chemodosimeters, molecular

devices that interact with a specific group of

compounds, known as biogenic amines, which

are generated during the microbial degradation

of food.

“Essentially, the chemodosimeters that we are

developing are capable of recognising gaseous

biogenic amines and communicating the results

visually,” Dr Lam said. Biogenic amines are used

as biomarkers for spoiled foods. When food

is exposed to elevated temperatures over an

extended period, microorganisms will start to

grow and produce enzymes that can change

proteins and amino acids within the food into

these biogenic amines. For example, histamine

(a biogenic amine), the causative agent of

scombroid food poisoning, i.e. a contamination

linked to fish such as mackerel, bonito, and tuna,

increases as the seafood begins to spoil.

“The technology is based on molecular

ensemble theory and the chemodosimeter

is designed to detect specific odours. If the

amount of biogenic amine exceeds safety levels,

a warning signal is triggered,” Dr Lam added.

May 2013 9

封面專題

Furthermore, the chemodosimetric technology

developed by the CityU team can be tuned

to produce specific sensing responses to

other types of analytes, such as pesticides,

contaminants, and toxics in as little as one

minute.

The manufacture of table-top or hand-held

devices for food testing based on the CityU

team’s research offers convenient means of

checking for food quality and contamination.

These devices work by indicating the luminosity

of the molecular chemodosimeters by figures

or other formats after sampling the “smell”

produced by the food items under investigation.

The brighter the luminescence, the greater the

amount of biogenic amines present.

“We can also develop biogenic amine sensing

tags that change colour when detecting selective

biogenic amine molecules,” Dr Lam said. “These

tags do not need to come into contact with

food items, so they won’t constitute any food

contamination issue themselves.” These tags will

be very useful for pre-packed food stuffs.

Reliable results The beauty of chemodosimeters is that they

respond specifically to their targeted chemicals

in a cumulative manner, and yield physically

measurable signals that cannot be undone

once they have been triggered. In other words,

if a chemodosimeter suggests food might be

contaminated in some way, the visual marker

will remain clear, and will not fade over time.

This is in contrary to ordinary chemosensors

which respond to real-time concentrations of

chemicals. When those chemicals signaling food

spoilage have, for any reason, dissipated, the

warning responses of ordinary chemosensors

will die down. On the other hand, with the use of

chemodosimeters, the results of the food safety

test cannot be compromised at a later date. This

property is especially suitable for food safety

monitoring as food can become contaminated at

any stage during the production, transportation

or storage processes.

Fighting food-poisoning Dr Lam’s work is significant because this

kind of quick, simple and low-cost method

for monitoring the freshness of food has the

potential of reducing food poisoning world-wide.

For a healthier life Besides enhancing food safety, this

chemodosimetric approach can also be

applied to the early detection of illnesses,

too. Chemodosimeters can provide rapid

assessment of levels of selected biomolecules,

such as glutathione (GSH), cysteine (Cys) and

homocysteine (Hcys), that play crucial roles in

metabolism and homeostasis in our body.

GSH, Cys and Hcys are involved in many vital

biological functions such as the detoxification of

free radicals, the regulation of cell growth and

the maintenance of immune functions. More

specifically, the loss of GSH and Cys in the human

body is associated with AIDS, diabetes, and

Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, whereas

the elevation of plasma levels of the amino acid

Hcys has been linked to cardiovascular diseases,

strokes and cancer.

“In the future, we may be able to develop

versatile molecular probes that can selectively

recognise and detect a whole suite of molecular

markers and risk factors of various diseases in a

quick and easy way, taking major steps forward in

clinical diagnostics,” Dr Lam said.

”This kind of quick, simple and low-cost method for monitoring the freshness of food has the potential of reducing food poisoning world-wide.”

Cover Story


你曾否打開冰箱取出一包魚排或者碎牛肉，卻不知道應該把它放入煎鍋，還是扔進垃圾桶？世界上每天忍飢挨餓的人數以百萬計，你當然不願浪費食物，可是你也不想冒險自損健康。你對自己說：「要是有辦法知道，那該多好。」

為了使你的願望成真，城大的生物及化學系副

教授林漢華博士（第10頁）及其研究小組研發出

一種檢測食物新鮮度的新方法，運用稱為分子

傳感檢測器的小分子去偵測生物胺—即食物受

微生物分解時產生的一類特殊化合物，從而鑑

別食物是否變質。

林博士說：「我們研製的分子傳感檢測器能夠

識別多種氣態的生物胺，並以視覺形式顯示結

果。」食物長時間置於溫度較高的環境，微生

物就開始生長並產生酶，酶把食物裏的蛋白質

和氨基酸轉化成生物胺，因此生物胺被用作食

物變質的生物標誌。例如，組織胺（一種生物

胺）就是「鯖亞目魚類食物中毒」的致病物，

鯖魚、鰹魚、金槍魚等魚的肉開始腐敗時，組

織胺就會增加。

「這項技術以分子系綜理論為依據，設計出

可以偵知特定氣味的分子傳感檢測器。一旦測

出生物胺的數量超過安全水平，便會發出警告

訊號，」林博士補充說。

結果可靠

分子傳感檢測器的妙處在於它能以累計方式，

對特定的目標化學物質作出反應，並發出可量

度的、不可消除的訊號。換言之，檢測器若測

出食物可能受到某種污染，發出的視覺標誌會

一直保持清晰，不因時間消逝而黯淡。普通的

化學傳感器則不同，只能對化學物質的實時濃

度作出反應；顯示食物變質的化學物質若因故

消散，警告訊號亦隨之消失。與此相反，若使

用分子傳感檢測器，食物安全檢測的結果在日

後無法更改。這一特性尤其適用於監督食物安

全，因為食物在生產、運輸、儲存過程中的任

何階段都可能受到污染。

預防食物中毒

林博士的研究意義重大，因為這種監測食物新

鮮度的方法快速簡易、成本低廉，可望減少世

界各地的食物中毒事件。

不僅如此，城大研究團隊研發的分子傳感檢測

技術還可用於檢測農藥、污染物、毒素等其他

物質，並最快可在一分鐘內完成操作。

利用城大研究團隊的這項成果，可製成桌上式

或便攜式食物檢測儀，以供隨時檢查食物的品

質與污染情況。這些檢測儀可「辨別」受檢食

物散發出的「氣味」，將分子傳感檢測器的亮

度以數字或其他方式顯示。分子傳感檢測器的

亮度越高，則表示生物胺的數量越多。

林博士說：「在此基礎上，我們還可製成可感

測生物胺的標籤，一測出特定的生物胺分子就

會變色。標籤無須與食物接觸，因此不會污染

食物。」這種標籤非常適用於包裝好的食物。

增進健康，改善生活

除了提高食物安全，分子傳感檢測技術還可

用於疾病的早期檢測，快速評估穀胱甘肽、

半胱氨酸、高半胱氨酸等特定的生物分子的

水平，這些生物分子對人類的新陳代謝及體

內平衡至關重要。

很多必不可少的生物功能，例如自由基的解

毒、細胞生長的調節、免疫功能的維持，

都涉及穀胱甘肽、半胱氨酸、高半胱氨酸。

具體而言，人體內的穀胱甘肽和半胱氨酸減

少，與愛滋病、糖尿病、阿爾茲海默氏症

（認知障礙症）、柏金遜症有關；而血漿中的

高半胱氨酸（一種氨基酸）水平上升，則與多

種心血管疾病、中風、癌症有關。

「我們將來也許能夠研製出多功能的分子探

測器，以便用快速簡易的方法，識別和偵

測多種疾病的全部分子標誌物和致病風險因

素，有助臨床診斷上取得重大進步。」

「我們研製的分子傳感檢測器

能夠識別多種氣態的生物胺，

並以視覺形式顯示結果。」

封面專題

May 2013 11

Smart tags for food safety Meanwhile, another CityU team of food-safety experts is spearheading research into a highly sensitive technique.

Dr A L Roy Vellaisamy, Associate Professor from the Department of Physics and Materials Science, and his team have developed sensors based on thin film transistors (TFTs) that act as smart tags for food safety.

