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Professor Reinhard Renneberg

Education news

A chemistry professor from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has become the first scholar in the city to be bestowed the honour of Academician by the prestigious German university Leibniz-Sozietät.

LIFE
Linda Yeung

A chemistry professor from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has become the first scholar in the city to be bestowed the honour of Academician by the prestigious German university Leibniz-Sozietät. Professor Reinhard Renneberg, who joined HKUST in 1994, founded the Sino-German Nano-Analytical Lab (SiGNAL) in Hong Kong, where he led biotesting projects such as the world's fastest heart attack test and developing virus-detecting biosensors. Leibniz-Sozietät's academic history dates back 300 years and carries traditions from the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Brandenburg Society of Sciences. It now has 300 members comprising experts and established academicians in varied scientific and cultural disciplines. Renneberg specialises in bioanalytical chemistry, nanotechnology and bioelectronics, among others. He is also the author of the bestselling textbook .

Ethnic minority students need more support measures besides a Chinese-as-second-language curriculum, a Baptist University study has shown. Jan Connelly, associate professor of education studies, and her team have found that, even in special schools designated for them, the ethnic students are segregated from their Chinese peers. The researchers say this has resulted in separatist education and negative labelling, and does not foster respect and multicultural awareness among students. Only one of the six schools surveyed (whose names were not released) employed ethnic minority teaching assistants and paid students home visits. Minority students make up about 3 per cent to 4 per cent of the city's total student population.

Almost all graduates of the Hong Kong Institute of Education in 2012 had found jobs by the end of the year, a recent survey shows, painting positive employment prospects for teachers despite shrinking opportunities amid the falling enrolment rates in secondary schools. Of the 568 graduates polled in the annual employment survey by the institute's Student Affairs Office, 91.7 per cent had secured teaching jobs by December, while 6.2 per cent went on to pursue further studies. Last year, those employed had an average salary of HK$19,658 per month, up 0.6 per cent from the HK$19,535 in 2011. Similarly, the number of Postgraduate Diploma of Education graduates who had landed jobs or pursued further studies was 95.2 per cent.
 

Australia has opened applications for the 2014 Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships, which offer support for research and professional development. These include the Australia-Cheung Kong Research Fellowships (named after the property firm that is a partner of the initiative), Vocational Education and Training Scholarship and Executive Fellowship. Meanwhile, the top 20 doctoral candidates from 10 selected countries in Asia - including Hong Kong and Macau - who apply for the Endeavour Postgraduate Award could qualify for the Prime Minister's Australia Asia Incoming Postgraduate Award, which finances foreign students' PhD education (in any field of study) for four years. Award winners will also have the opportunity to go on an optional internship in Australia for up to 12 months (but he or she must complete a minimum of two months) after finishing their course. The deadline is June 30, and details are at australiaawards.gov.au
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