Issue No. 4 (August 2007) - The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

12 SPECIAL FEATURE
The Emergence of
the Polytechnic was a
Significant Milestone
However, pivotal steps such as the above, in the
evolution of the Faculty, and as confirmed by Professor
J.M. Ko, were not always spontaneously or happily
received by staff. Just as there was some resistance to
the change from Trade School to Technical College, so
there was again, regarding the change to Polytechnic
status in 1972.
task of humping heavy technical equipment uphill can
be imagined as can 24 hours of field measurements.
It certainly made physical education unnecessary! This
camp soon contracted into a day trip!...a fact that was
not necessarily happily received by the students. Hard
labour, no electricity, having to collect water was thought
to be a small price to pay for the freedom of the camp
and the camaraderie it produced.
Alumni of the 60s speak of companionable camaraderie
enjoyed together by staff and students. Dr. Dan Waters
speaks of joint games of kicking shuttlecocks, X’mas
Day cycling trips around the New Territories via Sheung
Shui and climbing Ma On Shan. Convivial “yam chas”
were also enjoyed to the extent that Dr. Waters still has a
monthly gathering with alumni at the So Jit Restaurant.
It was felt that the earlier technical establishments had
served society well and in accordance with people’s and
industry’s specific needs. Many staff felt that the original
principles embodied in technical education would be
betrayed in the move to Polytechnic status, and that the
change would inhibit the establishments’ traditional task
of offering a wide variety of vocational courses. Staff
also suspected that apart from being distracted from
teaching, their chosen vocation, more might be expected
of them. Both lecturers and technicians alike were not
enamoured with the idea of losing working hours that
were predictable.
The staff were teachers first and foremost and in so
being focused on imparting technical skills. Learning
experiences for students were enjoyed in the form of
orientation camps, site visits, twice yearly training in
industry with no pay, the latter may not have been so
appealing to the students! For a short period, second
and third year Land Surveying students enjoyed week
long camps in Yuen Long, staying in army bungalows
which were remotely situated. Professor Esmond Mok
speaks of the scariness of the trek which coincidentally
followed the route taken by funeral processions. The
Monthly alumni lunch group
Dr. Dan Waters
kicking shuttlecock
However, in line with education around the world,
development of research was implicit in new government
policy both to enhance Hong Kong’s global eminence
and also to underpin degree studies. By about 1985 a
“breeze of change” was beginning to be felt. By the
90s, this breeze had become a “wind of change” as the
Polytechnic became a university. Many older staff retired,
motivated partly by the social and political uncertainties
of the 80s due to fears regarding the “Hand Over”
to China. Many left Hong Kong to secure residency in
Singapore, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The staff who remained, divided themselves, in
accordance with professional preference, into teachers
“only” or “mainly” and some embraced research
wholeheartedly. All were able to teach in their specialty
area, which according to Professor J.M. Ko had not
always been possible in the past!