It’s not all about the classroom, says academic

Sharing knowledge: Former deputy MCA president Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy and participants at the conference in UM.

KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese Studies lecturers are left with little time to do research or work on their own publications, with some of them having to teach up to 18 hours a week, says Universiti Malaya dean Prof Datuk Dr Danny Wong Tze Ken.

He said faculty members should spend more time on research instead of teaching.

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“Research is very important for academic development, they would not be able to teach well (without such progress),” said Prof Wong, who is of the Arts and Social Sciences Faculty.

He said in the future, the teaching process could contain more research components.

As for the students, he said there should be more field trips to expand their horizons instead of just classroom sessions.

He said currently, most lectures were done in classrooms, with the exception being final-year students who are required to conduct some research on their own.“There should be more time for undergraduates to go out and get the ‘real touch’ on what they learned from books,” he said when asked later to elaborate on his keynote address titled “The Development of Sinology in Malaysia: The Past, Present and Future”.

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This took place at the two-day international conference on the “Development and Future of Sinology in the 21st Century” that was held in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Universiti Malaya’s Chinese Studies Department.

Prof Wong urged Malaysian academicians to produce more work.

“Currently, we rely on China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“We must move beyond this region, be innovative and take the initiative to move ahead,” he added.

Earlier in his speech at the opening ceremony, he said 60 years were a significant period in Chinese culture.

Sixty years, also known as jiazi, marks one full cycle of life and the beginning of a new chapter, he explained.

He said the department had been taking on important roles in promoting Chinese culture and language, besides grooming young talent.

Furthermore, it had grown over the decades.

“I call it a very noisy marketplace now with some 200 students,” he quipped.

Prof Wong, a history graduate, said he had signed up for Chinese Studies during his first year at UM, which proved to be a decision he never regretted.

“I’m into research and studies on China, so this background provided depth that helped me along the way,” he added.