PG Update, Issue 20

Abstract

PG UPDATE Issue 20 October 2008 http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/pg/ P.1 Issue 20 October 2008 Relaxed Employment Restrictions for Non-local Students Beginning this summer, new measures have been introduced by the Hong Kong Immigration Department (HKIDept) to relax restrictions on non‐local students (NLSs) taking up employment in Hong Kong. While full‐time NLSs may now be allowed to take up study or curriculum related internship, as well as part‐time work during semester time (restricted to campus work only) and full‐time work during the summer vacation, research postgraduate students (RPgs) are reminded that their main business of coming to HKUST is to pursue research studies. Study‐related work and internship are desirable experiences to gain but in the majority of cases, they may not be critical to the studies being pursued. In addition, full‐time RPgs receive PGSs to ensure that they need not be concerned with looking for other sources of income to support themselves. They should devote full efforts to their studies. Following this, recipients of PGS awards may not engage in part‐time work on campus or engage in internship work during the academic year. The restrictions imposed on RPgs about taking up paid work as stipulated under Paras A1, E2, E3 and E4 of the Terms and Conditions of PGSs 2008/09 are still valid despite the new measures introduced by the HKIDept concerning part‐time work on campus and internships. For details of the Terms and Conditions of PGS, please visit http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/pg/guidelines.html. Violation of the above rulings may lead to the immediate termination of their PGS award, regardless of the source of funding, and/or other courses of action imposed by the HKIDept or the University. As a general guideline, to take up summer vacation work, RPgs who do not receive PGS in the summer months must have the prior approval of their supervisor and PG co‐ordinator before they can take up summer work. Students who receive PGS in the summer months may not take up summer work. MORE TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE New immigration arrangements for Nonlocal graduates (IANG) (p.2) CENG’s RPg programs renamed (p.2) How well can you speak (p.2) Environmentally friendly thesis (p.3) Plagiarism and academic integrity (p.3) RPg Handbook 2008/09 (p.3) Becoming well-trained teaching assistants (p.4) Student Affairs Office cares (p.4) PG UPDATE – ISSUE 20 October 2008 http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/pg/ P.2 New Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG) The Hong Kong SAR Government announced last June a new scheme known as Immigration Arrangements for Nonlocal Graduates (IANG). The scheme is in line with the HK Government’s policy to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an education hub in Asia, and to maintain Hong Kong’s competitiveness by bringing in talents and professionals. The scheme, in essence, will allow non‐local graduates to stay and work in Hong Kong after they have completed their studies here. According to information provided by the HKIDept, non‐local fresh graduates of full‐time programs of study offered by Hong Kong institutions, who wish to apply to stay and work in Hong Kong are not required to secure an offer of employment upon application. They may be granted 12 monthsʹ stay on time limitation without other conditions of stay provided that normal immigration requirements are met. Details about the application procedures and the scheme are available at the following URL: http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/id991.htm#II CENG’s RPg Programs Renamed “The Department of Chemical Engineering” has recently changed its name to “The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering”, to more accurately reflect the educational focus of the Department. As a result, the generic program and degree titles of the research postgraduate programs offered by the Department have also been renamed as follows: MPhil in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (Previously, MPhil in Chemical Engineering) PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (Previously, PhD in Chemical Engineering) The above changes will affect students admitted from Fall Semester, 2008/09. How Well Can You Speak This September, new RPgs are required to take a spoken English test. The Versant Test, which uses patented speech processing technology to analyse, testees’ utterances, is taken over the telephone. The Versant Test is a recognized test of the Workplace English Campaign of Hong Kong SAR Government. The exercise is conducted by the Postgraduate Studies Administration Section of the Office of Vice‐President for Academic Affairs to survey the spoken English proficiency of RPgs. The data collected will provide useful information that helps the University review its policy on the English Language requirements of its research students. In this exercise, the test results of individual students are known only to the test organizing office and the students themselves. The data collected will be used to compile reports for use by The Senate Committee on Postgraduate Studies (CPS). PG UPDATE – ISSUE 20 October 2008 http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/pg/ P.3 Environmentally Friendly Thesis To make process of the preparation of a thesis more environmentally friendly, the