Dr Emilie Tran, Assistant Professor of the Department of Government and International Studies, was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) in October 2020 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the initiation of two dual degree programmes between HKBU and Sciences Po Lyon and Sciences Po Bordeaux, respectively. Due to the pandemic, a belated award ceremony was held at the residence of Mr Alexandre Giorgini, Consul General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, on 10 November.

Dr Tran said: “I am very pleased to be named a member of the Order. As the Director of the European Studies programme (French and German), I have been committed to collaborating with various sectors to promote internationalisation and knowledge transfer on campus, as well as international service-learning between Hong Kong and Europe.”

The Palmes Académiques, the oldest non-military French decoration, was created by Napoleon I in 1808 to honour distinguished persons from the education sector in France. Since 1866, the honour has been extended to non-teaching persons who have rendered illustrious service to French education, including foreigners.