These sensors are made of thin films of semiconducting polymer, or a mixture of materials, to form composites. When gas molecules attach to the surface of the polymer, an electrical signal is sent out since these polymers are the active materials for the electronic device. “TFT-based sensors have great potential for a variety of applications, especially for gas sensors. The presence of certain types of amine molecules are detected by the signal from the electronic device,” said Dr Vellaisamy, explaining that these kinds of sensors are becoming more popular because of their high levels of sensitivity and selectivity.

“Our team has developed new materials and simple fabrication techniques for building sensitive TFT-based sensors. Our composites are easy to synthesise and inexpensive, and will be of great use for the quality control of food

products,” he added.

Cover Story

安全與否請看標籤

與此同時，城大另一組專家正在研究一項非常

靈敏的技術，同樣有助提升食物安全。

物理及材料科學系副教授A L Roy Vellaisamy

博士及其團隊以薄膜晶體管為材料，研製成一

種感測器，可用作智能標籤以確保食物安全。

這種感測器的材料是半導體聚合物（多種材料

混合而成的複合材料）薄膜。因為這些聚合物

本是用於電子裝置的活性材料，一旦有氣體分

子附着其表面，聚合物就會發出電訊號。

Vellaisamy 博士說：「薄膜晶體管製成的感測

器用途很廣，尤其適用於感測氣體。若有特定

的胺分子出現，感測器就可察覺，並發出訊

號。」他還解釋說，這類感測器日益流行，因

為靈敏度很高，選擇性很強。

「我們的小組已研發出新的材料和簡易的製造

技術，可用於製造高靈敏度的薄膜晶體管感

測器。我們的複合材料易於合成，成本低廉，

將來對食品製造中的品質控管很有用，」他補

充說。


By Joan Yip

文：葉佩芝

Know what you eatDo you really

know what you are eating? A new

set of tools developed by CityU gives you a clearer

idea of what is on your plate, and in addition ensures that the food

we eat is safe.

封面專題

May 2013 13

Cover Story

A research team led by Professor Cheng

Shuk Han (above) of the Department of

Biology and Chemistry has spent the last

two years developing technology that can

rapidly identify different meat species in food

products consisting of mixed meats.

These tools, which can reduce the

identification processing time by more

than 80%, come in the form of a specially

made “testing paper” that uses molecular

biotechnology to check the food. While

it takes 48 hours for conventional DNA

sequencing technology to do the same job,

Professor Cheng’s new process takes just

eight.

“We can authenticate the meat ingredients

against what the labels say on the packaging,

even for packaged sausages and meat balls

which can be made with mixed meats,”

Professor Cheng said. “Our technology is also

applicable to meat processed by different

methods, either raw or frozen meats.”

Not only can the new technology identify

multiple species, such as meat from pigs, cows,

sheep, horses, dogs, cats and mice, it can identify

these seven meat species in a single experiment.

Conventional methods for identification using

DNA sequencing target just one species at a time

and require extra experimental procedures for

identifying multiple species.

The technology can be developed further

to identify as many as 30 meat species at a

time, according to Professor Cheng, including

meats popular in Hong Kong. “In principle, this

technology can identify any species as long as it

has DNA. In the future, it will be possible to test

meat from chicken, duck and goose as well as

seafood like scallop, maw, abalone and shark’s

fin,” Professor Cheng said.

The first step in the verification process is to

extract a small amount of DNA from the food

sample, multiply it by molecular biotechnology

and inject it on the white test paper, Professor

Cheng explained. Tiny artificial structures called

“probes” developed to identify each different

meat species are placed on the surface of the test

paper. When the probe detects the DNA of the

target meat species, the test paper turns purple.

Because the innovative technology does not

require the usual complicated DNA sequencing

or data analysis, it significantly reduces testing

time compared to the DNA sequencing method.

Professor Cheng’s research team has verified

the ingredients against the labels for packaged

mixed pork and beef balls, minced pork

burger, shepherd’s pie made with mutton, and

pork sausage sold in markets. For the sake of

comparison, the team also tested a package

of “veggie meat balls” and confirmed no meat

ingredients were present.

The new technology will have a positive impact

on public health because of the potential

application in the area of monitoring the

ingredients in pre-packaged foods and animal

feed, Professor Cheng said.

“Hong Kong imports a lot of food each year.

This rapid identification technology can help

manufacturers and retailers verify the source of

the food. It can also provide better protection

for general consumers and people who have

food allergies or have special dietary needs for

religious reasons,” she added.

“In fact, China and many countries in North

America and Europe have stepped up control

on animal feed by banning the addition of

mammalian animal contents in order to prevent

the transmission of mad cow disease and

other infectious diseases. Our technology can

help identify whether there are any unlawful

ingredients in the animal feed,” she said.


封面專題

你真的知道自己吃的是什麼東西嗎？城大研發出一套新工具，讓你清楚知道自己吃的是什麼，還可確保食物安全。

城大生物及化學系鄭淑嫻教授（第14頁）及其團

隊潛心研究兩年，運用分子生物技術研發出一

種快速鑑定方法，可同時鑑定多種肉類混合製

成的食品成分。

這種嶄新的肉類成分快速鑑定技術，所需時間

比現有鑑定法縮短超過八成，僅須使用特製的

檢測試紙，即可在短短8小時內完成鑑定，而

現時常用的基因排序鑑定方法須耗費48小時。

鄭教授說：「即便是多種肉類混合製成的香

腸、肉丸等包裝食品，我們也可以鑑定其成分

是否確實如包裝上的標籤所述。我們的技術適

用於各種方法處理過的肉類，不管是生肉、雪

藏肉，成份都可鑑定出來。」

這項創新技術可以鑑定七種肉類，分別為豬、

牛、羊、馬、狗、貓、鼠等動物。食品樣本中

若混有多種肉類，新技術也可同時分別鑑定出

來。相對於每次只可檢測一種肉類的基因排序

鑑定方法，新技術可同時檢測上述七種肉類混

合的樣品，並分別鑑定出每一種成分。

這項技術再加改進後，可以一次過鑑定多達30

種肉類的成分，將來更可以擴大至其他常見食

用肉類。鄭教授說：「不論甚麼生物物種，只

要細胞中含有去氧核糖核酸，原則上就可以使

用這項技術。新技術的用途，將來可以擴大至

雞、鴨、鵝等禽肉，以及元貝、花膠、鮑魚、

魚翅等海產食品。」

鄭教授解釋說，鑑定過程的第一步，是從食物

樣本中提取少量去氧核糖核酸，經分子生物技

術複製倍增後，再用特製的試紙測試。試紙能

夠偵測出肉類成分，全因植入了鄭教授研製的

微細人造物質「探針」。針對每種肉類，鄭教

授及其團隊研製出特定的「探針」，一旦「探

針」偵測到其目標肉類的去氧核糖核酸，試紙

就會變色。這項創新技術無須進行繁複的去氧

核糖核酸排序和數據分析，因此鑑定所需的時

間比一般的基因排序鑑定方法大幅縮短。

研究團隊曾從市面買來一些已包裝的豬牛肉

丸、免治豬肉漢堡、羊肉批、豬肉腸，以新技

術鑑定之後，確定其包裝上標籤所述的肉類成

分屬實。為作比較，研究人員同時測試了一款

「素肉丸」，試紙沒有變色，即確定該食品名

副其實，果真不含肉類成分。

鄭教授認為，這項新技術對保障公眾健康大有

幫助，尤其適用於鑑定包裝食物和動物飼料的

成分。

「香港每年從外地進口不少食物，這項快速鑑

定工具有助食品製造商或零售商核實原材料成

分。不論是一般消費者，或是對某類食物過敏

的人、因宗教信仰而有特別飲食要求的人，權

益都可得到更好保障，」鄭教授說。

「此外，歐美各國和中國內地近年來加強監管

動物飼料，禁止在飼料中添加哺乳動物成分，

嚴防瘋牛症等傳染病的傳播。我們的快速鑑定

技術有助鑑定飼料，防止其中違規摻雜了不應

有的動物成分。」

「不論甚麼生物物種，只要細

胞中含有去氧核糖核酸，原則

上就可以使用這項技術。」

May 2013 15

Cover Story


Hong Kong generates over 1.3 million tonnes of food waste every year, which accounts for a third of municipal solid waste, the majority of which ends up in landfills. The problem is we are running out of space.

