PolyU’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences (RS) hosted the 12th Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation (PPCR) from 27-28 November 2021, under the theme of “Innovations and Technological Developments in Rehabilitation”. The virtual conference received an encouraging response from experts, scholars, clinicians, healthcare administrators and students in Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas countries.

Mr Kok Che-leung, Deputy Director of Social Welfare (Services) of the HKSAR; Professor Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU; Professor David Shum, Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at PolyU; Professor Hector Tsang, Chair Professor and Head of RS at PolyU; and Dr Andy Cheng, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 12th PPCR, Associate Head of RS at PolyU, officiated at the opening ceremony.

More than 300 people registered for the conference, one-third of whom were from overseas institutions. Out of the 129 abstract submissions accepted, 51 were selected for a platform presentation, with the rest presented in poster format. A post-conference workshop was also conducted on 3 December 2021 by Professor Susan Whitney on the topic of “Advances in the Treatment of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo”.

A number of distinguished speakers from prestigious universities were invited to deliver keynote lectures on a wide range of topics in rehabilitation. In addition, workshops and platform presentations were also conducted online, and around 100 local participants had a chance to physically visit the advanced equipment and laboratories of RS in the Engagement Hub session held on 27 November 2021.

The PPCR was inaugurated in Guangzhou in 1998 and has since become an iconic biannual event of RS. The 12th PPCR aims to foster multi-disciplinary collaborations among rehabilitation professionals, academics, students and healthcare administrators in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.