This year we celebrate the recognition of acquiring the university title: Saint Francis University (聖方濟各大學), and at the same time we commemorate the 20th anniversary of our Felizberta Lo Padilla Tong School of Social Sciences. Both milestones are the culmination of years of dedication from our devoted teachers, academic and religious leaders, colleagues, alumni, students, and various stakeholders.

One of the major events for our 20th anniversary is an international conference taking place on November 8-9 and 11, 2024. This marks the second international conference celebrating our anniversaries, the first being in 2019 during our 15th anniversary celebration. Over the past five years, we have achieved self-accreditation status for our social work programs (PAA status) in 2021. Additionally, our student population has grown from 1,100 in 2019 to 1,300 in 2024. Currently, we have over 3,500 graduates from all our programmes, with an additional 480 graduates this year alone, most of whom are from our social work programmes.

In addition to our teaching programmes, we have made significant strides in our research endeavours. Currently, we are engaged in 20 research projects in collaboration with NGOs, government bodies, and various disciplines within higher education institutions. Our research efforts are gradually clustering into several major areas: policies for an ageing society, care supports and policies, children, youth and families, mental health and addictions, poverty and sub-standard housing, as well as the application of data in social policies and social services. Our research funding is sourced from the Research Grants Council (the RGC), the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit, other Bureaux and Departments of the HKSAR Government, the Macao SAR Government, charitable foundations, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), and internal research grants.

We have selected three important themes for this year’s international conference. Two of these themes focus on informal caregivers: “Caregiving policy and practice in Hong Kong: International perspectives and local initiatives” and “Voice from the informal caregivers: A global dialogue on navigating challenges and cultivating support” The third theme is “Applying data science to social sciences”. The significance of these themes is self-evident, and we have invited renowned researchers to present at the three-day conference. We hope to attract participants from academia, practitioners, and service users alike.

Since the research projects related to the caregiving themes are jointly organized with the Department of Social Work of Hong Kong Shue Yan University (HKSYU), The sessions on November 11 will be held at the HKSYU campus. As a new university, we aspire to integrate knowledge creation, teaching, practice, and services seamlessly. Our goal is to create a platform for collaboration and knowledge advancement that expands the potential of everyone involved and fosters a caring society that prioritises the well-being of all its members.

We look forward to meeting you and sharing ideas at the upcoming international conference on 8 9, and 11 November

Prof WONG Yu-cheung

Dean

Felizberta Lo Padilla Tong School of Social Sciences