Messages

Thirty years have passed very quickly since I joined Chairman Cheng Hon Kwan as his Deputy to start up the nascent Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong in 1988. The Hong Kong public got to understand that it is only through hard work and open or distant learning that enabled tens of thousands every year who otherwise could not afford the time or money to do a face to face degree to earn that qualification. I took over the Chairmanship and had the distinct honour of seeing the Open Learning Institute becoming a self-accrediting tertiary institution under the name of Open University of Hong Kong. I also saw the move from above the Mongkok MTR station to Good Shepherd Street in Ho Man Tin. The OU is now playing a vital role as a comprehensive and fully-fledged university in furnishing Hong Kong with the appropriate skills in an ever more challenging world. The School of Nursing is an example that is fast training the many more nurses that an ageing society like Hong Kong desperately needs, but is that fast enough? I am sure that with your support and that of the Hong Kong SAR Government, the OU is more than willing and able to meet those challenges.