- PolyU hosted Hong Kong’s first-ever Clinical Education Conference, drawing 300+ global experts in physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
- A landmark collaboration was signed between PolyU and the University of Queensland to launch the Joint Health Professions Education Research Laboratory.
- The initiative aims to revolutionize clinical education and research across the Asia-Pacific through innovative, evidence-based teaching and interprofessional cooperation.
The Department of Rehabilitation Sciences of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has just organized the first Clinical Education Conference, a historic event and a first in Hong Kong. This trailblazing conference aimed to facilitate the growth of clinical education in the areas of physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and it was successful in gathering more than 300 clinical educators, researchers, and healthcare professionals.
Participants came from across a wide range of institutions, covering government departments, non-governmental organizations, and private healthcare providers, indicative of the enhanced significance and interest to raise standards of clinical education.
One of the highlights of the event was the signing of an agreement for PolyU and the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, to set up the Joint Health Professions Education Research Laboratory. This project will propel forward collaborative research and innovation in the education of healthcare professionals, with an emphasis on occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
The collaboration highlights the devotion of the two institutions to not only enhance academic and clinical relationships but also to make a valuable contribution to the development of evidence-based teaching methods and interprofessional education across borders.
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With PolyU, Professor Marco Pang, who holds various leadership positions such as the Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Professorship in Rehabilitation Sciences, Chair Professorship in Neurorehabilitation, and Head, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, signed the agreement, together with Professor Sandy Brauer, Deputy Executive Dean of the University of Queensland's Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. Their signing signalled the official inauguration of the Joint Health Professions Education Research Laboratory, marking an important milestone in research and academic cooperation between Hong Kong and Australia.
The setting up of this collaborative research lab is anticipated to bear significant results in research in health education, especially developing and assessing creative teaching methods and training approaches consonant with contemporary clinical demands. Through the development of international cooperation, PolyU and UQ are making themselves trendsetters in determining the future of health professions education not only within their home nations but across the wider Asia-Pacific region as well.
