Page 80 - 香港浸會大學16-17

7. Retrospect and Prospect

staff, as well as continuing support of the senior administration of the University,

more specifically, President and Vice-Chancellor Prof. Roland Chin, Vice-
President (Research and Development) Prof. Rick Wong, to whom the Director of
LEWI reports, and Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences Prof. Adrian Bailey, who

previously served as the Convenor of the Mobility/Urbanization Working Group

and who has been the champion of the MAGS Programme, and Dean of
Communication Prof. Huang Yu, who has been highly supportive of LEWI
particularly the Environment, Health and Sustainability Working Group headed

by Prof. Kara Chan.

The support of the senior administration notwithstanding, the question of long-
term financial viability continues to plague LEWI. Possession of high-calibre

research staffing is of paramount importance to a research institute, and for this
LEWI in the past five years has been able to recruit a team of dedicated young

scholars and succeeded in building a highly vibrant and cordial research culture.
But staffing is expensive, and given the current financial situation, there is a good
chance that LEWI cannot maintain its staffing strengthens in future. The

commencement of the MAGS Programme will generate income to LEWI primarily
through the involvement our Research Assistant Professors in course offering and

the secretarial support that we provide to the programme. As was pointed out
above, incomes from the first-year intake of 10 students would not solve too

much of our financial problem. But with proactive recruitment exercises to be
launched and with the gradual building of programme’s reputation we are

confident that we will able to achieve the planned intake figure of 50 in the next
few years. If this is the case, the financial viability of LEWI can be substantially
enhanced. Of course, continuing efforts have to be made on securing research

grants, bidding for consultation projects, and seeking donations. Hopefully, in not
too distant future, LEWI will be able to further develop its research and teaching

capacities and excel as a leading centre of inter-disciplinary study on global
affairs.

75 HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY | David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies