For Immediate Release

17 May 2005

The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) has received a $40 million grant from The TS Kwok Foundation for its Phase II Campus extension, in what is the largest donation the university has been given in recent years. Construction will start once OUHK receives approval for its government loan.

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) Vice Chairmen & Managing Directors Mr. Thomas Kwok and Dr. Raymond Kwok presented The TS Kwok Foundation's donation today (May 17). Also on hand were SHKP executive directors Thomas Chan, Kwong Chun and Mike Wong, plus senior managers.

Dr. Raymond Kwok said that the OUHK is committed to making education available to all who want it; so that anyone with the necessary determination can make their goal of attaining higher academic qualifications come true. He said the OUHK has educated tens of thousands of people in its 15 years of operation, and its significant contribution to Hong Kong's development makes it definitely worth supporting.

He said: "The goals of the Open University remind me of my late father Kwok Tak-seng. The war prevented him from going to university before he started working, but nothing could dampen his eagerness to learn. He endured hardships but studied diligently, and at the age of 50 entered the real estate business. Hard work and determination paid off when he finally established Sun Hung Kai Properties. My father believed in life-long learning. He was an avid student who took every opportunity to learn, working hard into the twilight of his life. Even when he could hardly read because old age had weakened his eyesight, he would ask others to read newspapers and magazine articles aloud for him, so he could keep absorbing new knowledge. This determination to always improve is mirrored in the Open University's philosophy."

"The TS Kwok Foundation is now contributing $40 million to help with the Open University's second stage campus expansion, and we hope that the donation will give many more aspiring academics who missed out on earlier opportunities the chance to achieve a university education," he added.

OUHK Council Chairman Dr. Charles Lee paid tribute to the Kwok family for its strong commitment to education and support of a large number of educational and training projects through SHKP and The TS Kwok Foundation.

"A few years ago when we conceived the campus extension, Dr. Kwok expressed an interest in supporting it. Only early this year was a detailed proposal submitted to him after we finalized the project's scale and financial arrangements. It was such a wonderful surprise to us that Dr. Kwok swiftly pledged the first major donation to the project," he said.

"This splendid gift is crucial to the whole project and puts us almost halfway to our fundraising target. We plan to name the new building after the late Kwok Tak-seng," he continued.

OUHK President Prof. John Leong said that the university recently made an application to the Education and Manpower Bureau for a loan, and the Council's Sponsorship and Development Fund Committee is also geared up to solicit support from the community. If the loan is granted this year, construction can begin early next year and the new building can be completed in late 2008 or early 2009 the latest.

"The University is introducing more face-to-face programmes to give additional choice to adult learners and young people. We will substantially expand the number of full-time degree programmes from six to 18 this year, and for the first time offer part-time Master's programmes. We need a new building to accommodate the steadily increasing enrolment in these programmes, to provide more space for classroom teaching and student activities," he said.

The Phase II Campus will be built on the car park area of the Ho Man Tin campus. It will be a 12-storey building with 10,000 square meters of gross floor area and a capacity of 1,600 students at one time, triple the current campus. Its completion will save $8 million in rent for external space annually. The new building will have 30 tutorial rooms, lecture halls, a library extension and science, computer and language laboratories, as well as a student counselling centre and a student activity centre. The cost, including construction, fitting out and equipment, will be $170 million. It will be funded half by a government loan and half by private donations.

The OUHK introduced its Partners in Learning Scheme for community involvement in 1993, when the institution became self-financing. Over the years, hundreds of charitable organizations and philanthropists have given support through the scheme to a number of projects including construction, setting up the Island Learning Centre, various laboratories and an electronic library, educational TV programmes, student financial assistance and more.

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