To combat this growing problem, environmental

scientists Dr Patrick Lee Kwan-hon and Dr Carol

Lin Sze-ki, both assistant professors in the School

of Energy and Environment at CityU, believe that

since it is organic by nature, leftovers have the

potential to address problems related to climate

change and contribute to a more sustainable

environment. Their research has led them to

create novel ways of turning food waste into

biofuel and biodegradable plastics.

With close to HK$1 million in funding from the

Research Grants Council, Dr Lee has embarked on

a study that uses a mixture of bacteria to create

bioenergy from food waste. The energy can be

used to generate heat and electricity, and at

the same time reduce the volume of food waste

destined for landfills by at least 50%.

Using advanced DNA sequencing technology,

Dr Lee and his research team have investigated

the unique biological features of individual

bacteria, looking at how they work together as

a group in an anaerobic environment (without

oxygen) to produce methane, a commonly

available fuel on earth and the main component

of natural gas. A combination of a few hundred

types of bacteria was identified in the study.

“Even though there are ‘evil’ bacteria that make

us sick, I believe the ‘good’ bacteria can help

us solve many energy and environmental

problems,” Dr Lee said, highlighting the

beautiful and intricate properties that microbes

often possess.

His research shows that the microbial process

produces methane that generates heat and

electricity, thus reducing our dependence on

fossil fuels. According to the team’s research

data, the amount of electricity generated

through this process could potentially cover

1 to 2% of local consumption if all the 1.3

million tonnes of food waste were converted.

The process has the benefit of significantly

reducing the amount of food waste and our

overall carbon footprint, Dr Lee said, adding

that at least 50% of the volume of our food

waste would be reduced during the conversion

to methane, a process which would lessen the

pressure on landfills. The remaining residue,

still rich in nutrients such as nitrogen and

phosphorous, could be turned into fertilisers

through composting, further decreasing this

volume by 75%.

From a carbon footprint perspective, this

transformation process could reduce 400

kilogrammes of carbon dioxide emissions for

every one tonne of food waste treated,

mainly as a result of the consumption

By Karen Cheng

文：鄭誼群

Food waste converted into green products廚餘出產品環保獻新猷

封面專題

May 2013 17

”The process has the benefit of significantly reducing the amount of food waste and our overall carbon footprint.”

Dr Patrick Lee Kwan-hon李鈞瀚博士

of the methane produced. The carbon that is

stored in the residue cannot be further degraded

and released to the atmosphere.

In another pioneering piece of research, Dr Lin

has developed a biorefinery process that utilises

enzymes and bacteria to convert food waste

into succinic acid, a chemical widely used in the

production of platform chemicals (chemicals that

form the basis of compounds found at home and

in industry) and bioplastics.

The biorefinery process provides an alternative

to incinerating dumped food, a process that

releases a lot of pollutants into the atmosphere,

said Dr Lin, effectively turning something

supposedly useless into something useful.

During the process, food waste is first blended

with certain enzyme-secreting fungi to break

down the carbohydrates into simple sugars,

and proteins into nitrogen compounds. Bacteria

are then added to the sugars to undergo

fermentation which in turn produces succinic

acid. The acid can then be used to make products

ranging from food packaging to fabrics, paints,

car seats, and even medicine.

Dr Lin and her research team have applied the

process to bakery products and found the results

very promising. For every 1,000 kilogrammes

of bakery products (cakes, pastry, bread slices)

processed, between 100 kilogrammes and 240

kilogrammes of succinic acid are produced. The

team also tested the technology on mixed food

waste obtained from restaurants and found it to

be equally effective.

According to Dr Lin, there is a high demand

worldwide for succinic acid given its wide usage,

but its current production from petroleum

consumes a lot of energy and is not sustainable.

Using food waste is a viable and cost-effective

solution with many benefits.

“This novel strategy reduces the environmental

burden of food waste, provides a partial solution

to biochemical production requirements, and

produces a potential income from a waste

resource,” Dr Lin said.

She added this technology can be adopted

by any food chain anywhere in the world, and

believed it would be profitable, although it

depends on the scale.

“I hope the Hong Kong government can start

to utilise food waste for the manufacture of

value-added products as part of its strategy

of tackling the food waste problem, and for

the environmentally friendly production of

alternative platform chemicals in the near future,”

Dr Lin said.

Echoing Dr Lin, Dr Lee said he also hoped that

he can tap into the unexplored microbial world

using advanced technology and techniques

to find solutions to some of our energy and

environmental problems.

With the technologies ready, both scientists

now hope to move beyond the stage of proof

of concept in the laboratory and put them into

practical use.

