Dean of Social Sciences, HKBU
Creativity and the Faculty of Social Sciences
As we behold a new and unknown "global society", human creativity has never been more in demand. Still-to-be-imagined possibilities for moral, social, and ecological balance will continue to be unlocked through creativity. But this creative genius must be nurtured, sustained, and celebrated through education.
The Faculty of Social Sciences applauds the establishment of the Institute of Creativity because the Institute is committed to nurturing creativity according to a Whole Person ethos. Our Faculty is proud to contribute to the growth of the Institute through international excellence. For example, the Faculty of Social Sciences has long been the home of international exchange and partnership hosting Hong Kong's first European Studies and China Studies programmes. That both are still ranked "best in Hong Kong" is testament both to staff creativity and to nurturing this creativity in the context of Whole Person Education. Creativity relies on exposure to, and open discussion of a multiplicity of viewpoints. It remains our objective to provide pertinent opportunities in learning, critical scholarship and lively international exchange so as to educate open-minded students who will be able to meet local challenges innovatively by utilising global experience gained throughout their course of studies.
Furthermore, our multi-year commitment to lead scholarship in "Global Social Sciences" imagines new possibilities for Eastern and Western, Southern and Northern knowledge. While focusing on key global social problems manifested in the Greater Pearl River Delta (PRD), including poverty, inequality, overurbanisation, environmental problems, and cross-cultural conflicts, this project aims to develop methods, analytical frameworks and research strategies that are not only apposite to the PRD case, but also consistent with other global regions and realities. We shall strive in the coming years to create international research networks, to introduce innovative study programmes and to produce and disseminate knowledge through transdisciplinary efforts, so as to establish HKBU as a regional hub for Global Social Sciences research and education.
Colleagues in the Social Sciences Faculty also contribute to cross-cultural scholarship through the David Lam East-West Institute (LEWI). In the coming months we will launch public lectures and further study tours on, for example, the "History of Christianity in China, 1978 to the Present". LEWI will also undertake research on transnational migration, comparative urbanisation, and links between environment and health.
Through our commitment to Whole Person Education, international excellence, transdisciplinary knowledge, and cross-cultural scholarship, the Faculty of Social Sciences is proud to contribute to the growth of the Institute of Creativity.
Professor Adrian Bailey
Dean of Social Sciences
Hong Kong Baptist University