The School of Business and Management of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST Business School)has joined aresearch collaboration with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities(APRU)to look closely into the impacts and opportunities of technology on workforce and living quality in Asia-Pacific economies.Digital automation is transforming the world with unprecedented scope and speed,and its impact is compelling,including the demand for new roles and skills in many sectors.This joint HKUST-APRU Project connects ten scholars from leading universities across the APRU network to examine the changes presented by rapid digitalization in our society.“Our Project seeks to open up adialogue to facilitate policymakers,leading thinkers and researchers to exchange ideas and collaborate on solutions to the challenges,”said Prof.TAM Kar-Yan,the Project Lead and also Dean of HKUST Business School.“With our studies,we not only hope to stimulate an informed discussion in society,but also gather insights and recommendations from different regions,on ways to minimize the negative impacts and to protect and prepare the workforce for the future.”The findings are presented in seven chapters in the report:Transformation of Work in the Asia-Pacific in the 21st Century.The report highlights issues of the Asia-Pacific region and outlines policy recommendations to leaders of higher education,government,and industry.These recommendations include:cultivating an innovative workforce through STEM education and investment in teachers;developing reskilling and reform capacities to support the displaced workforce;meeting the skills demand through workforce mobility and immigration policy;addressing the increasing income inequality through social welfare programs;and investing in the technology,innovation,and entrepreneurship infrastructure to provide agility in the market.According to Christina SCHÖNLEBER,APRU Director(Policy and Programs,“We are pleased to see this timely report offer guidance to policymakers as it draws on the rigorous research and knowledge of APRU experts and partners.These recommendations are relevant to the unique context of Asia-Pacific and will influence the way we will work and live in the future.” 查看详细>>

A group of marine scientists at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)recently discovered over 7,000 new microbial species in the Oceans,including Acidobacteria–a natural medicinal phylum with the CRISPR gene editing system discovered at sea for the first time,shedding new light on human’s understanding of microbial biodiversity in the oceans and bringing hope to the development of new drugs.Led by Prof.QIAN Peiyuan,Acting Head of Department of Ocean Science and David von Hansemann Chair Professor of Science at HKUST,the University’s research team collaborated with peers from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia,University of Georgia in the US and University of Queensland in Australia on sourcing water samples across Pacific,Atlantic and Indian Oceans.Over aspan of eight years,the team developed biofilms with the water samples on different materials,eventually discovering more than 7,000 new biofilm-forming species and 10 new bacterial phyla–breaking the existing belief that the world has only 35,000 marine microbial species and 80 bacterial phyla[1].The finding greatly enhanced human’s knowledge in microbial biodiversity of the oceans.Acidobacteria–one of the new marine phyla identified in this research known only exist in terrestrial soils previously,has been used for developing novel antibiotics and anti-tumor drugs due to its high level of biosynthetic gene clusters.This newly-discovered marine phylum not only shares functions of its terrestrial counterpart,but is also the first ocean species found to contain the CRISPR gene-editing system.The finding was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.“The discovery of new marine microbial species has not only improved our understanding of ocean biodiversity,but more importantly,these species have big potential,both in terms of facilitating our understanding of lives and offering new clues to our search of new treatments for diseases,”said Prof.Qian. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)and the Hong Kong Sports Institute(HKSI)signed aMemorandum of Understanding(MoU)today to facilitate dual career pathways in sports and academics for elite athletes in Hong Kong.Under this MoU,HKSI can nominate full-time elite athletes for admission to undergraduate programs of HKUST.The University will offer flexible academic accommodations,including study load balancing,re-scheduling in examinations and adjustment in class attendance requirement,on acase-by-case basis.An advisory committee comprising faculty members and sports specialists will be formed to oversee the athletes’learning progress and address their individual needs.To accommodate their intensive trainings and competition schedules,HKUST may extend their study to amaximum of twice the normative program duration.The nominated athletes can also benefit from the Student Athletes Admission Scheme(SAAS),a new admission scheme recently launched by HKUST to recruit and support student athletes in pursuing their sporting dreams while obtaining aquality education at HKUST.On top of the above-mentioned flexible academic arrangement,successful applicants may receive tuition scholarships and living allowances of up to HK$42,100 and HK$55,000 per year respectively.In addition,HKUST also offers sponsorship for sports competitions,sports injury prevention and treatment trainings as well as sports counselling services for student athletes.The MoU was signed by HKUST Acting Provost Prof.PONG Ting-Chuen and HKSI Chief Executive Dr.Trisha LEAHY.Witnesses were Prof.Sabrina LIN,HKUST Vice-President for Institutional Advancement;Prof.King CHOW,HKUST Acting Dean of Students and Mr.Ron LEE,HKSI Director of Community Relations and Marketing.Dr.Trisha Leahy said,“HKSI attaches great importance to the provision of comprehensive support in promoting the holistic development and sustainable growth