ACADEMIC SERVICES

Teaching and research at the University are supported by a number of academic service units.

Center for Enhanced Learning and Teaching

The Center for Enhanced Learning and Teaching (CELT) is an academic support unit, dedicated to advancing the quality of learning and teaching among students, instructors and teaching assistants at HKUST.

CELT provides leadership in the development and use of effective teaching strategies and technologies, and works in collaboration with faculty to support their teaching initiatives.

Extensive use is made of internet technologies to provide all teaching staff with access to up-to-date information on teaching and learning, and in the conduct of teaching evaluations on-line. CELT seminars and workshops provide hands-on development opportunities for instructors, and CELT staff are also available for consultation and advice on project planning.

At HKUST Teaching Assistants have an important role to play in the overall teaching effort and all new TAs participate in a program of collaboration with their experienced peers with CELT staff acting as facilitators.

CELT also has several initiatives in place to help HKUST students develop thinking and creativity skills they will need in their university study and later professional life and works directly with students in providing programs on learning skills and critical thinking. In addition, General Education courses on The Creative Process, Arts and Technology and Multimedia Communication Skills for Internet Applications are provided for students.

For the wider community of Hong Kong teachers, the Teacher Learning Program for Schools provides training and in-school workshops in the use of information technologies to support teaching and learning in schools.

Information Technology Services Center

The Information Technology Services Center (ITSC) develops and manages the computing and networking infrastructure of the University. It provides computing support to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and research applications in all Schools. In addition, the Center also looks after the central audio-visual (AV) needs of the University to facilitate teaching and learning.

The HKUST computing environment is based on a distributed client-server architecture.

The cornerstone is an advanced high-speed and fault-tolerant switched Gigabit Ethernet

ACADEMIC SERVICES

The network covers not only all the academic buildings but also reaches out to staff quarters and student halls. Staff and students can also access network services via a number of Express Stations at various campus locations. Mobile notebook users can have convenient network access through wireless or wired access points in public areas like computing laboratories, library and canteens. Off-campus users can connect their home computer to the campus network via dial-up modem pools.

The Center operates powerful servers to provide campus-wide network services such as e-mail, network printing, World-Wide Web and electronic notice board. One important characteristic of the University’s computing environment is its multimedia and Chinese-English bilingual capability. Increasingly, more network services will have these features.

All personal computers and scientific workstations are connected to the campus network, providing desktop computing power as well as a window to a vast array of information and computing resources such as Library systems, administrative systems, academic software packages and audio/video broadcasting programs.

The Center manages a number of central computing laboratories, providing PC, Macintosh and Unix workstation facilities for teaching and students use. Software training programs are provided to assist users to get the most out of their computers. The Center also looks after centrally-provided AV facilities in all common teaching venues, including 8 lecture theaters, some 70 classrooms and 30 teaching laboratories.

Language Center

The Language Center has a pan-University role in the provision of language courses. It provides Business Communication courses in English and Putonghua which cater for the career needs of the MBA students, and English for Engineering students, to assist them in acquiring the necessary language skills to gain the maximum benefit from their postgraduate curriculum. A Japanese program which aims at preparing Humanities students for research and teaching activities is also offered.

Courses in written Chinese, Cantonese, French, German, Spanish, Korean and Latin are also offered by the Language Center.

The Center has three 24-booth language laboratories, complete with audio-visual and computer equipment, which are used by class groups to practice their listening, speaking and writing. Under the auspices of the Language Center, the English Writing Center organizes workshops and gives individual consultations. The Language Center also operates the Self-Access Center -- a well-equipped facility that provides a wide variety of materials, activities and services to aid self-directed learning of English, Putonghua and many other languages.

The Self-Access Center is open to staff and students on weekdays (9 am - 8 pm) and Saturday mornings.

ACADEMIC SERVICES

Publishing Technology Center

The University is committed to high standards and up-to-date methods in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, research and publication. To this end, the Publishing Technology Center (PTC) sustains a comprehensive publishing service for all academic and research staff.

The Design and Multimedia Team of the Center provides assistance in the graphic design and production of university publication, teaching, research and promotional materials. It also provides web page design, CD-ROM production, computer graphics output and large-format plotting services. Meanwhile, its Photo Imaging Team supports photographic flat-copying, location shooting, portrait and event photo-taking together with image editing to produce slides, transparencies and prints for academic and publicity purposes. The Print

Shop provides high-speed, high-volume reprographic and offset printing services. In addition, the AV Production Team assists in the planning, videotaping, editing and duplication of AV, digital and multimedia materials

Besides fulfilling the publishing needs of the university users, PTC acts as an in-house consultant and coordinator for production projects outsourced to commercial sector. The center also provides expertise advice regarding choice of delivery approach, production format, budget planning, system configuration and specification of multimedia facilities; it can further assist in tender evaluation and system integration processes.

Throughout the academic year, hands-on technical workshops are organized and offered to faculty and staff to promote and enhance the wider use of electronic and Web-publishing technology in teaching, learning, research, and publicity activities.

Safety and Environmental Protection Office

The University is committed to conducting all its teaching, research and other operation in a safe and environmentally friendly manner and in compliance with relevant regulations. Heads of each campus unit has the responsibility to implement the University safety policy and to ensure a safe and environmentally healthy workplace. All members of the campus community must follow safety and environmental procedures and watch out for the safety and health of one another. The Safety and Environmental Protection Office (SEPO) was established to develop and help implement safety and environmental policies and procedures, and to provide necessary services to facilitate the realization of this commitment. The Office also provides

ACADEMIC SERVICES

Specifically, SEPO contributes to this University commitment in the following ways :

• Provides consultation on the planning of facilities and operations to address safety and environmental concerns

• Liaises with governmental agencies to facilitate regulatory compliance on safety and environmental issues

• Conducts risk assessment and review of research proposals

• Conducts inspections and audits to evaluate safety and environmental performance

• Monitors personnel exposure to hazardous materials to ensure compliance with regulatory limits, and evaluates the performance of hazards control equipment

• Provides general safety training on a variety of safety subjects to complement supervisors’

hands-on safety training and to address curriculum requirements

• Assists with the proper selection of personal protective equipment

• Coordinates emergency response and organizes drills

• Coordinates the implementation of a medical surveillance program to address occupational health issues

• Monitors air emission, liquid effluent and waste management to ensure proper practice and compliance

• Stops operations which involve repetitive violations or imminently dangerous situations

• Conducts accident and incident investigations to identify causes and to assist with preventing recurrence

University Library

The Library is an integral component of the academic programs, supporting the University's teaching and research in science, engineering, business and management, the humanities and social sciences. As of 2001, the Library’s book, periodical, and microform collections total approximately 600,000 volumes, plus 27,000 media materials. Its electronic collections include more than 100 databases, and over 4,000 full-text journals.

ACADEMIC SERVICES

In addition, the Library offers its users a learning environment rich in electronic information and services. In a sense the Library is always open in that its extensive array of electronic resources can be accessed from every corner of the campus, including all student and staff housing, twenty-four hours a day. Users can search the Library’s catalog of holdings in both English and Chinese using a telnet or Web interface. The Library Web server (http://library.ust.hk) has developed into a central information hub for access to Library information, services, and resources; instructional materials; pathfinders; and Internet sites.

An experienced library staff assists users in a variety of ways, from the selection, acquisition, and cataloging of materials to making use of the collection, online searches, and interlibrary loans. There is also a fully-equipped classroom and a computer laboratory for group instruction. The University Library has a strong service orientation in order to effectively meet the information needs of its academic community.

CENTRAL INTERDEPARTMENTAL AND DEPARTMENTAL RESEARCH UNITS