APSS International Scholar Talk by University of Warsaw, Poland

We are honoured to have Dr Maria THEISS, Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at University of Warsaw (UW), to deliver a talk amid her hectic three-day visit to PolyU.  The talk, entitled “Who should receive what and why?": Citizens' perceptions of deservingness and distributive justice in a multilayered welfare context”, was held face-to face for the first time in the International Scholar Talk Series on 9 March 2023. This talk is also one of APSS’ 50th Anniversary celebratory events. During her presentation, Dr THEISS examined how Polish citizens reflect on deservingness principles and how these notions are contextualised by the legacy of the Polish welfare state.  The talk was moderated by Dr Qiaobing WU, Associate Professor and Associate Head of APSS.  Dr Herbary CHEUNG, Research Assistant Professor of APSS, and several attendees joined the discussion on how people’s mindset of deservingness affects social policy implantation in Hong Kong and identified areas for possible research collaboration between UW and PolyU. Thank Dr Maria THEISS for delivering an inspiring presentation!  

Establishment of a Dual Degree Programme and Staff and Student Exchange with The University of Warsaw, Poland

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Faculty of Political Science and International Studies (WNPiSM) at The University of Warsaw (UW) on 8th March 2023.  The aim of the MoU is to foster a strategic cooperation and collaboration between Department of Applied Social Sciences (APSS) at PolyU and WNPiSM at UW. The partnership includes the establishment of a dual degree programme, staff and student exchange, joint research activities, participation in seminar and academic meetings, exchange of academic materials, and special short-term academic programmes.  Prof. David SHUM, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at PolyU, was invited to give the opening remarks. Prof. SHUM said, “Our Faculty of Health and Social Sciences and APSS have always been committed to nurturing professional service providers in the health and social sciences sectors. We strive to offer the best education for social and healthcare professionals, and we work towards innovative and impactful research that addresses complex social and health problems in society.” Prof. Daniel PRZASTEK, Dean of the WNPiSM at UW, was delighted to see the strategic cooperation and collaboration between our two universities, especially the proposed dual-degree programme in the area of social policy. Marking this special occasion, Dr Aleksander DAŃDA, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Hong Kong and Macau, was invited to give a congratulatory speech. Dr DAŃDA had high hopes that the partnership will facilitate students “to go into distant places, to see the differences with their own eyes and to understand the differences. By understanding, accept those different cultures.” The MoU was signed by Prof. David SHUM and Prof. Daniel PRZASTEK. The signing was witnessed by Dr Aleksander DAŃDA, Prof. Kwok-yin WONG, Vice President (Education) of PolyU, and Prof. Ben YOUNG, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs) of PolyU. Prof. Eric CHUI, Head of APSS, exchanged a souvenir with Prof. PRZASTEK, as a token of appreciation. The signing ceremony ended with rapturous applause. PolyU has always encouraged academic departments to strengthen cooperation and academic exchange with different world-leading universities. APSS looks forward to exploring further opportunities for collaboration with WNPiSM in different areas.  

Collaboration with Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan

Dr Ben KU, Associate Professor of APSS and Director of the China and Global Development Network (CGDN), and Ms Kan YIP, Assistant Director (Development and Partnership) of the CGDN, visited Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU), Almaty, Kazakhstan on 21st February 2023, to exchange views and to discuss opportunities of developing a mutually beneficial collaboration. They were warmly received by the Rector of KazNU, Dr Zhanseit TUIMEBAYEV and several faculty members* from KazNU. The visit began at the Al-Farabi Library in KazNU. At the meeting, Dr KU and Dr TUIMEBAYEV expressed eagerness for the two universities to work together through the establishment of the joint centre at KazNU in order to pursue international and interdisciplinary collaboration, especially in the field of global social development.  *Faculty members from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University are: Dr Gulmira ABDIRAIYMOVA, Head of the Department of Sociology and Social Work; Dr Bekzhan MEIRBAEV, Dean of the School of Philosophy and Political Science; Dr Vitaly SALNIKOV, Dean of the Faculty of Geography and Environmental Management; and Dr Nurzhan KUANTAY, Dean of the Faculty of Journalism. Read more from CGDN website: https://polyucrdn.eksx.com/load.php?id=578225

Second Event to Celebrate APSS' 50th Anniversary - Narrative Therapy Workshop - Full House!