Food waste廚餘

Anaerobic biological process微生物處理法

Methane甲烷

Energy能源

Biosolids polishing剩餘生物固體

Soil amendments肥料

Cover Story


Dr Carol Lin Sze-ki連思琪博士

+ +

香港每年產生約130萬噸廚餘，佔本港都市固體廢物的三分之一，大部分最終須埋入垃圾堆填區，但可用之地日少。

環境科學家李鈞瀚博士與連思琪博士認為，廚

餘原是有機物，可以利用來應對氣候變化帶來

的一些問題，營造一個較可持續的環境。城大

能源及環境學院的這兩位助理教授發明了新方

法，可將廚餘轉化為生物燃料，也可製成生物

降解塑膠。

李博士得到研究資助局近100萬港元撥款，已

着手研究如何利用多種細菌的組合將廚餘轉化

為生物能源，用以發熱發電，同時將原本須埋

入垃圾堆填區的廚餘數量最少減至一半。

李博士及其研究團隊用先進的基因排序技術考

察多種細菌的生物學特性，觀察它們在缺氧

環境下如何協力產生甲烷（地球上一種常見燃

料，也是天然氣的主要成分），最終找到包含數

百種細菌的一個組合。

李博士說：「『壞』細菌會令人生病，但我認

為亦有『好』細菌能幫助我們解決很多能源與

環境問題。」他特地指出微生物常有複雜的、

對人有益的特性。

李博士和研究團隊發明的微生物處理法能夠製

造甲烷用於發熱發電，從而減輕人類對化石燃

料的依賴。研究數據顯示，若以此法將本港的

130萬噸廚餘全部轉化為能源，可望滿足本地

所需用電量的百分之一至二。

這種處理法的好處是使廚餘數量和二氧化碳排

放總量銳減。李博士解釋說，廚餘產生甲烷

後，其體積至少可減少一半，減輕垃圾堆填區

的負擔。剩下的殘留物仍含有豐富的氮、磷等

養料，因此可經由堆肥過程而製成肥料，再將

廚餘體積減少七成半。

以碳排放量而論，這一方法每處理一噸廚餘便

可減少排放400公斤二氧化碳，主要因為產生

的甲烷用於發電，可減少燃燒化石燃料而減少

排碳，其次是因為藏於製造甲烷後的殘留物中

的碳元素不可再分解而釋放到大氣中。

在另一項開創性研究中，連思琪博士發明了一

種生物煉製方法，使用酶和細菌把廚餘轉化為

丁二酸，這種化學物料廣泛用於製造平台化學

品（即製造家用及工業用化合物的基礎原料）與

生物塑膠。連博士說，焚化廚餘會把大量污染

物排入大氣，而生物煉製法卻別開蹊徑，可謂

化廢為寶。

生物煉製法首先把某些分泌酶的真菌混入廚

餘，將碳水化合物分解成單糖，將蛋白質分

解成含氮化合物，然後在單糖中加入細菌，經

發酵而產生丁二酸。丁二酸可用來製造許多產

品，例如食品包裝材料、織物、油漆、車廂座

椅，甚至用於製藥。

Fungus真菌

Simple sugars and a nitrogen compound

單糖及含氮化合物

Bacteria細菌

Succinic acid丁二酸

Bioplastics生物塑膠

連博士與研究團隊用這種方法處理烘焙食

品，結果令人鼓舞，每1,000公斤糕點麵包

的碎屑可製成100到240公斤丁二酸。研究團

隊還用此法處理餐廳的混合廚餘，發現同樣

有效。

據連博士介紹，丁二酸用途廣泛，全球需求

很大，但目前主要取自石油，其製取過程消

耗大量能源而不能持續發展。用廚餘生產丁

二酸不但本小利大，而且益處甚多，是可行

的方法。

連博士說：「這種新技術可減輕廚餘對環境的

危害，也可滿足生物化學生產的部分需要，

還能變廢物為資源而從中得益。」她還說這

項技術可用於世界各地的任何食物鏈，並認

為只要有足夠的生產規模，可帶來利潤。

連博士說：「我希望香港政府開始用廚餘製

造可增值的產品，將此列為解決廚餘問題的

一個策略，而且不久後以此製造無害於環境

的平台化學品。」

李博士與連博士有同感，他說自己也希望運

用先進的科技去探索未知的微生物世界，為

某些能源與環保問題找出答案。

所需的技術已經齊備，兩位科學家都希望，

完成實驗室內的概念驗證之後，可進而

將技術付諸實用。

Food waste廚餘

封面專題

May 2013 19

Through the Lens


入讀城大的非本地學生，無論是短期交換生還是修讀全日制課程的學

生，都有機會深入體驗歷史悠久的中華文化，尤其是學習書法的藝術、

解讀中文的奧秘；二者都源遠流長，學生藉此可領略往古的經典藝術和

哲理。

Non-local students coming to CityU on exchanges or as full-time students

can immerse themselves in the rich history of Chinese culture, especially

learning the subtle art of calligraphy and how to read Chinese characters,

both of which are time-honoured practices that connect students today

with classical art and philosophy of the past.

Photo: Sunny Wong

攝影：黃新源

光影世界

A brush with cultural exchange

漢字傳文化翰墨促交流

May 2013 21

By Michael Gibb

文：鄭智友

An international dimension to campus teaching 校園教與學增添國際化


Professional Education & Research

The Graduate Teaching Assistants, or GTAs as they are known, are a strategic

feature of the University’s International Transition Team set up to boost our

international profile by adding a fresh dimension to campus.

“The GTA scheme is strengthening our teaching and research activities

as well as creating a cadre of ambassadors for CityU and for Hong Kong,”

said Professor Arthur Ellis, Provost of CityU. “The GTAs are all skilled

communicators in English and can provide intensive support to help CityU

students enhance their English proficiency through face-to-face contact,

mentoring and tutoring.”

The scheme includes postdoctoral scholars and individuals who have

completed a first degree from an overseas academic institution. They are

assigned duties in the English Language Centre (ELC), Department of

English (EN), or other hosting academic units.

Dr Pieter Tibboel (opposite, right) is one such postdoc, originally from

the Netherlands, and now helping CityU students with one-on-one

consultations in the ELC.

“I spend time working with them on their

reports, directing them to useful self-access

resources and encouraging them to improve

their written English,” said Dr Tibboel, who

taught maths and English in Chongqing before

joining CityU.

His training in science is particularly welcomed

by CityU science majors who can learn from

Dr Tibboel’s expertise in high level mathematic

concepts. With a background in orthogonal

polynomials and Riemann-Hilbert problems, he

is also collaborating with Dr Dan Dai of CityU’s

Department of Mathematics in addition to his

teaching duties.

Mr Julian Chase (opposite, left) also brings with

him a wealth of teaching expertise gleaned

from a number of different settings as well as

They come from all over the world, from different academic and professional backgrounds, and they are bringing their life experience and rich scholarship and knowledge of the workplace to motivate and guide young people at CityU.

An international dimension to campus teaching

May 2013 23

專業教育與研究

GTA categories

Category AVisiting research students who are registered in postgraduate programmes overseas and wish to do collaborative research

with CityU staff. They are full-time GTAs and may be enrolled as part-time Visiting Research Students of CityU. They are

affiliated with the academic unit in which they are doing postgraduate work and receive mentoring from that unit.

Category BPostdoctoral Fellows who hold a PhD degree. They can collaborate on research projects with CityU scholars and undertake

some language support duties in the ELC or EN, or in their home academic unit in consultation with the ELC/EN.

Category CGraduates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree from local and/or overseas universities. They work as full-time staff

members in the ELC or in EN.



professional experience in the business world. In

addition to secondary school teaching in Austria

and the former Czechoslovakia, Mr Chase spent

more than a decade in the world of professional

publishing, primarily in sales and marketing.

“I can see that the ELC runs very well-structured

courses that greatly support the needs of the

students,” said Mr Chase. “The Language Clinic is

brilliant! It is a great opportunity for them to get

one-to-one advice on their written English, and

for language instructors to go over the nuts and

bolts of the students’ work.”

Altogether there are about 60 GTAs currently working at CityU under three

different arrangements (see box below), spread across campus in different

academic units.

“The GTA scheme is an important part of our new 4-year Discovery-

enriched Curriculum,” said Professor Ellis, “especially as students have

to complete six credit units of Gateway Education in English.” Gateway

Education, or GE, complements the specialised training students receive

in their majors, offering them breadth of knowledge and exposure to

multiple disciplines.

But the GTA scheme offers more than just support in technical aspects of

the students’ written and spoken English. For example, the ELC’s Practical

Language Activities are a great opportunity for students to interact with

the GTAs on a more personal level. For instance, Ms Melanie Zee (previous

page, centre), who has experience in hotel management training, helps

to run a series of clubs throughout the day in the ELC on areas such as

conversational English and pronunciation workshops.

“We build up a very strong bond with the students, and it is a great chance

for them to ask us about our background,” said Ms Zee, who was born

in Hong Kong and moved to Toronto when she was four years old. “We

become very good friends so I think we help the students a lot, not just

in terms of language development but also by sharing our culture and

opinions. We become like family.”

確實有用的自學資源，鼓勵他們提高英語寫作

能力。」在加入城大之前，他曾經在重慶教過

數學和英語。

Tibboel博士的科學教育素養特別受城大理工科

學生歡迎，他在高等數學概念上的深厚造詣令

他們受益匪淺。Tibboel博士對正交多項式及

黎曼—希爾伯特問題向有研究，授課之餘，他

還與數學系的代丹博士合作研究。

另一位教學助理Julian Chase先生（第23頁，

左）從事過多種職業，擁有商界的專業經驗，

因此具備豐富的教學技能。他曾在奧地利和前

捷克斯洛伐克的中學任教，並且在專業出版領

域有逾十年的經驗，主要從事市場推廣及營

銷。

Chase先生說：「我覺得英語中心的課程結構非

常完善，能充分滿足學生的需求。精『英』互

動廊十分出色，學生到這裏，英語寫作就能得

到一對一的輔導，而且語言導師可以檢查到學

生功課的具體細節，多好的機會啊！」

城大目前約有60名研究生教學助理，分為三個

類別（參看下表），分屬全校多個學術部門。

他們來自世界各地，學術與專業的背景各有不同；他們帶來生活經驗、豐富的學識、職場的知識，在城大激勵和指引青年學子。

他們就是「研究生教學助理」（英文簡稱為

GTA）。城大國際銜接團隊推出這項計劃，目

的是要為大學增加生力軍，從整體上促進城大

的國際化。

城大學務副校長李博亞教授說：「推行研究生

教學助理計劃有助於增強城大的教學與科研活

動，同時為城大為香港培養一批與國際社會溝

通的大使。所有研究生教學助理都善於使用英

語交流，能夠透過面對面的溝通、傳授與指

導，提供有力的支援，幫助城大學生提升運用

英語的能力。」

這項計劃聘請博士後研究人員和已在海外學府

獲學士學位者，安排他們到英語中心、英文系

或其他學術部門任職。

Pieter Tibboel博士（第23頁，右）就是這樣一

位博士後研究人員。他來自荷蘭，目前在英語

中心以一對一的輔導方式幫助城大學生。他

說：「我與他們一起撰寫報告，指導他們使用

李博亞教授說：「研究生教學助理計劃是城大

新開設的四年制『重探索求創新課程』的重要

組成部分。修讀新課程的學生，要修讀精進教

育課程中的英文科目，取得六個學分，因此這

個計劃很重要。」精進教育課程讓學生，接觸

主修科之外的多個學科，增廣知識，是對主修

科專業知識的補充。

不過，這項計劃並非止於提升學生的英語寫作

和口語技能。例如，英語中心的實用英語活動

就給了學生大好機會，與教學助理在更加個人

化的層面互動交流。在酒店管理培訓方面經驗

豐富的徐文淇女士（第23頁，中）就是一個好

例子，她全天幫忙管理英語中心的多個學習小

組，其中有英語會話班和發音研習班。

徐女士出生於香港，四歲時移居加拿大多倫

多。她指出：「我們與學生建立了非常緊密的

聯繫，他們有很好的機會詢問了解我們的背

景，我們成了很好的朋友。所以我認為，我們

對學生的幫助很大，不僅是增進語文能力，還

可以分享我們的文化與觀點。大家就像一家人

一樣。」

研究生教學助理類別

甲類

正就讀海外研究生課程，希望與城大教學、研究人員合作研究的訪問研究生。他們是全職的研

究生教學助理，亦可註冊成為城大的兼職訪問研究生。他們屬於相關學術部門，在該部門繼續

其研究生學業並接受指導。

乙類

已獲得博士學位的博士後研究員。他們可與城大學者合作研究，同時在城大英語中心或英文系

提供語言支援，亦可與英語中心或英文系磋商後在他們所屬的學術部門提供語言服務。

丙類

本港或海外大學的學士或碩士，他們在英語中心或英文系全職工作。


May 2013 25

Happiness and humour in the classroom and beyond

By Allen Zhuang

文：莊開仁課堂內外的幸福與幽默



What makes us happy? Why do we laugh? What factors contribute to forming positive emotions in our lives?

CityU students can find answers to these

questions in two new Gateway Education (GE)

courses that will be launched in the first semester

of the academic year of 2013–14: “Understanding

and Managing Your Happiness” and “Humour and

Everyday Life”.

The first of these two courses helps students

understand happiness and handle it for their

own good, in line with CityU’s emphasis on

whole-person education. The content has

been developed by Dr Yue Xiaodong, Associate

Professor in the Department of Applied Social

Studies, and Dr Reuben Mondejar, Associate

Professor in the Department of Management.

The students study the topic from philosophical,

psychological, sociological, biological and even

religious perspectives, discovering for themselves

how happiness is perceived and how the very

concept of “happiness” is formed.

They will also have a chance to debate, question

and analyse the multitude of factors that create

feelings of happiness, such as a sense of well-

being, humour, gratitude and faith.

“They also learn to form positive emotions that

make for a better mind and heart, both for the

benefit of themselves and that of society,” said

Dr Yue, a psychologist specialising in humour

therapy and creativity who trained at Harvard

University. He is also the course coordinator for

the second of the happiness/humour courses run

as part of the suite of GE courses.

The aim of this second course, developed by

Dr Qian Jun, Associate Professor in the

Department of Chinese, Translation and

Linguistics, and Dr Louisa Wei Shiyu, Associate

Professor in the School of Creative Media, is to

analyse the importance of a sense of humour,

in particular why humour is usually seen as a

desirable aspect in a young person’s character,

as well as a factor contributing to one’s general

happiness.

Both courses embody the interdisciplinary drive

that CityU is promoting through its new 4-year

Discovery-enriched Curriculum. For example,

the happiness course encourages students to

approach the topic as a subject in the social

sciences, and at the same time it inspires them

”The aim of this second course is to analyse the importance of a sense of humour, in particular why humour is usually seen as a desirable aspect in a young person’s character.”

May 2013 27


Dr Yue Xiaodong岳曉東博士

Dr Louisa Wei Shiyu魏時煜博士

Dr Qian Jun錢俊博士

to “manage” their own happiness. The course

on humour is no less interdisciplinary, exposing

students to comparative literature, creative

media and psychology.

The interdisciplinarity is seen clearly in the

backgrounds of the academics who developed

the courses. Dr Qian, understandably, brings to

the course a literary perspective. His PhD is in

comparative literature from the University of

California, Berkeley.

“According to the late Lin Yutang, a well-known

writer and literary critic in China, a sense of

humour is latent in the Chinese, and they express

it in a more subtle way perhaps than people do

in other cultures,” he said. One of the aims of the

course, he added, is to discover “hidden” humour

and express it more explicitly.

His collaborator, Dr Wei, a researcher, film

director, screen writer and producer, also brings

a highly creative angle to the course, facilitating

humorous video clips that the students shoot for

their presentations.

There is a strong emphasis on society in the

course, too. The students will conduct surveys

to find out about elements of humour in their

everyday lives and in the communities around

them. They will receive training in multi-media

techniques for their group projects and carry

out creative tasks involving IT-based design and

production.

From a management perspective, Dr Mondejar

relates happiness to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy

of human needs, arguing that students are likely

to benefit from viewing happiness as a factor

that requires organisation and supervision. In

other words, happiness is not something that

will necessarily take care of itself.

Dr Yue agreed: “One of the reasons I wanted to

start this course is that I took a course at Harvard

on ‘positive psychology’ which I thought was

very beneficial for me and the others on the

course.”

The effect of the positive energy created in these

courses, and the humour generated, will surely

be felt throughout campus.



Dr Reuben Mondejar文德彬博士

是什麼令我們幸福？我們為什麼笑？我們生活中的積極情緒從何而來？

對於城大學生，問題的答案可見於2013-14

學年新開設的兩門精進教育科目：「幸福人生

課」、「幽默與日常生活」。

「幸福人生課」秉承城大強調的全人教育理

念，幫助學生理解幸福，並把握自己的幸福。

科目的設計者，是應用社會科學系的副教授岳

曉東博士和管理學系的副教授文德彬博士。

學生修讀這門課，須從哲學、心理學、社會

學、生物學乃至宗教等多個學科視角去理解，

親自考察「幸福」如何為人所感受，並探究

「幸福」這一概念是怎樣形成的。

他們也將有機會去討論、質疑、分析所謂「幸

福感」的眾多成因，例如身心安寧感、幽默

感、感恩之心、信仰等等。

岳博士說：「他們還將學會如何培養有益身心

的樂觀積極情緒，既對自己有益，也對社會有

利。」岳博士曾求學於哈佛大學，是專研幽默

療法與創造力的心理學家。另一門課探討「幽

默」，科目統籌也是岳博士。

「幽默與日常生活」的設計者，是中文、翻譯

及語言學系的副教授錢俊博士與創意媒體學院

的副教授魏時煜博士。這門課旨在分析幽默感

的重要意義，尤其是分析為何「幽默」通常被

視為年輕人的性格優點，而且有助於提升一個

人整體上的幸福感。

兩門課都跨越多個學科，而注重跨學科正是城

大推行的新四年制「重探索求創新課程」的一

大特色。例如，「幸福人生課」鼓勵學生將幸

福當作一個社會科學的課題去探討，同時啓發

他們「管理」好自己的幸福。「幽默與日常生

活」也一樣跨越多個學科，促使學生涉獵比較

文學、創意媒體、心理學等知識。

這兩門課的跨學科性質，從幾位設計者的學養

中可以明顯反映出來。錢博士求學於加州大學

柏克萊分校，獲比較文學博士學位，他以文學

的視角呈現科目內容，自然是不言而喻。

錢博士說：「已故著名作家兼文學批評家林語

堂曾說，中國人的幽默感是隱而不露的，他們

的幽默方式，也許比其他文化背景的人來得含

蓄。」他還說，這門課有一個目的，就是要發

現「隱藏的」幽默，把它明白表現出來。

與他合作的魏博士既是研究人員，也是電影

導演、編劇、製作人；她也為這門課引入一

個別出心裁的修讀方式，就是要求學生攝製

幽默有趣的短片，並放映演示。

這門課亦十分注重社會實踐。學生要從事調

查，找出自己日常生活中、周圍人群中的幽

默元素；還要接受多媒體技術的訓練，以便

完成小組習作，運用資訊科技設計製作富有

創意的音像作品。

合作講授「幸福人生課」的文德彬博士從管

理學着眼，將「幸福」與美國心理學家亞伯

拉罕·馬斯洛的人類需求層次理論相聯繫。

他認為，應把幸福看成需要安排、監管的一

個因素，學這門課才能從中受益。換言之，

幸福不會無故自來。

岳博士說：「我立意開設這門課有一個原

因：我在哈佛時曾修讀一門『積極心理

學』，覺得它對我自己和修課的同學都非常

有益。」

兩門課激發的積極精神和活力，及其鼓勵的

幽默，必將浮現於校園每個角落。

「他們還將學會如何培養有益

身心的樂觀積極情緒，既對自

己有益，也對社會有利。」


May 2013 29


創新火焰照亮校園

Project

sparks social innovation

By Eliza Lee

文：李珮珊

FLAMEFLAME


Over the past few years there has been a significant rise in the number of entrepreneurs trying to find new ways to help people solve social problems by themselves. An example of this kind of “social enterprise” is the Grameen Bank founded by the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist who has helped millions of impoverished families in his native country.

