Not every student can say they’ve kayaked on their university campus, but several at UIC now can after the ‘Flex and Float’ boating competition held on Central Lake as part of the New Campus Carnival on 23 May. Students trained hard for two days to prepare for the boating competition, and enjoyed getting to race on the lake, surrounded by the beautiful new campus. Also during the Flex and Float event was a performance of UIC Stretch and Flex Exercises that were produced by Whole Person Education Office.
Kayak Relay Race on Central Lake
President Ng Ching-Fai awards the winning teams
The New Campus Carnival was held to celebrate the opening of many new facilities on campus, and provide a fun and exciting day for staff and students to gather together.
Stretch and Flex Exercise Team providing a performance
Group photo of everyone involved in the Flex and Float show
At the carnival the UIC Yayue (Chinese court music) Orchestra had their official debut. The orchestra was established in March 2018 and some of the instruments are a copy of the unearthed Nanyue King's Mausoleum in Guangzhou.
The day began with the Opening Ceremony of the Archery Field, where students gave an archery demonstration from the skills that they have learned during their Whole Person Education (WPE) course.
Opening Ceremony of the Archery Field
Students demonstrate their archery skills
After the opening of the Archery Field, the attendees moved to the unveiling of the Maker Centre, which will house the Institute for Big Data Analytics and Applications (IBDAA), an Innovation Centre, and a Maker Space. The plaque denoting the centre was revealed, and plans to complete the centre are in the works.
Opening Ceremony of the Maker Centre
There was an official opening ceremony for the UIC-China Unicom Big Data Research Collaboration Centre next. Director of UIC’s IBDAA, Prof Clement Leung shared the exciting news that starting in the next academic year, there will be a course available for any UIC student to take that will focus on interpreting big data and how to apply its uses, which is increasingly relevant in society today.
President of UIC, Prof Ng Ching-Fai and the General Manager of China Unicom Zhuhai, Rao Xiaomao represent the two parties to join hands
The last opening ceremony of the morning was for the new Staff and Student Activities Centre (SSAC) in T4, and then awards were presented for the winners on the UIC Souvenir Design Competition. Their designs were on display at the opening ceremony for all to see.
Opening Ceremony of UIC-China Unicom Big Data Research Centre
The winners on the UIC Souvenir Design Competition
The afternoon began with the opening ceremony of the new Learning Resource Centre (LRC). Deputy College Librarian of the LRC, Ms Fung Ying Cham welcomed everyone and gave thanks to the guests before introducing the two MCs for the event, Year 4 Applied Translation Studies (ATS) student, Ms Wang Yao, and Year 4 Government and International Relations (GIR) student, Mr Yan Ruolin. Wang Yao discussed how much she has used the new LRC and mentioned that she was especially pleased with the amount of foreign language material that is now available. Ruolin then talked about how he comes to the LRC most days, and that he especially enjoys the emerging technology available to use and the user-focused services being offered by the LRC.
Deputy Chairman of the HKBU Council and the Court, Mr Andrew Yao, giving a speech about the LRC
President of UIC, Prof Ng Ching-Fai, gave a speech afterwards, saying "In here, we establish connections: connections between students; connections between students and staff; connections with resources with an aim to facilitate the creation of new knowledge." Deputy Chairman of the HKBU Council and the Court, Mr Andrew Yao then followed up with a speech that promoted the new LRC. Directly after Mr Yao’s speech, the ribbon cutting ceremony began to officially announce the opening of the LRC.
Opening Ceremony of the new Learning Resource Centre
Later in the afternoon, there was a new campus treasure hunt around the campus. This involved scores of staff and student participants moving around campus to find different clues and collect pieces of a puzzle that combined to form a photo of the new campus.
New Campus Treasure Hunt
The unveiling ceremony of the Datong Stone took place on Central Island. The Datong Stone was donated by a UIC student's parent, Mr Li Jianbiao. The inscription Datong means ‘Great Unity’ in Chinese philosophy, which is a vision of a peaceful world.
Unveiling Ceremony of the Datong Stone
Finishing the day off was the unveiling ceremony of the Zhonghe Sculpture where both Prof Ng and the sculptor, Dr Van Lau gave speeches. The big reveal involved pulling the huge red veil off the sculpture. Following this was a presentation of appreciation certificates to parent donors, where all the student parents that gave donations to the new campus were recognized. Mr Li Jianbiao, Mr Deng Junjie and Ms Long Xiaofen have donated towards having trees planted around the campus. Ms Zhang Meiyu has donated towards the lighting while Mr Li Jianbiao has donated towards the Datong Stone. Then, there was a classic Chinese musical performance to end the day.
The sculptor or the Zhonghe Sculpture, Dr Van Lau
Unveiling Ceremony of the Zhonghe Sculpture
Presentation of Appreciation Certificates to Parent Donors
It was a day of celebration, with many new and exciting developments being revealed and put into use on campus. UIC staff, students, parents, and community members all got involved, exemplifying UIC’s four point education in action. The UIC community has been and continues to benefit from the new developments on campus, and they will be in place for many years to come.
Reporters: Samantha Burns, Samuel Burgess
Photographers: Deen He, Ivy Liao
Editor: Deen He
(from MPRO)