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of APSS, Dr Siu Wai LIT, Principal Clinical Associate of APSS, hosted a face-to-face workshop on Narrative Therapy on 25 February 2023.   This workshop targeted helping professionals who were new to Narrative Therapy, and those who wanted to explore the application of Narrative Therapy in their workplace.   With approximately 60 APSS students and alumni in attendance, the workshop provided attendees with a philosophical foundation and discussed the basic concepts of Narrative Therapy. Attendees also had a taste of how to use techniques such as narrative conversation in real-life situations. We received valuable feedbacks from them on the professional and helpful training offered by Dr LIT’s workshop.   APSS look forward to providing more workshops and training for community members in the future.   Watch the workshop highlight video: https://youtu.be/uXcdtKhPa10  

Bravo! Year 3 Social Policy and Social Entrepreneurship (SPSE) Students Shine

APSS is very proud to announce that a team of APSS year 3 students, including Brandon Chiu Yeung CHAN, Wellesley Chun Yui LEUNG and James Tsz For LO, from the BA (Hons) in Social Policy and Social Entrepreneurship (SPSE) programme won the Stage One award (HKD 20,000) of the PolyU Micro Fund 2022-23 Cohort 1. The team has subsequently been admitted to the HKSTP Ideation Programme (HKD 100,000).   The student team took the initiative to kick start a social project – Spartan, a platform with an artificial intelligence (AI) system that integrates job-matching, skills-enhancement tutorials, and CV enrichment, designed for students in post-secondary education. The team won the Micro Fund award for their innovative and creative thinking, IT skills, and the social mission of the project. With the funding being awarded and associated opportunities, the team can further pursue their social enterprise dreams and entrepreneurial journey.   With support and professional advice from Dr Raymond TAM, Programme Leader of SPSE, and Mr Ken CHAU, Project Associate of SPSE and also an alumnus of APSS, the team showed remarkable skill, put maximum effort into all rounds of assessment, and ultimately stood out from more than 100 teams.   Let’s take this opportunity to congratulate them on receiving the awards!  

APSS-led Projects to Enhance Psychosocial Well-being in Different Communities

Prof. Sylvia CHEN (Associate Dean of FHSS, Associate Director of Mental Health Research Centre and Professor of APSS) and Dr Angel LAI (Assistant Professor of APSS) have received support for their project under Phase 2 of the Mental Health Initiatives Funding Scheme (the Funding Scheme) coordinated by the Advisory Committee on Mental Health to develop innovative social services programmes for improving the mental well-being of adolescents and school communities.   Principal Investigator: Prof. Sylvia CHEN Project Title: Reducing Social Avoidance and Enhancing Prosocial Behaviour among Adolescents with Special Educational Needs Project Summary: The project aims to foster prosocial behaviour of adolescents with special educational needs (SEN) in transition with the use of virtual reality (VR) technology. It will implement social anxiety intervention based on a cognitive-behavioural approach with a virtual coach acting as the therapist and develop a gamified prosocial VR intervention for adolescents with SEN. This VR-assisted social avoidance and prosocial behaviour intervention would benefit individuals and society by cultivating psychological and socially healthy young people. Funded Amount: HK$1.9 million Co-PIs: Prof. Winnie Mak (Professor, Department of Psychology, CUHK) Dr Bryant Hui (Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Social Sciences, PolyU) Co-Is: Dr Jeffrey Ho (Assistant Professor, School of Design, PolyU) Dr Richard Li (Research Assistant Professor, Department of Computing, PolyU) Dr Rosetta Wong (Teaching Fellow, Department of Applied Social Sciences, PolyU) Principal Investigator: Dr Angel LAI Project Title: Healing Together: Building Positive School Mental Health in Post-COVID Hong Kong Project Summary: The project aims to promote mental health and its awareness for stakeholders of secondary schools including students, teachers, administrative staff and management. Healing spaces will be constructed in the partnering schools. The programme will adopt a train-the-trainer approach to train students to become mental health ambassadors for programme sustainability and student empowerment. Collaborative Partner: Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service Funded Amount: HK$1.7 million   Online coverage: PolyU Media Releases: https://polyu.hk/ilmgA Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/3lElu94 Ming Pao Daily News - https://polyu.me/3KgY6Ja Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/3YJTEH6 Line Today - https://polyu.me/3kbBjns  