Social enterprises have also made tremendous

headway in Hong Kong in recent years. According

to the 2012 Social Enterprise Directory compiled by

the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, nearly

400 local social enterprises are currently engaged

in different types of businesses. To further promote

the concept of social innovation and social

entrepreneurship, CityU launched the campus-wide

Project Flame in 2012–13. Around 30 staff members

from 17 academic and administrative departments

are involved.

“To meet different social needs such as in the

environment, education and public health, we

need to combine innovative ideas and policies, and

use new technologies to make positive societal

changes. This is what we call ‘Social Innovation’,”

said Professor Linda Wong Lai Yeuk-lin from the

Department of Public and Social Administration,

who is also the director of the project.

Many people are under the misapprehension that

social enterprises help only the unemployed or

the underprivileged, according to Professor Wong,

with few people understanding that the mission

of social enterprises is to fulfill the real needs of

society. That is why Project Flame aims to help

the public better understand the true meaning of

setting up a social enterprise and the importance

of social innovation.

“CityU is the first local university to set up a social

innovation education project in Hong Kong. The

project nurtures students’ social innovation ideas

through interdisciplinary education, encouraging

the ability to perceive, explore and innovate so

that they can integrate knowledge gained from

different disciplines to solve social problems and

facilitate the sustainable development of society,”

she said.

”The project nurtures students’ social innovation ideas through interdisciplinary education, encouraging the ability to perceive, explore and innovate.”

May 2013 31


and CEO of Education for Good, and Ms Ada Wong

Ying-kay, Convener of Make a Difference and

The Good Lab, to share their ideas about social

innovation with teachers, students and alumni.

Through the events of the Social Enterprise New

Year Festival @CityU 2013 and “Photo with a

Message” Photo Contest @CityU 2013, the project

encouraged CityU teachers and students to

care about society and reflect on ways to solve

social problems. The two Gateway Education

courses introduced by the project in the second

semester of 2012–13 have been very well received

across campus by students who participated in

interdisciplinary discussions in class and worked

together to develop new ideas of social innovation.

The flame of the project has burned even hotter

recently. The Hand2Spot for trading second-hand

items has been established on campus, the first

of its kind in local universities. Aiming to promote

the re-use of products, Hand2Spot encourages

teachers and students not to dispose of items too

easily or make unnecessary purchases. Rather, they

may donate unwanted items such as books and

small electrical appliances, or put them on sale as

consignments. An administrative fee of HK$10 will

be charged for consignments, and items overdue

for collection will be given to the needy for free.

“The daily operation of Hand2Spot is managed

by CityU students so that they can learn about

the principle and administration of the social

enterprise – fostering the residual value of usable

items and promoting their re-use,” said Mr Timothy

Ma Kam-wah, Executive Director of the project.

Mr Ma added that each year student residence halls

receive a lot of unwanted items such as electric

kettles and duvets. Hand2Spot is just the right place

to find new owners for these usable items. “Like

any other social enterprises, Hand2Spot will operate

on a self-financing basis that fulfills the needs of

society,” Mr Ma said.

Please visit the Hand2Spot website for detail

http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/sa_flame/hand2spot/.

In line with the professional education

embedded within CityU’s Discovery-enriched

Curriculum, the project enhances students’

personal growth and boosts competitiveness,

preparing the way for participants to become

future leaders ready to act for, and initiate

changes within, society, she added.

The project provides a platform for exchange

and collaboration between the researchers at

CityU engaged in research or teaching related to

social enterprises. It consists of four components:

academic and professional education, research

and knowledge transfer, social innovation

incubation, and student service leadership.

Many activities have been organised since the

launch of the project. The Social Entrepreneurs

in Residence at CityU invited Professor Andreas

Heinecke, founder of the renowned social

enterprise “Dialogue in the Dark”, Dr Tse Ka-kui,

founder of the Social Entrepreneurship Forum



近年來湧現不少熱心社會公益的創業者，他們善用創新方法助人自助，解決種種社會問題。經濟學家穆罕默德 •

尤努斯博士就是一例，他創立的「鄉村銀行」幫助孟加拉國內數以百萬計的家庭擺脫了貧窮，因此獲得2006年諾貝爾和平獎。

社會企業（社企）近年在本地發展壯大，根據

香港社會服務聯會《社企指南2012》的資料，

本港已有近400家社企，經營多種類型的業

務。城大在2012-13學年啟動「火焰計劃」，

17個學系及部門的近30名教職員參與其中，

率先在校園內提倡社會創新及社會企業家

精神。

公共及社會行政學系黃黎若蓮教授擔任「火焰

計劃」總監，她解釋說：「為滿足環境、教

育、公共衛生等多方面的社會需求，我們必須

有新構思、新策略，並藉助新科技來創業、經

營，以此促進社會進步，這就是我們所說的

『社會創新』。」黃教授還說，當前許多人認

為這類企業的目的只是扶助失業人士等弱勢社

群，卻很少有人明白社企的理念在於滿足社會

的真正需要。「火焰計劃」旨在幫助大家認識社

企理念的真諦，並看到社會創新的重要意義。

黃教授進一步解釋道：「在香港高教界，城大首

開先例，設立了一個社會創新教育計劃。我們

的『火焰計劃』要推行跨學科的教育，培養學

生的『社會創新力』，也即洞察力、探索精神、

創新能力，以便將來能將多學科的知識融會貫

通，用來解決社會問題，推動社會持續發展。

『火焰計劃』配合城大『重探索求創新課程』

中各專業科目的教學，促使學生全面成長，增

強競爭力，未來成長為胸懷社會責任的企業領

袖，促成社會創新。」

城大已有不少教職員從事與社企有關的研究或

教學，如今「火焰計劃」更可促進他們彼此交

流合作。「火焰計劃」包含四大內容：專業及學

術發展、研究及知識轉移、社會創新的培育、

學生服務領袖才能的訓練。

計劃啟動以來舉辦了多項活動，包括「社

會企業家駐城大」，也即邀請國際著名社

會企業「黑暗中對話」的創辦人Andreas

Heinecke 教授、香港社會創業論壇主席

兼仁人學社總監謝家駒博士、「MaD創不

同」兼「好單位」召集人黃英琦女士等

來到城大校園，與師生、校友討論社會創

新。此外，還組織了「社企年宵在城大」

及「相片的故事」等活動，鼓勵師生關心

社會，並思考解決社會問題的創新途徑。

在2012-13學年的下學期，「火焰計劃」推

出兩個大獲好評的精進教育科目，使各學

院、各學系的學生得以共聚一堂討論跨學

科的議題，一同構思社會創新的途徑。

這個計劃的火焰越來越熾熱。不久前，

「火焰計劃」設立全港第一家在大學環境

下營運的企業—網上二手交易平台「手易

點」，提倡物盡其用，鼓勵師生不要隨便丟

棄物品，也減少非必需的購物。城大師生

可向「手易點」捐贈或寄售多餘的物品，

如書籍、小電器等，以供有需要的師生選

購。「手易點」收取港幣10元的手續費作

為行政開支；逾期未取的物品則捐贈給社

會上有需要的人。

「火焰計劃」行政總監馬錦華先生說：

「『手易點』的日常營運由城大學生負責，

他們藉此實踐社企的理念，學會愛惜物

資、循環再用。」馬先生又說，每個學年

結束時，學生宿舍就收集到不少仍可用的

棄置物品，如電熱水壺、羽絨被等，「手易

點」正好為這些物品尋找新主人。「和其他

社企一樣，『手易點』自負盈虧，同時為社

會服務，」馬先生說。

欲知「手易點」的運作詳情，請瀏覽網

頁：http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/sa_flame/

hand2spot/。

「『火焰計劃』旨在幫助大家

認識社企理念的真諦，並看到

社會創新的重要意義。」

May 2013 33


My gateway to teaching GE

By Mr Raymond Wong Wai-man

Lecturer, Division of Building Science and Technology

文：王煒文先生

建築科技學部講師

我的通識教育之路

In the Know


During my three years at college, I spent a lot of

time in the library after finishing my homework.

