KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

Knowledge Exchange Awards 2016

The annual Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards recognize each Faculty's outstanding KE accomplishment that has made demonstrable economic, social or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organizations. The KE Award (Non-Faculty Unit) was introduced with the same objective for the independent centres, institutes and units of the University. Results of the 2016 KE Awards are now available.

HKU disseminates findings on "Swallowing difficulties in visually impaired elderly population"

From December 2015 to June 2016, the research team of the HKU Swallowing Research Laboratory of the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences and The Hong Kong Society for the Blind (HKSB) Residential Services visited 4 branches of the HKSB Residential Services for the elderly. Out of a total of 398 residents in the four nursing homes, 61% of the residents were documented to have some level of swallowing difficulties. In terms of mealtime assistance, 70% of the residents required special food processing and 24% of the elderly required assistance with feeding during mealtimes. The research team conducted face-to-face clinical assessments with 109 elderly residents to further investigate the nature of their swallowing difficulties. Over 60% of the elderly with swallowing difficulties were not aware of their swallowing problems. The team recommends that additional care should be taken when looking after elderly people who are at high risk for swallowing difficulties, and regular education for the elderly and their carers be provided to increase their awareness in swallowing difficulties and the consequences.

HKU education research reveals "Reading Battle" e-quiz platform effective in motivating students to read

The e-quiz platform "Reading Battle" was released by the HKU Centre for Information Technology in Education in 2014 to motivate primary and kindergarten students to read more by engaging them in e-quizzes about the content and applying various game mechanics (points, e-badges, levels) in its design. More than 5,000 students in over 50 schools/libraries have used the platform. Students from Taiwan, Mainland China and the US also joined the scheme. Principal investigator Dr Samuel Chu said many students have seen their reading abilities improve quickly and easily. The top seven students read and answered about or over 300 books (one read over 400 books) and achieved an average score of 82 - 97 out of 100.

New website launched to help students with mathematics difficulties: Maths Buddy

The Maths Buddy website, jointly developed by Dr Sandra Tsang Kit Man of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, and Dr Ida Mok Ah Chee of the Faculty of Education, focuses on helping children with mathematics difficulties at primary school level. The resources include an introduction, tools for learning mathematics, suggested games and stories of hope shared by a doctor and his family of a child with dyslexia and math difficulties. The tools and experience shared by the family may be helpful to other children with dyscalculia, math difficulties associated with dyslexia / attention-deficit disorders / other special educational needs. This website project was supported by the HKU Knowledge Exchange funding.

Knowledge Exchange Awards 2015

The Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards were introduced in 2011 in order to recognize each Faculty’s outstanding KE accomplishment that has made demonstrable economic, social or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organizations. Results of the 2015 Faculty KE Awards are now available.

Knowledge Exchange Awards 2014

The Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards were introduced in 2011 in order to recognize each Faculty's outstanding KE accomplishment that has made demonstrable economic, social or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organizations. Following the successful launch of the Faculty KE Awards, the KE Award (Non-Faculty Unit) was introduced in 2012 with the same objective for the independent centres, institutes and units of the University. Results of the 2014 KE Awards are now available.

HKU Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences provides speech therapy to children from low-income families

HKU Faculty of Education's Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences has partnered with Sunshine Children Foundation to establish a speech therapy sponsorship programme for children from low-income families. Students from the Division provide assistance and therapy to children who have speech impairments under supervision of their clinical supervisors. About 70 children have benefited since the programme was introduced in 2013. In Hong Kong, the number of children aged 12 or below diagnosed with speech impairments rose from about 2,600 in 2011 to nearly 3,100 in 2013 while there are only nine speech therapists with the Department of Health's Child Assessment Service.