Opening of The University System of Taiwan-Chinese University of Hong Kong-Peking University Joint Research Centre for Language & Human Complexity
The new Joint Research Centre will provide a platform for collaboration, developing cross-institution research, sharing resources, and exchanging experience of researching aspects of human complexity undertaken with relation to the various Chinese languages to boost academic standards and innovation. Prof. Sung said “The Centre is the first cross-strait and cross-discipline research base in CUHK, showcasing a joint effort of the three partner institutions. We aspire to serve as a bridge to enhance academic exchange and promote development of language research in the Greater China region.’
Scholars from UST, Peking University, and CUHK have been collaborating closely for the past several years promoting the development of language studies. Riding on the strength of this established collaboration, the joint centre now established will further enhance the partnership of the three universities in the areas of language and human complexity, constructing a more systemized and solid cross-strait research base across the strait. The joint centre will conduct field work and laboratory experiments to examine the nature of humans; to deepen our understanding of the biological basis of language, and of the acquisition of one’s native language and second languages; and to further assist in the treatment of language disorders, such as aphasia, alexia, and language degradation that accompanies aging.
The Joint Research Centre for Language and Human Complexity is located in the Tsang Shiu Tim Building at CUHK. It will operate under an international Advisory Board, chaired by Academician William Shi-Yuan Wang who commented “The establishment of the Joint Research Centre has great historical significance; it is a major milestone for developing leading edge research on language in Greater China.” Prof. Wang is a research professor in the Department of Linguistics & Modern Languages in the Faculty of Arts and also in the Department of Electronic Engineering at CUHK, and a longtime advocate of trans-disciplinary research.
The presidents of the three universities were joined by Prof. Kenneth Pugh, director of Haskins Laboratory, USA; Prof. Jing-Yang Jou, president of Taiwan Central University; Prof. Yan-Hwa Wu Lee, president of Taiwan Chiao Tung University; Prof. Kung-Yee Liang, president of Taiwan Yang Ming University; Prof. Leung Yuen Sang, dean of the Faculty of Arts, CUHK; and Prof. William Shi-Yuan Wang from CUHK at the plaque-unveiling ceremony. Dozens of guests from Hong Kong, mainland China, and Taiwan who witnessed the signing. The establishment of the Joint Research Centre will strengthen ties between scholars associated with CUHK, Peking University, and UST, and long-term sustainable collaboration between these veritable institutions of higher education and research.