My list of after-school reading included a rich

variety of books I was interested in, such as

popular books on literature, history, philosophy,

fine art, design and art-related books. At the

beginning of my second year, I formally enrolled

on a two-year night course in design. When I

graduated at the end of the third year, I had

obtained two diplomas.

I started my career in the field of construction

management. As was the normal practice, I

secured a license and became a professional. Ten

years later I was employed as a teacher, giving

courses in the management of construction

technology. A teacher’s work was flexible

without too much involvement in administrative

chores. I employed my leisure by organising

many extra-curricular activities, interest groups

and lectures for my students. I even volunteered

to serve as a student adviser. What’s more, I

spent time writing essays and prose and took an

interest in writing. These were non-paying jobs,

but I took a delight in my voluntary work. Those

six years are sweet memories.

I started to work at CityU in 1992 just as Hong

Kong was starting to build a new airport at Chek

Lap Kok. This was an unprecedented project for

Hong Kong. It included building the terminals,

the Tsing Ma Bridge, the airport railway and

the West Kowloon Land Reclamation. My

involvement was accidental, but I quickly

became interested in this grand construction

project, and visiting the construction sites

gradually became an important part of my

teaching and research work. Over the last 20

years I have visited many construction sites,

taken a lot of pictures, extending from an

individual project to the whole railway system

and the building of new towns, from the study

of the infrastructure to that of the whole city,

from Hong Kong to the mainland, the Asia-

Pacific region and European and American

cities.

I expanded the focus of my investigation from

construction development to the cultural

phenomena of the whole city and society.

To my great surprise, after a dozen years of

persistent work, I have become an “expert”

in construction science and technology. The

investigation and study of projects and urban

construction have become my great passion.

People feel satisfied when their knowledge

and experience are brought into full play. At

the beginning, I summed up my experience

and wrote articles on the chance that they

One’s personality and interests are both important factors in determining one’s career and personal development. I stumbled onto my future path over 40 years ago. While studying at a junior high school, I found after-school reading an enlightening hobby. The popular science series entitled Hundred Thousands Whys gave a lot of tips on astronomy, geography and other natural science subjects. I am one of the many who benefitted from this excellent primer on general education. After I started senior high school, I extended the range of my after-school reading. I broadened my horizons through reading in literature, history, politics, popular philosophy and even war memoirs.

專家妙筆

May 2013 35

might get published. Later I made full use of my

limited research funds to establish a homepage

as a platform to store my working materials and

achievements internally and compare notes

and communicate with peers externally. This

multiple work of mine, though disorderly in

appearance, was consolidated over time. With

the wider circle of like-minded people, my work

and contributions became more substantial

and acquired a far-reaching significance. My

homepage, which was casually established over

ten years ago, has become a “world-renowned”

webpage in the circles of construction and

engineering.

After the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, I

volunteered for some rebuilding projects. I was

mainly in charge of the supervision of school

rebuilding. As a result, I established a working

relationship within local educational circles

there. Later I was invited to give lectures at

various schools and educational institutions. I

named my lecture series as “Talks on Academic

Topics from the Angle of General Education”.

The topics ranged from urban construction,

the relationship between the mainland and

Hong Kong, national development, social and

economic phenomena to cultural conservation.

Two years ago, in preparation for the curriculum

reform in Hong Kong, the University asked

teachers to offer new Gateway Education (GE)

courses. Drawing on my own experience, I fully

supported this concept. I worked out four GE

courses and submitted two to the management

team. Both were approved, and I began to offer

these two courses last year.

GE can be understood as educating students

with extensive general knowledge. The courses

encourage the students to become far-sighted

and perceptive. With the cultivation of an

acute mind and through shrewd observation,

they are able to establish ties between related

matters, feelings and reasoning, thus giving rise

to new ideas, associations and creative ideas;

i.e. learning by analogy. This is the purpose,

value and significance of GE. In order to acquire

interdisciplinary knowledge, students should

not stick to one pattern and should avoid rigid

or pedantic thinking. Otherwise, they will fail to

understand the true essence of the matter.

I, as well as modern society as a whole, have

embarked on a path of developing GE. Please

allow me to quote a sentence from Qu Yuan’s

The Lament: “The way ahead is long; I see no

ending, yet high and low I’ll search with my will

unbending.” This is no doubt the best footnote to

my 20-year life experience. It’s true to everybody

that there is no end to the pursuit of learning.

“In order to acquire interdisciplinary knowledge, students should not stick to one pattern and should avoid rigid or pedantic thinking. ”

In the Know


性格與興趣是決定個人事業與發展的重要因素。我與通識教育（城大現稱之為精進教育）的關係始於40多年前。當時我就讀初中，覺得課外閱讀是益智的消閒活動。科普讀物《十萬個為什麼》含有天文學、地理學以及其他自然科學學科的小常識，是通識教育的絕佳教材，而我是其中一個受惠者。進了高中，課外閱讀的範圍更廣，我開始閱讀文學、歷史、政治、通俗哲學，甚至戰爭回憶錄等讀物，視野隨之拓展開來。

讀專上學院的三年，我做完功課後經常去圖書館，看自己感興趣的「課

外讀物」，如通俗的文史哲讀物、美術、設計和與藝術相關的書籍。在

專上第二年開學時，我正式報讀了一個二年制晚間設計證書課程。到了

第三年畢業時，拿了兩張畢業證書。

踏上事業大道後，我先是進入建築管理行業，循例考取專業資格，成為

專業人士。十年後轉工做了老師，教的是建築技術管理。教師的工作比

較自由，行政工作亦少，我利用空餘時間辦了很多課外活動、興趣小

組、講座，擔任義務學生輔導員，甚至有時間寫點雜文散文，發展了對

寫作的興趣。這些工作沒有任何「獎賞」，但我樂此不疲，樂在其中。

這六年給我留下甜美的回憶。

1992年我進入城大，恰逢香港開始興建赤鱲角新機場。這是香港一項

史無前例的大工程，包括修建機場大樓、青馬大橋、機場鐵路及西九填

海。一次偶然的機會，激起我跟進這項基建盛事的好奇心，去工地考察

漸漸成為我教學與研究的主要部分。我走遍大大小小的工地，拍了許多

照片，一跟進便是20年，由個別工程項目到整個鐵路系統或新市鎮建

設；由基礎建設拓展至對整個城市的探討；再由香港走出去，到內地、

亞太區，甚至歐美城市。考察主題也從基建發展拓展至整個城市和社會

的人文現象。照這樣堅持了十多年後，竟然成為建築科技「專家」。考

察和研究工程與城市建設，成為我的「狂熱」嗜好。

人的知識和經驗若能得到發揮和應用，會感到極大滿足。起初，我將

上述經驗分段整理出來，寫成文章，尋找機會出版或發表。隨後我利

用有限的研究經費開設了一個網頁，建立一個對內儲存工作資料和成

果、對外分享與交流的平台。這項看似凌亂的多元工作，久而久之，

充實了內涵，並建構起一定人脈，使我的工作、甚至貢獻，變得更充

實和意義深遠。原先無心插柳般建立起來的網頁，十多年後，竟在建

築與工程界打出一點名堂，成為「世界知名」的網頁。

2008年四川大地震後，我義務參與了一些重建項目，主要是負責監察

學校的重建，因而與當地教育界建立起聯繫。後來我應邀到不同學校

和教育機構演講，推出我稱為「將專業題材通識化」的講座系列，包

括城市建設、中港關係、國家發展、社會及經濟現象，以至文化保育

等議題。

兩年多前，城大針對學制改革，要求教師開發通識課程。我依據本身

的性格、識見與人生歷程，全力支持學校的理念，先後構思了四個課

程，上報了兩個，都獲批准，並於年前推出。

通識教育，大致可演繹為以通達廣濶的知識教育學生。通達是貫通、

目光遠達，以便做到舉一反三，並訓練敏銳的觸覺和悟性，將相關的

事、情、理準確地串連起來，引發新的思維、聯想和創見。這就是通

識教育的目的、價值和意義所在。尋求通達的知識，學生當然應不拘

一格，以免流於死板迂腐，窒礙思維，導致無法了解事物的真諦。

我，以至整個現代社會，已踏上一條通識教育發展道路。寫到此，容

我引用屈原《離騷》裏的一句話：「路漫漫其修遠兮，吾將上下而求

索。」總結近20年來的心路歷程，這無疑是一個最好的注腳。對任何

人來說，尋求學問都是沒有止境的。

專家妙筆

May 2013 37


Last summer I had a wonderful experience working as an intern at the New Media Department of the Israel Museum for six weeks through an internship programme organised by the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics.

