KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

HKU hosts Water Fun Fest 2019 to promote water sustainability

Water Fun Fest 2019, organised by the Jockey Club Water Initiative on Sustainability and Engagement (JC-WISE), will take place at Ocean Park from April 19 to May 1. Augmented Reality exhibit, AR Sandbox, together with educational videos and exhibitions, will be held. Water Fun Fests aims to engage the general public on the issues of water sustainability and to promote the significance of water conservation in an interesting way through a wide range of infotainment exhibitions and interactive games.

HKU JC-WISE launches ‘Water WISE Tram’

The Jockey Club Water Initiative on Sustainability and Engagement (JC-WISE) has launched the ‘Water WISE Tram’, a theme tramcar decorated with knowledge of Water Footprint and highlights of multiple functions and values of Hong Kong’s rivers. Water WISE Tram will travel through the heartland of Hong Kong with high visibility from March 22 to April 18, 2019, celebrating the annual World Water Day (March 22) and raising public's awareness of the importance of water conservation and sustainability through promulgating the concept of Water Footprint and re-connecting us with our rivers.

HKU and Ocean Park sign MOU to strengthen collaboration on Education and Research Programmes

HKU and Ocean Park signed a MOU to strengthen collaboration on innovative education and research initiatives. Innovation and knowledge exchange projects planned include the inaugural Ocean Park International STEAM Education Conference and Ocean Park x HKU DreamCatchers’ Hackathon in June 2019, and an International Conservation STEAM Competition with the theme “STEAM and Marine Conservation”. Public engagement initiatives such as Water Fun Fest will be hosted by Ocean Park and the HKU Faculty of Social Sciences from April 19 to May 1 to raise public awareness on water consumption and sustainability.

Animal Assisted Intervention for Hong Kong’s ‘Hikikomori’

The therapeutic value of animals to relieve stress in the young, elderly and sick has been documented by academics and medical professionals around the world. But what has not been known until relatively recently is how therapy animals can also help people who have difficulties dealing with modern society and lock themselves away in their rooms. Dr Paul Wong, Associate Professor at the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, is working with a non-profit-making social service organisation to study how therapy animals, mainly trained dogs, are helping Hong Kong’s hidden youth to regain their self-belief. Watch the full video.

HKU set up online counselling platform “Open Up” for Hong Kong young people

Funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, HKU Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP), together with three leading youth non-profit organisations, Caritas-Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, have set up the Jockey Club Online Youth Emotional Support “Open Up”, an online counselling platform for young people aged between 11 and 35, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Those in need can message counsellors at “hkopenup” on social media platforms including Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WeChat. The project team led by Professor Paul Yip, Director of CSRP, polled 1,527 and 1,732 young people using mobile phone and online surveys respectively. Findings reveal that young people prefer text messaging to phone calls or face-to-face conversations. Online respondents tended to have more emotional problems than phone call respondents, among them 46% had considered suicide and 8% had attempted suicide.

Faculty Knowledge Exchange Awards 2018

The annual Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards recognise each Faculty’s outstanding KE accomplishment that has made demonstrable economic, social or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organisations. Results of the 2018 Faculty KE Awards are now available.

Sociology UG Capstone Archive launched

The Department of Sociology has launched the UG Capstone Archive to showcase capstone projects produced by undergraduate students that aim to transform both society and our students.