Transdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Exchange 2017-18

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Why? To increase the capacities of our students for creative problem-solving and global collaboration, both virtual and physical, that produces tangible outcomes around issues of urgent importance.

Who? From HKU, 10 highly motivated, committed, creative, and curious students from across all the Faculties who have (i) successfully completed at least three Common Core courses with Grade B or above; (ii) obtained a cumulative GPA (CGPA) of 3.0 or above; and (iii) are committed to full engagement with the exchange, including an availability during the week of Utrecht’s visit.

Costs? The Common Core, with generous support from the University and the UGC, will cover the costs of the roundtrip flight from Hong Kong-Amsterdam; lodging in Utrecht; and a modest per diem for food.

What? A set of transdisciplinary research methods and events will be initiated and organized by students around issues related to social, artistic, and technical creativity in relation to the Experience of the City.

With their peers in Utrecht, students will co-create research strands, events for public participation, and creative + scholarly + media outcomes for the purposes of discovery, visibility, and potential publication.

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How to participate?

Application Deadline: November 6, 2017

All applicants should submit a 500 word statement in which s/he demonstrates how s/he has exhibited creativity, research capability, organizational and time-management skills, and a desire to serve as a social change-agent. In addition, please include an updated CV; a copy of the transcript of academic record; and a photograph.

For details about applying for an academic transcript, please visit the website of the Academic Support and Examinations Section (http://www.ase.hku.hk/asoffice/). The normal processing time is 10 working days (excluding Saturday, Sunday and public holidays).

The application materials should be sent to commoncore@hku.hk with the subject line reading Common Core Transdisciplinary Research Exchange Application.

Successful applicants will be asked to sign a Common Core Letter of Commitment, insuring their full engagement with the project throughout the entire trajectory, including, potentially, during the Spring Semester Exam Period. We will provide letters of request to professors if you need to miss class during the week when your Utrecht peers visit.

No late applications will be accepted.

When?

  • One meeting in Semester 1 to begin to brainstorm possible projects and intersections with our Utrecht colleagues.
  • Just after the beginning of classes in Semester 2 to take the next steps in planning and implementing the collaboration. The group will meet approximately every two weeks, in the early evening, to do the necessary preparation for the HKU events and get the research and project management process underway.
  • The virtual collaboration between the two research groups will begin, approximately, in early February.
  • Utrecht Students will visit Hong Kong in April and the Hong Kong Students will visit Utrecht from (approximately) May 28 to June 3. During these two weeks the events that are the outcome of this collaboration will take place. You must be available for the week of the Utrecht visit.

Outcomes?

The project will produce a series of tangible outcomes, including:

  • Public Events organized around the topics of the students’ choice, but related to the experience of the city.
  • An increased capacity for transdisciplinary research, project-management, seminars, and related activities.
  • A project notebook (physical + digital) and reflective/analytic writing.
  • You will be asked to write an analytic reflection on the experience, to co-construct essays and media with your Utrecht partners, to share the experience with others, and to serve as peer mentors for the following year’s group. These outcomes will offer various possibilities for publication.
  • A shared HKU-Utrecht TransDisciplinary Research website and FaceBook Page.
  • New collaborative research networks, videos, and social interventions.

This type of collaborative research will deepen understanding of the world and the possibilities for your future work, whatever that might be. Participants will receive Certificates of Accomplishment and will be able to share their experience in a number of different venues. In addition, each participant, should the need arise, will receive a letter of recommendation for graduate study or job placement from the Director.

Partners: Common Core@HKU, The Humanities Honours Programme at Utrecht University, the Hong Kong University Museum & Art Gallery, the Black Box Theatre, and others TBD.

The Common Core@HKU: The Common Core serves all HKU undergraduates, who are required to take six interdisciplinary courses across four Areas of Inquiry: Science and Technological Literacy, Humanities and Arts, Global Issues, and China. The Core emphasizes transdisciplinary practice, learning organized around exploratory projects, building capacities for creative collaboration, and knowledge-exchanges with the campus, Hong Kong, and beyond. (http://tl.hku.hk/common-core-curriculum/)

The Honours Humanities Program at Utrecht University: The Humanities Honours programme runs for three years alongside the regular bachelor programmes. It is accessible only to the top 5% of Utrecht University students, which means that only the brightest, most creative and active students are part of this initiative. With an emphasis on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary theory, the programme is focused on response-ability to the contemporary crisis (ecological, social, academic) that haunts Europe, humanity and the Earth. (http://students.uu.nl/en/academics/honours)

Programme Directors:

Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, PhD, Professor & Director, Common Core, University of Hong Kong (gklindgren@hku.hk)
Rick Dolphijn, PhD, Humanities Honours Programme Coordinator, Associate Professor, Media and Cultural Studies, University of Utrecht; Visiting Associate Professor, Comparative Literature, University of Hong Kong (r.dolphijn@uu.nl)


Two information sessions about the TransDisciplinary Undergraduate Research Exchange will be held in October. Details as follows:

Dates: October 10, 2017 (Tuesday) & October 12, 2017 (Thursday)
Time: 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Venue: Common Core Lounge (Room 150, 1/F, Main Building)