New Book Published by Dr Herbary CHEUNG

This book is dedicated to late Dr. David Ip whom Herbary would be nowhere near who he is today without. Dr Herbary CHEUNG, Research Assistant Professor of APSS, and a Research Associate at Institut de Recherche sur l'Asie du Sud-Est Contemporaine (IRASEC) in France, has recently published a sole-authored book titled Engendering Migration Journey: Identity, Ethnicity and Gender of Thai Migrant Women in Hong Kong. This book draws on ethnographic research conducted with the Thai migrant community in Hong Kong and provides original insights into the complexity and diversity of identity negotiation, ethnicity navigation, and womanhood reinvention of Thai migrant women in Hong Kong. It illustrates the influence of transnationalism and multiculturalism on migrant women's meaning-making and accentuates the importance of diversity within a migrant population.   Dr CHEUNG is the awardee of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme and Ernst Mach Grant-worldwide. His research engages with gender and migration, family, marriage and health, critical social policy, intersectionality, and feminist research methods by focusing on Hong Kong-Southeast Asia connections.   Read the book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-15975-6

Service-learning course opens for registration (Social Poverty in Developing Countries)

Research Student Attachment Programme (RSAP) 2023

Research Student Attachment Programme (RSAP) 2023   Through the Research Student Attachment Programme (RSAP) 2023, APSS PhD students will be going on a three- to six-month exchange in world-renowned universities. Also, PhD students from internationally acclaimed overseas universities will visit APSS. This year, APSS is proud to announce the following outgoing and incoming PhD student arrangements:   Outgoing Student to University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, USA: Ms Xiaoyan CHEN is a 3rd year PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Edward CHAN (Chief Supervisor) and Dr Camilla LO (Co-supervisor). Ms Chen will spend three months at the School of Social Work, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Prof. Richard M. TOLMAN will serve as Ms Chen’s host supervisor at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Prof. Tolman is an outstanding scholar in the field of family violence.    Outgoing Student to National University of Singapore, Singapore: Mr Bo LI will spend six months at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (NUS). Mr Li is a 3rd year PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Juan CHEN (Chief Supervisor) and Dr Chengpang LEE (Co-supervisor). Dr Natasha HOWARD will serve as Mr Li’s host supervisor at NUS. Dr Howard is an interdisciplinary health policy and systems researcher, focusing primarily on low and middle-income countries.     Incoming Student from The University of Chicago, USA: Miss Linyun FU is a doctoral student from the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at The University of Chicago, under the supervision of Prof. J. Curtis MCMILLEN. Miss Fu’s research focuses on promoting the well-being of rural children in China through a social-emotional learning-based intervention. Miss Fu will visit APSS for three months to collaborate on multiple projects on the resilience of migrant children with Dr Lu YU, who will serve as Miss Fu’s supervisor.   Incoming Student from University of Antwerp, Belgium: Mr Benjamin Muhoza KANZE is a doctoral student from the University of Antwerp, under the supervision of Prof. Tom DE HERDT. Dr Karita KAN will supervise Mr Kanze during his three-month attachment at APSS. Mr Kanze’s thesis aims to examine the mechanisms of accumulation and the extent of economic inequality in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). During his attachment at PolyU, he also aims to finish writing two manuscripts, participate in APSS events, and disseminate his research findings in seminars.  

APSS’ 50th Anniversary - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Workshop – Full House!

Kicking off the first event to celebrate its 50th Anniversary, the Department of Applied Social Sciences (APSS) had the pleasure of hosting Dr Samuel LEUNG, our alumnus and former Programme Leader of the Master of Social Work (Mental Health) Programme, to deliver a face-to-face workshop on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) at the intermediate level on 31st December 2022. From 2016 onward, Samuel has held more than 15 experiential workshops for mental health social workers, and is one of the most active ACT trainers in the field of mental health care in Hong Kong.   With over 45 APSS social work graduates in attendance, the workshop provided them with an in-depth introduction to ACT, Relational Frame Theory, Applied Behavioural Analysis, and case conceptualisation. In addition, our graduates were paired up for various experiential activities such as ‘two-scale-metaphor’, ‘don’t-do-what-you-think’, and ‘physicalising’. Our graduates offered remarkable feedbacks on the quality and level of training from Samuel’s workshop. APSS looks forward to providing more advanced ACT training for our graduates and alumni in the future.   We are very grateful to have spent the last day of 2022 in such a meaningful and fruitful event. A series of events will be held to celebrate APSS’ 50th Anniversary in the first half of 2023. Stay tuned!