The Israel Museum is the largest cultural

institution in the country with extensive

collections such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These

ancient manuscripts attract thousands of visitors

from all over the world each year. I was lucky

to be assigned to help in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Digital Project, translating the English text into

Chinese and constructing a Chinese website.

Following the diligent efforts of four CityU

interns over two consecutive years, the Chinese

version of the project has now been launched,

making this world-class invaluable heritage

accessible to all readers of Chinese.

Internship in Israel

Working at the Israel Museum, I was deeply

impressed by its volunteer culture. Many of the

workers, from the receptionists on the front desk

to the tour guides, were volunteers, and some of

them were even hoary-headed senior citizens.

They were attentive and enthusiastic when

helping visitors, enjoying the chance to interact

when providing information, offering their own

comments and opinions and making every visit a

valuable learning experience for all.

Besides doing the translation for the Chinese

website, I took part in public relations activities

for the launch of the website. I was interviewed

by a reporter from the English Channel of CCTV

in Israel. Also, I learned from my supervisor,

Dr Susan Hazan, about access to and evaluation

of the information on the website.

Participating on the Dead Sea Scrolls Digital

Project was a highly valuable experience. We

were able to help store, protect, study and

display cultural objects using digital technology

in much the same way as the better known

Google Art Project, an endeavour between the

By Isabel Meng Qianyu

BA (Hons) in Culture and Heritage Management

Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics

Student Voices

Haifa Bahai Garden

海法巴哈伊花園

去年暑期，我參加了中文、翻譯及語言學系的實習計劃，在以色列博物館新媒體部門實習了六個星期，度過了難忘的時光。

以色列博物館是以色列最大的國家級博物

館，館藏豐富，其中包括歷史悠久的「死海

古卷」，每年吸引成千上萬來自世界各國的遊

客。我有幸被分派協助死海古卷數碼版的英文

網頁中譯及中文網站構建。在連續兩屆、共四

名城大實習生的努力下，死海古卷數碼版的中

文網站如今已經推出，令這一世界級的寶貴文

化遺產得以與中文讀者共享。

以色列博物館令我印象最深的是它的志願者文

化。從博物館大廳前台的接待員到眾多的導賞

員均由志願者構成，其中不乏白髮長者。他們

熱情可掬，服務周到，在提供資訊的過程中重

視與參觀者的互動，更會補充自己的見解，令

參觀者獲益良多。

我的以色列實習之旅

internet giant and renowned museums around

the world.

Dr Hazan, an expert in the use of digital

technology in cultural and museum studies,

helped me to learn more about technological

developments in this area, sparking my interest

to delve deeper.

During my days off, my colleagues and I visited

many places in Israel. We went to Jerusalem,

where three great religions were formed; the

Bahai Gardens in Haifa, a UNESCO world heritage

site; and the Dead Sea where swimming is more

like floating due to the density of the water.

This is indeed a beautiful country with a

fascinating history and religious culture. The

internship not only allowed me to gain work

experience, it enriched my life.

文：孟倩宇

中文、翻譯及語言學系（文化產業管理專業）

除了為網站做翻譯之外，我也參與了網站發

佈的公關宣傳，接受了CCTV英文頻道駐以

色列記者的採訪，並從我的實習上司Susan

Hazan博士處了解到網站推出後的資料獲取

和評估過程。

參與死海古卷數碼計劃是寶貴的經歷。我們

使用數碼技術儲存、保護、研究和展示文

物，做法就如谷歌（Google）與全球知名博

物館合作推出的「谷歌藝術計劃」一樣。

Hazan博士正是博物館館藏數碼化的專家，

在她的幫助下，我對這一領域的技術進展有

了更多的了解，並產生深入探究的興趣。

工作之餘，我和同事們一起遊覽以色列：從

三大宗教起源的聖城耶路撒冷，到被聯合國

教科文組織列為世界文化遺產的海法巴哈伊

花園，再到由於水的密度高、人可以浮在水

面上的死海。

這個美麗而充滿歷史與宗教氣息的古老國

度，令我為之着迷。這次實習不僅讓我積累

工作經驗，更是豐富人生的心靈之旅。

學生心聲

May 2013 39

Books

The Dilemma between Money and Life: A message from the Dao De Jing Professor Zhou Nan, Department of MarketingPeking University Press, 2012

Based on the enlightenment by the Dao De Jing (a classic of Chinese

philosophy, literally meaning “The Classic of the Way and Virtue”), the

author shares his views on his philosophy of life, cultural differences,

sales and marketing, and brand name management. In addition, the

book discusses how Laozi’s Way of Nature can be employed to help

people strike a good balance between materialism and spiritualism.

This book consists of 60 essays, grouped into six sections: The dao of

life—The self vs the world; Cultural differences—The Chinese way vs

the American way; The dao of branding—yin (tangible) vs yang

(intangible); The dao of inaction—advance vs retreat; The dao of

fame—jun zi (a virtuous person) vs xiao ren (a mean person); and My

journey as a marketing scholar—knowledge vs dao.

《要錢還是要命》

市場營銷學系周南教授

北京大學出版社，2012年

《道德經》是中國

哲學經典，作者希

望與讀者分享自己

對《道德經》的感

悟，以《道德經》來

詮釋人生哲理、文化差

異、企業營銷和品牌管

理之道，亦探討了如何以

老子「道法自然」的思想

來達到「物質與精神」平衡

的雙贏之道。

本書收錄了60 篇隨筆，分為

六部分：為人處世之道—自我與世界；文化差異—中美文化；

品牌經營之道—陰與陽（有形與無形）；無為之道—進與退；

名人之道—君子與小人；求學心得—學問與道。

Transcribing Talk and Interaction Dr Christopher J Jenks, Associate Professor, Department of English John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2011

Interest in transcript-based research has grown significantly in recent

years. Alongside this growth has been an increase in awareness of the

empirical utility of naturalistic research on language use in interaction.

However, a quick scan of the literature reveals that very few

transcription books have been published in the past three decades.

This is an astonishing fact given that there are perhaps hundreds of

books published on spoken discourse analysis.

This book aims to narrow this gap by providing an introduction to

the theories and practices related to transcribing communication

data. The book is intended for students with little to no knowledge

of transcription work and/or instructors responsible for teaching

introductory courses on transcript-based research. Readers who are

learning or teaching discourse/conversation analysis or similar analytic

methods of investigation will find this book particularly helpful.

《轉錄談話與互動》

英文系副教授Christopher J Jenks博士

John Benjamins Publishing Company，2011

近年來，學術界對基於轉錄的研究興趣大增。與此同時，對於互動

交流中語言使用之自然研究的實證效用的認知也提高了。但是，只

要對相關文獻略作瀏覽，即可發現，以往30年間出版的有關轉錄的

書可謂寥寥無幾，而關於口語語篇分析的書或有數百本之多，兩相

對比，反差驚人。

本書旨在介紹通訊數據轉錄的理論

與實踐，希望藉此能縮小上述差

距。此書是專為對轉錄應用了解

不深或一無所知的學生而撰寫，

亦可供講授有關轉錄研究入門

課程的教師使用。正在學習或

講授語篇/會話分析的讀者，

以及正在學習或講授類似調

查分析方法的讀者，當會

發現此書大有助益。


City University of Hong Kong 香港城市大學

Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 香港特別行政區九龍達之路

New building for a new generation校園新大樓培育新一代Academic 3 – a bold new space for discovery and innovation in professional education and research.學術樓（三）造型奇偉，為探索和創新開闢新天地，推動

專業教育與研究。

www.cityu.edu.hk

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CityU Today No. 42

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