I have just completed a stimulating and informative visit to Hong Kong as the 2015 Institute of Creativity Distinguished Visitor at Hong Kong Baptist University. It was an honor but also an opportunity to catch up with colleagues and developments in research across the country. I gave a public lecture on the work we did for UNESCO’s Internet Study, a seminar on my conception of the Fifth Estate, and a final roundtable discussion of doctoral student research. Faculty and doctoral students in the School of Communication were the primary audience, and I was impressed with the range of Internet studies they are pursuing, and the international diversity of the school’s graduate program.
Hong Kong Baptist University Professor Colin Sparks, a major figure in media and journalism research in the UK, and now East Asia, orchestrated by visit. It was good to hear of his new work on journalistic norms and practices, and the work of some of his colleagues in the School of Communication, such as Professor ZHAO Xinshu, and Professor Cherian GEORGE. I also had time to visit one of my former students, Wan-Ying LIN, now a very successful Associate Professor at City University of Hong Kong, where Jonathan ZHU is among the senior faculty. Unfortunately, Jack Linchuan Qiu, one of my co-editors of iCS, and a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese University of Hong Kong was out of the country during my visit. Needless to say, Hong Kong has developed an increasingly vibrant base of communication, media and Internet researchers, making the visit very rewarding.
Students at HKBU Seminar
My thanks to the Director of the Institute of Creativity, and President and Vice Chancellor of Hong Kong Baptist University and Professor Colin Sparks for the invitation to present my work. My best wishes to the faculty and students I met.
Prof Colin Sparks and Students with Dutton
