The Research Camp 2020 took place at School of Law Video Seminar Room on 26 May 2020. The event kicked off with a welcome speech by Prof. TAN Cheng-Han (Dean, School of Law, City University of Hong Kong (CityU)). He gave a brief talk on strategies to succeed in legal research and to keep up with other prestigious universities by hitting scores on two important impact factors – h–index in Google Scholar and other publications that Google Scholar does not count. Prof. WAN Wai Yee (Associate Dean, School of Law, CityU) also outlined the strategies on how faculty members can capture larger scale research grants as well as working with academics from other disciplines.

Prof. TAN Cheng-Han

To help staff capture large research grants, the School invited Dr YANG Yu (Assistant Professor, School of Data Science, CityU) and Dr LIN Fen (Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communication, CityU) this year to present on “Extracting Actionable Knowledge from Text Data” and “Applications of Computational Methods in Social Science” respectively. Dr Yang and Dr Lin shared some computer science skills when conducting research.

Presentation by Dr YANG Yu

Presentation by Dr LIN Fen

The Research Camp then moved to the next section - introducing the 3 to 5 year plan by the research centre directors. Prof. WANG Jiangyu (Director, Centre for Chinese and Comparative Law (RCCL)) emphasized that as a public forum that is dedicated to the study of Chinese law, RCCL would put more effort into research to increase its influence. Prof. Alexander LOKE (Director, Hong Kong Commercial and Maritime Law Centre (HKCML)) said the centre would look for more opportunities during this new technological and pandemic period. Two core members of the HKCML also shared their plans: Prof. Michael TSIMPLIS (Professor, School of Law, CityU) introduced the planned research activities of the HKCML and Dr HE Tianxiang (Assistant Professor, School of Law, CityU) shared his ideas regarding future research trends. Prof. ZHU Guobin (Director, Public Law and Human Rights Forum (CPLR)) highlighted the four research areas of CPLR - constitutional law, criminal law and criminal justice, human rights in Hong Kong and Asia, including the subfield of business and human rights, and public international law. The centre would strive to publish more papers in the future. Dr GUAN Wenwei (Member, Centre for Judicial Education and Research (CJER)) gave a brief introduction on CJER goals and achievements.

Prof. Alexander LOKE

Prof. Michael TSIMPLIS

Dr HE Tianxiang

Prof. ZHU Guobin

Dr GUAN Wenwei

Presentations on proposals on research grants in connection with COVID-19 were given by Dr DING Chunyan (Assistant Dean, School of Law, CityU), Dr LONE Fozia Nazir (Associate Professor, School of Law, CityU) and Dr CHOW Stephenson (Assistant Professor, School of Law, CityU). By investigating the law and legal system of the Greater Bay Area, Dr Ding believed it would allow the free flow of people, capital, goods and information in that region, which would lead to the success of the Greater Bay Area construction. Dr Lone’s research proposal focuses on evaluating global responses to COVID-19 from a geopolitical perspective. Aiming at assisting the government to better address the needs of PwDs during COVID-19, Dr Chow’s proposal seeks to articulate good/best practices that conform to prioritarian ethics and international legal standards in Hong Kong. Staff advanced their opinions and had lively discussions after the presentations.

Presentation by Dr DING Chunyan

Presentation by Dr DING Chunyan

Presentation by Dr CHOW Stephenson

The day ended with closing remarks by Prof. Wan. She expressed appreciation for the constructive comments from colleagues and was pleased to see collaboration between departments and schools. She also encouraged staff to take advantage of what the School can offer to add value to their research and emphasized the importance of a research agenda and track record.

Prof. WAN Wai Yee