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Elaine Yau

Reflecting on his past 18 years at the helm of Polytechnic University, Poon Chung-kwong  used the word 'grateful' many times in recalling the events that defined his presidency.
Professor Poon, a devout Buddhist who retired from PolyU last month, said he appreciated the opportunity he had been given to serve the local tertiary sector for so long  and pledged to continue with  educational work through his charity foundation after retirement.
'I always want to support the university education of poor mainland students,' he said.
Set up four years ago with his wife, the Virya Foundation  subsidises  students  from remote mainland  villages to gain  a university education.
'Many mainland students don't enjoy the affluence and physical comforts of local students, who can have access to study grants or loans if they come from a poor background. Many of them come from families whose annual income averages only two-to-three thousand HK dollars.
'Their admission to university, with the concomitant tuition fees of 5,000 yuan  (HK$5,680) per year, can put the whole family neck-deep in debt.'
Since his conversion to Buddhism in 1992, Professor Poon has tried to live his life  and address his work demands in line with  Buddhist philosophy.
'I saw Buddhism as an other-worldly, passive and superstition-tinged religion in the past. As I grew older, I found out that Buddhism offers abstruse philosophy lessons on how to lead your life.'
Professor Poon said Buddhism taught him to be open-minded when formulating university policy.
'When management thrashes out policies for the university, it can be hard for them to see the big picture. However wide the range of options they have considered, their plans are unlikely to be comprehensive. That's why we need to study policies from the viewpoint of students and teachers.
'The student council once told me that PolyU was one of the few universities that listened to students' opinions and I felt grateful for that.'
Professor Poon explained how he rose from humble origins to become a university head.
'I come from a poor family and grew up in my relatives' house,' he said. 'I did four part-time jobs when I was at the University of Hong Kong and was the only chemistry major among my peers to graduate with first-class honours.'
After completing his postgraduate research at the California Institute of Technology in 1967 and a tenure as a senior lecturer at HKU and upon his return to Hong Kong, he was made a doctor of science by the University of London in 1979 for his research in inorganic chemistry.
Professor Poon attributed his meteoric rise in academic circles to his ability to capitalise on untapped opportunities.
'When I first returned to Hong Kong in 1968, the city had little money for  chemistry research. Organic chemistry was popular at the time and inorganic chemistry had just started. With not many accomplished researchers in the field, I got international recognition fast by doing research in it.'
The same flair for exploring uncharted territory helped him transform Polytechnic University from a  technical college into a world-class academy specialising in application-oriented research.
'It's important that we have our own brand in Asia,' he said. 'Instead of competing with Chinese University or HKU in doing academic research, I insisted on focusing on applied subjects and collaborating with industry.'
His strategy of specialising in practical subjects rather than the more popular academic ones  has been credited with the  rise of PolyU  in international league tables.
'Engineering and science subjects are the fortes of top-notch universities like Harvard, MIT and Stanford. It's hard for us to compete with them in those fields. We chose to invest in fields which have yet to be dominated by our rivals and continue our support  for technical subjects.'
Professor Poon spelled out the list of subjects that  have come to be associated with the PolyU brand in recent years.
'Hotel and tourism management is one of our proudest achievements. Ivy League schools don't do such subjects.
'The university that does best in the field is Cornell University. I am not really afraid of this rival as tourism now is all concentrated in Asia, where a lot of people are needed to do research. That's why we built the teaching hotel, which is the first of its kind in the world.
'It's difficult to be ranked at the top in traditional subjects like medicine, commerce and arts but for hotel management I have confidence that we will soon be ranked number one.'
The contribution made by PolyU's faculty of health and social sciences to the mainland's  quest for Olympic gold medals and the relief work in the wake of the  Sichuan earthquake has further helped cement PolyU's image as a world-class professional university.
The pictures of mainland Olympic winners flanked by PolyU physiotherapists and the faculty's rehabilitative experts helping quake-ravaged victims  were also the results of Professor Poon's academic vision.
'I like to pick things that others overlook,' he said. 'Famous schools specialise in medicine but not medical care and treatment like physiotherapy and optometry.
'We enjoy an edge in developing such subjects as physiotherapy which can be combined with Chinese traditional acupuncture and acupressure.'
Professor Poon's extensive network built up during his tenure as a  Legislative Council member in the 1980s has earned him the title 'king of fund-raising' among university heads.
'I have met many friends from various industries in Legco,' he said. 'The network of a university principal can help a lot in the fund-raising drive. I am very grateful for their generous support and donations over the years.'
Despite his many achievements, Professor Poon said he felt it was time to  pass on the  torch.
'I have been in university education for four decades. With PolyU heading towards 3+3+4, the university wanted me to stay on and see through the transition but I thought it was time to hand over to new people with new thinking and ideas.'
Amid  sweeping changes  in the local education sector, Professor Poon said universities should do more to inculcate moral values among the young.
'Students of my generation were austere, down to earth and respectful towards teachers and traditions,' he said.
'Now, the good economic conditions have given rise to many temptations. Young people lack self-restraint and spend too much time on the internet. Driven by an urge to earn quick fortune and fame, many engage in speculative activities. They are much more clever and knowledgable than the previous generation but their ethical values are not strong enough.'
He said a more vigorous promotion of traditional Chinese cultural values enshrined in Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism could be the antidote to rampant materialism and the impatience of youth.
'The ethical foundation of today's students has to be shored up,' he said. 'They need to have compassion and learn to be responsible for their own actions. That's why I have promised to serve as a college head at  Xian  Jiaotong University in retirement. I want to tell young people more about Chinese culture and values.'



Retired PolyU chief to continue giving