1. Introduction
New Urban Researchers’ Seminar Series (NURSS) was first set up in May 2014 for the postgraduate research students of Department of Urban Planning and Design (DUPAD) at The University of Hong Kong. NURSS is a seminar series under the Centre of Urban Studies and Urban Planning (CUSUP), with research students taking the lead in organizing and coordinating this series.
2. Aims
- To enhance research students’ participation as young researchers in the sustaining and furthering of CUSUP as an active and influential urban research
- To help nurture research students’ scholarships and research
3. Organizational framework
A committee of not more than 5 persons is set up to be responsible for all the operations of NURSS, including design of the poster, invitation of speakers, photo-taking, managing the NURSS budget expenses, management of the lectures/seminars, room booking, etc. All the membership of NURSS committee must be selected by all RPG students.
It has a service term for one year beginning in September every year, and the committee membership can be renewed for at most one consecutive year. All the research postgraduates in DUPAD become members of NURSS automatically.
NURSS committee organizational framework
| Position | Duty |
| Coordinator | 1. Be the chief executive of the NURSS; 2. Take overall responsibility in managing NURSS activities; 3. Report to the Assistant Director of CUSUP. |
| Deputy Coordinator | 1. Deputize the coordinator in his/her absence. |
| Member | 1. Help organize NURSS seminars; 2. Be responsible for photo-taking and room booking; 3. Design posters for NURSS seminars; 4. Maintain NURSS website and weibo platform. |
| Treasurer |
1. Manage and record NURSS funding for each NURSS seminars; 2. Generate annual financial report. |
4. Seminar frequency
- Seminar frequency: Each for every two or three months
- Proposed time of Seminar in the semester: 13:00 – 14:00, Tuesday. The time can be flexible if the speakers have special requirements.
5. Categories of speakers
There are four kinds of speakers of NURSS, three categories of speakers for seminars hosted in CUSUP and one for online seminars:
Category 1: Professors/Researchers directly invited by NURSS and require travel to come to Hong Kong.
Category 2: Professors/Researchers who come to Guangzhou/Shenzhen/Hong Kong for other aims (i.e., conference attending, travelling, academic exchanges) but would like to make a seminar for NURSS.
Category 3: Research postgraduates or academic staff (no more than 6 times/academic year) in the DUPAD/ other departments in HKU.
Online seminars: Seminar can be held online if the speaker cannot come to Hong Kong as planned or under other conditions approved by the Director and Assistant Director of CUSUP.