In this issue’s cover story, we interview several star athletes at the university and discuss how university-wide physical education helps students discover their athletic potential and achieve well-rounded development.

What is the value and power of big data? How does internationally recruiting faculty members helps the Department of Chinese Language and Literature enhance its quality of teaching and research? What is the essence of arts education? How does it help students feel the vibrancy of existence and distinguish beautiful from ugly, good from evil? In addition to exploring answers to these questions, this issue also features interviews with several heavyweights in different fields, including the historian Prof Tang Kaijian, the renowned writer Prof Pai Hsien-yung, and the ‘Anti-Sars Hero’ Prof Zhong Nanshan. We also follow UM alumnus Bevis Leong Ka Chon as he pursues his dream of co-founding an innovative technology company with his fellow students.

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