The School of Chinese Medicine (the School) of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) was established in 1998. Following its restructuring in 2002, the School not only set up its teaching block at the Sassoon Road Campus, but also launched the full-time UGC-funded Bachelor of Chinese Medicine programme (BChinMed) in the same year which paved way for formulating an accredited Chinese Medicine education system.

As one of the founding members of the School, together with my fellow colleagues, we uphold the principles of “striving for excellence in clinical skills, adherence to code of practice, and nurturing competent professionals in the medical profession” in developing renowned education in the Chinese medicine discipline, providing quality clinical training and services, as well as promoting interdisciplinary research in Chinese medicine. While inheriting the culture and practice of traditional Chinese medicine, we also embrace innovation and the synergy achieved by the interactions among the “clinical service, teaching and research" sectors.

By executing the vision of taking traditional Chinese medicine concepts and practice as the core elements, together with an integration of modern medical science in teaching, the School aims at nurturing all-round Chinese Medicine professionals who are well-equipped in both Chinese and Western Medicine disciplines and passionate in pursuing lifelong learning. Nourished in the fine soil with the rich blend of Chinese and Western cultures laid by HKU, and riding on the novel strategic initiatives introduced by the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the School has implemented a series of reforms, introduced new concepts, adopted new pedagogies, facilitated interdisciplinary collaboration, and incorporated knowledge of different disciplines in the mode of teaching. As of today, the School has been undergoing robust growth and it has offered an extensive range of programmes, including the BChinMed, taught postgraduate degree programme, and research postgraduate programme as to maintain an abundant supply of talented Chinese Medicine professionals for Hong Kong and globally.

The School also places strong emphasis on the development of students’ clinical skills. We advocating the strategy of “taking more clinical training at an early stage”, for enhancing the fundamental clinical training for our students. Currently, clinical training has been arranged at the Queen Mary Hospital, the Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital, the HKU-Shenzhen Hospital, two Clinical Centres for Teaching and Research under the School, as well as six Outpatient Clinical Centres established under a tripartite collaboration amongst Hospital Authority, Non-Governmental Organizations and HKU. These well-established clinical centres serve as optimum sites for training purpose, as well as offering quality clinical services for the general public.

Modern scientific research is another critical element of the School’s ongoing development. We focus on conducting basic research, converting medical and research outputs substantiated by scientific evidence, fostering the collaboration between Chinese and Western Medicine practitioners, and upgrading the research teams via open recruitment and professional development plan. All these initiatives help determine the School’s direction of its core research projects. In recent years, we have attained remarkable achievements in terms of scientific research outputs and various funding/grant results. The School’s academic status has been widely recognized in the Chinese medicine field both locally and internationally.

We have maintained close contact with our local counterparts, affiliated organizations worldwide and government departments. We shall continually strengthen our communication with external parties and explore the feasibility of collaborations in the “clinical service, teaching and research" aspects. Nevertheless, we shall also step up our efforts in engaging in more knowledge exchange activities contributing to our community and economic development.

The past 22 years have been an incredible journey for the development of the School. I am much honored in participating and witnessing the robust growth of it. Looking ahead, there are a number of emerging opportunities, such as relocation of our office at the newly furnished academic building at 3 Sassoon Road by 2022 and the first Chinese Medicine Hospital commencing operation by 2024 tentatively. I am highly optimistic with the future prospect of the School and the local Chinese medicine industry. With concerted efforts of our dedicated staff, we are committed to making full use of its own advantages and strengths, and play a pivotal role in Chinese medicine education, clinical training and research in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and in the world, and at the same time promoting collaborations of Chinese and western medicine as well as facilitating the modernization and internationalization of Chinese medicine.