Campus Digest

HKBU confers title of Emeritus Professor on Professor Lau Sing

04 Sep 2014

Professor Lau Sing is named Emeritus Professor Professor Lau Sing is named Emeritus Professor
Professor Lau Sing is named Emeritus Professor

 

HKBU announced the conferment of the title of Emeritus Professor on Professor Lau Sing, Chair Professor of the Department of Education Studies and former Director of the Centre for Child Development, in recognition of his significant contributions and long-standing services to the University and his distinguished achievements in the academic world and the community at large, effective 1 September 2014.

Professor Lau has served the University for almost 24 years. He first joined the University in 1978 as a lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Social Work where he worked for a year. In 1991, he re-joined the Department of Education Studies of the University and became Professor in 1995 and Chair Professor in 1996. Professor Lau was the Head of the Department of Education Studies from 1991 to 1994. Over the years, he has supervised over 50 postgraduate students.

Professor Lau was the founding Director of the Centre for Child Development and held the position from 1991 to 2013. The Centre was set up with the aim of fostering children’s positive development through inter-disciplinary research and training programmes. Under his leadership, the Centre has conducted research and organised a wide array of training activities on psychological development, gifted education, parenting education as well as single-parent family services in the past two decades. In addition, the annual summer camp for children initiated by Professor Lau has become a leading programme of its kind in Hong Kong.

Professor Lau is held in high regard by the international community of researchers on child development, gifted education and creativity. A prolific scholar, Professor Lau boasts a strong record of scholarship including nearly 80 journal articles, eight books, 19 book chapters and has received over HK$25 million in grants, including nine grants from Research Grants Council and 13 from the Government’s Quality Education Fund. He has also unceasingly rendered his professional service to promote research and scholarship by serving as panel member of the Research Grants Council for reviewing research proposals and editorial board member of a number of international journals on education and creativity. 

Professor Lau is also widely respected locally for his continuous leadership of outreach programmes promoting creativity and child development. In the past few decades, apart from being frequently invited to speak in seminars and to write educational pieces of interest to the community, he has served enthusiastically on numerous organisations and committees ranging from the government and education institutions to social welfare groups serving children and youths, contributing to the betterment of society on various fronts.