Faculty of Dentistry Inaugural Knowledge Exchange Award Ceremony 2017

Kicking off its 35th anniversary celebration, the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) held the Inaugural Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award Ceremony at Prince Philip Dental Hospital today (March 6) to recognise its faculty members and students for their outstanding contributions in promoting dental healthcare to residents, minorities, and local communities. Two honourable guests Professor Andy Hor, HKU Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and Mr. Hoi-wai Chua, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Council of Social Service, officiated at the ceremony and greeted the winners.

In the opening speech, Professor Hor said: “KE has been an important goal of the University for several years now, and the Faculty of Dentistry has done an excellent job in turning that goal into action. They may be the best dental faculty in the world, according to the QS ranking, but they have their eye on the horizon – on translating their research into the kind of impact and community engagement that are necessary to sustain their excellence.”

Professor Thomas Flemmig, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, expressed his thanks to the staff and students. He said: “It is an astounding achievement that in just 35 years, the Faculty has become regarded as the best in the world for its teaching and research. But what is less well-known is that our scholars also have a deep commitment to helping those in need and promoting oral healthcare in the community. They have put in extra hours, recruited students and professionals in the field, developed collaborations with outside organisations and generally pulled out all the stops to ensure their knowledge and know-how does not remain behind the doors of an ivory tower.”

Meanwhile, Professor Flemmig pointed out: “There are still deep pockets of need for dental healthcare here in Hong Kong and the region, which means our work is far from done. I am sure we will continue to see much activity related to KE in the years to come.”

Collaborating with different partner NGOs, the 11 awarded projects served the communities in various innovative ways, for example, setting up Mobile Dental Clinics to offer citizens free oral check-ups, scaling and cavity filling service, holding seminars and talks to promote precautionary measures against oral diseases. Beneficiaries from these projects ranged from local citizens, including Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers, children with special needs, foreign domestic helpers, and the Muslim community. Some of the projects even offered outreach service outside Hong Kong, such as Nanning, Liuzhou, and Kunming in Mainland China, and even transferred dental knowledge to the remote overseas areas like Sri Lanka in South Asia.

About Faculty of Dentistry
Established in 1982, the Faculty of Dentistry is the sole educational hub for dentists in the territory. Faculty of Dentistry provides professional dentistry education with signature programmes in Dental Public Health, Paediatric Dentistry, Periodontology, Orthodontics, and Prosthodontics. On the basis of clinical sessions and problem-based discussions, the faculty envisions to further advance the delivery of comprehensive oral healthcare to local residents of Hong Kong in the long-run through training up passionate dentists who are committed to serving the local community.

Press Enquiries
Ms. Sau-wan Cheng/Knowledge Exchange Officer, Faculty of Dentistry, HKU/Phone: (852)28590410/
Email:dentke@hku.hk