format requirements for thesis preparation have recently been revised. The main changes involve the following: (a) One‐and‐a‐half line spacing should be used throughout the thesis, except for abstracts, indented quotations or footnotes where single line spacing may be used. (b) Double‐sided printing of a thesis (including drafts, initial submissions and the final thesis). (c) All margins should be consistently 25mm (or at a maximum of 30mm) in width. The same margins should be used throughout a thesis. (d) Open a new page only after each chapter or section and not a sub‐section. The full version of the revised “Guidelines on Thesis Preparation” is available at: http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/pg/guidelines.html. The new thesis format is applicable to all theses examined on or after 1 Sept 2008. Plagiarism and Academic Integrity At the beginning of the calendar year, there was a suspected case of plagiarism involving faculty members of a sister institution. The case was revealed when a submitted research paper was retracted by an academic journal. An internal investigation concluded that the authors handled carelessly their own research data which had previously been published in other journals, and the authors had failed to make appropriate explicit references to such data. Students are reminded that in academia, plagiarism is considered ethical misconduct. The act is unacceptable and can lead to serious consequences including disciplinary measures. To avoid unwittingly committing plagiarism, faculty members should take note and caution their research postgraduate students and research teams that when submitting a manuscript for publication, they must ensure that any data, reviews or results that had been presented publicly must be accurately acknowledged and properly cited even though it is one’s previous work. Authors should only submit original work that has not been published elsewhere or is not currently under review for another journal. RPg Handbook 2008/09 The Handbook for Postgraduate Students 2008/09, produced by the Postgraduate Studies Administration Section of the Office of Vice‐President for Academic Affairs, outlines regulations, policies and procedures that are related to research postgraduate studies at the University. It also serves as a reference for faculty members and administrative staff who need to work with postgraduate students. Hardcopies of the Handbook were made available at Departments, Divisions and Program Offices at the beginning of Fall Semester, 2008/09. Please visit http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/pg/ for an online version of the Handbook. PG UPDATE – ISSUE 20 October 2008 http://www.ust.hk/vpaao/pg/ P.4 Becoming Well-trained Teaching Assistants As an important part of their training, research postgraduate students may be required to engage in ancillary duties related to teaching or research. While training in research skills is mainly provided by the home department, students are required to undergo training in preparation for their teaching assistantship (TA) duties organised by the Center for Enhanced Learning and Teaching (CELT). Each year at the beginning of Fall Semester, CELT organizes a series of events for newly‐arrived postgraduate PG students who serve as TAs. It includes orientation sessions, induction programs, information sessions, competency enhancement workshops, and departmental briefing sessions with experienced peers and TA coordinators (TAC) in respective departments. All these aim to help PG students familiarise themselves with such duties as conducting tutorial or laboratory sessions, marking and grading, helping instructors to prepare teaching materials, and organizing learning activities. Participation in some of these events is mandatory for new TAs. Induction programs and competency enhancement workshops are offered at the beginning of Fall and Spring Semesters for all TAs who wish to refresh and enhance their TA skills. Please visit ”Orientation & Induction for New TAs at HKUST” at: http://celt.ust.hk/ta/news.htm for latest updates. The TA Homepage (http://celt.ust.hk/ta/index.html) embedded in CELTʹs website contains comprehensive information that will acquaint you with the TA system at HKUST including peer support, TA duties, and other useful resources. Student Affairs Office Cares The Student Affairs Office at the HKUST has formed a support group for PGs with a view “to accompany, to support and to love” as its slogan suggests. If you wish to make new friends, feel home‐sick or lonely, or find your study or personal matters becoming very stressful, our SAO is here to help. With the support group in place, students can have better support when dealing with difficulties and challenges. Students in the support group will learn basic stress management techniques, communication skills, and ways to adjust to difficulties in life and study. Senior PG students are also invited to share their valuable experiences with the new PGs. If you are interested in learning more about the work of the support group mentioned above, please feel free to contact Miss Venus Yiu (Student Counselor and Clinical Psychologist) at: counsel@ust.hk for enquiries and assistance. COMMENTS WELCOME! This newsletter has been prepared by the PG Secretariat, Office of the Vice‐ President for Academic Affairs. Please send us an email at pgsec@ust.hk if you have any feedback or suggestions on this newsletter.