of young athletes.The MOU provides athletes with flexible access to tertiary education.It solidifies the concept of dual career pathway and empowers elite athletes pursuing their sporting dreams while continuing university studies.Thanks to the HKUST for sharing the same vision on whole-person development with the HKSI and Ilook forward to an even more integrated collaboration with HKUST in the future”.Prof.Pong Ting-Chuen said,“The collaboration between the two parties will not only facilitate young athletes in their dual career development in sports and studies,but will also foster sporting culture and diversity in the university community.HKUST has been giving out scholarships,support and recognition to our student athletes for many years.We wish this collaboration could strengthen our support for young athletes in Hong Kong.”Prof.King Chow added,“Working closely together,both HKUST and HKSI would endeavor to help elite athletes balance their education and training needs in the best possible way.”After the signing ceremony,Hong Kong athletes Edith LEE,Rachel WONG and James YUEN shared their study experience at HKUST and the kind of help an athlete desires.Edith Lee,an archery athlete and aYear three student majoring in Computer Science and Engineering,is now taking leave from study.She said the gap year arrangement gave her space and confidence in pursuing her sporting dream.She is also thankful for the competition sponsorships offered by the University,which helps relieve her financial burden.Rachel Wong,a gymnast and Year four student majoring in Biological Science,said the admission arrangement and chance for conditional offer could help high school athletes in lifting part of their pressure from preparing for public examinations,hence,they are able to concentrate more on sports trainings and competitions.Meanwhile,James Yuen,a HKSI Scholarship Athlete in Wushu and aYear one student in the School of Business and Management,said that academic accommodation such as adjustments on the credit loading for each semester is essential as it allows athletes to have more time in preparing for competitions and related selections. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)today launched the“Sustainable Smart Campus as aLiving Lab”(SSC)–an initiative that transforms the campus into atesting ground for learning,experimenting,and advancing smart and innovative ideas to address real-life challenges.With apledge of HK$50 million over the next three years,the University aims to identify sustainable,smart and cross-disciplinary home-grown HKUST projects and implement them on campus.Projects are collaboratively developed by faculty,staff,students and alumni.By uniting HKUST’s quality research and innovative learning approaches,it is hoped that SSC projects will become asource of inspiration to the Hong Kong community,contributing to its development in becoming aworld-class sustainable and smart city.HKUST President Prof.Wei SHYY said,“Universities are microcosms of society.HKUST has been fully engaged in encompassing business management,policy as well as science and technologies to make our campus smarter and more sustainable,and with this endeavor to help advise society’s transition to afuture that is greener,more livable,and human centric.SSC is meant to be aspringboard for testing new ideas and approaches.Projects need not include cutting edge technologies,nor do they need to succeed on the first try.But by turning our campus into a‘living lab’,we hope to instill aculture of learning from failure and self-initiated changes,which will eventually spread to alarger community beyond our campus.”Nine projects–ranging from enhancing library user experience through facial recognition technology,to promoting positive and healthy behaviors through visual arts installations,to utilizing areal-time big data platform of people flows to facilitate effective planning–were selected as the inaugural round of projects.Project champions staged exhibition booths in the Chia-Wei Woo Academic Concourse during the past week to share their ideas and gain feedback from the community.Implementation of the projects are spearheaded through HKUST’s GREAT Smart Cities Center(GSCC),in collaboration with the HKUST Sustainability Unit.The second round of submission of SSC project proposals is now open till March 22.Director of GSCC Prof.LO Hong-Kam said,“Through actual implementation of concepts and technologies on campus,SSC is an important platform to advance the underpinning science and technology,and sustainability principles for smart city development.Since its conception,many industry partners and government agencies have explored collaborative opportunities with us.We firmly believe that SSC will contribute to transforming otherwise abstract smart city concepts to sustainable and smart realities.”The SSC campaign follows years of sustainability achievements at HKUST.In June 2016,the University adopted its first sustainability master plan–HKUST 2020 Sustainability Challenge,which set an aggressive set of performance targets for reducing energy consumption,greenhouse gas emission and wastage.Through acombination of actions,policies,and changes in behavior,HKUST has reduced over 700 tons of waste going to the landfill–a reduction of nearly one-third from the 2014 baseline,and has saved enough energy that two new buildings–Cheng Yu Tung Building and Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Kenneth Li Conference Lodge–were added to the campus with no net increase in energy consumption. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)and Huawei Technologies(Huawei)have formed astrategic partnership to promote high impact research and strengthen the University’s academic caliber.Huawei–a leading global provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices–has multiple partnerships with institutions around the world but it is the first such partnership that focuses on research and talent grooming.Under this partnership,Huawei will contribute an annual sum of US$3 million for aterm of three years to the University for recruiting top-notch visiting researchers from various disciplines and establishing seed funding for high impact research.The visiting researchers–whom will be recruited globally,are set to reinforce the University’s research competence through academic and research collaborations with HKUST faculty;they will also help nurture research postgraduates of the University.On the social aspect,they are expected to participate in conferences and activities organized by the University to help raise community interests towards latest scientific and technological discoveries,and to facilitate the region’s socio-economic development with their innovation and research.Part of the funding provided by Huawei will also be used as aseed fund for discovery-driven research in potential high impact areas such as information and communications technology.Mr.XU Wenwei William,Chief Strategy Marketing Officer of Huawei and amember of its Board of Directors said,“HKUST is arenowned university focuses on basic research,and it is our common goal to spearhead innovation by nurturing and attracting the best of talent.Given our long history of collaboration,I am sure this new partnership will bear more fruits not just for our own benefits but the society and the region as awhole.”HKUST President Prof.Wei SHYY expressed heartfelt gratitude to Huawei’s long-term support.“Our collaboration with Huawei dated back to 2004.Over the years,it has not only resulted in many patents and standards,but also nurtured great talents,some now leaders in the field.Huawei’s gift would substantially help HKUST to further advance our mission.”The Huawei–HKUST Innovation Laboratory was set up in 2009,studying topics spanning advanced wireless communications,core technologies for 4G,5G+wireless systems and machine learning algorithms.Professionals from the two sides regularly exchange ideas during projects,seminars and conferences.A full-day workshop co-organized by the two parties in November,for example,attracted over 150 attendants. 查看详细>>

The Technology Transfer Center(TTC)and Entrepreneurship Center(EC)of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)hosted the HKUST Startup xInvestors 2018 on 4December 2018 to connects HKUST technopreneurs and start-ups with the investment community and professional networks.37 HKUST Technology start-ups from 5technology areas participated in this event to showcase their innovative technologies,breakthrough business ideas,remarkable products and unique services.20 of them are the awardees of the competitive Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities(TSSSU),provided by Innovation and Technology Commission.Others are the companies under the HKUST Entrepreneurship Program(EP)and other entrepreneurship programs from EC,as well as companies from the Mainland Platforms.The event attracted 179 participants including investors from over 100 organisations of various business sectors.At the welcome speech,Professor Wei Shyy,President of HKUST emphasized the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship and HKUST engagement in assisting and stimulating the entrepreneurial culture.At the pitching session,each start-up gave a2-minute presentation to present their business model,service and products.Apart from pitching,each start-up had aposter presentation and prototype demonstration at their booth to promote their technologies and products.By mingling with other start-ups and guests,HKUST technopreneurs were able to exchange ideas with each other and got inspiration in further developing their business.The event not only facilitated the connection between the HKUST technopreneurs and the business community,but also gave an opportunity for the business community to learn more about the HKUST technopreneurs.The participating start-ups considered the event as beneficial by connecting them with potential investors and other HKUST technopreneurs.Some start-ups were approached by investors for future collaborations.“The event stimulated interest among potential investors for our upcoming fundraising round.”The company delegate of Incus Company Limited said,“We are glad that potential collaboration partners are found in the event.”Delegate from Magnum Research Limited cherished the opportunity for hearing feedback from potential investors,“We were able to reach out to both potential investors and talents at the university via both pitch session and booth mingling session.“Start-ups are grateful for the opportunity and would like to participate in similar kind of event in the future.TTC hosted the HKUST Technopreneur Outreach Day with the Office of Knowledge Transfer(OKT)of HKUST in 2017,showcasing 19 HKUST Technology start-ups funded by TSSSU.The event attracted 100 participants including investors from various business sectors.Being well-received by HKUST technopreneurs and guests,the event has expanded the scale by doubling the participating start-ups and guests as well as collaborating with other knowledge transfer units in 2018,making it the flagship event of TTC.About Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities(TSSSU)TSSSU,a programme under the Innovation and Technology Fund(ITF),has been launched by the Innovation and Technology Commission(ITC)since 2014.The programme aims at encouraging students and faculties to start up technology businesses and commercialise their research and development(R&D)results as well as providing better support for technology start-ups to translate new ideas into business opportunities.For the past five years,the ITC had provided an annual funding of up to HK$4 million to each university on areimbursement basis for expenses incurred by the University recommended technology start-ups.40 technology start-ups from the HKUST have received the funding support to build up their business. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology officially signed agreements today with the Guangzhou Municipal Government and Guangzhou University to establish Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(Guangzhou)(HKUST(GZ)),marking an important milestone in the University’s advancement.HKUST(GZ)will help steer frontier development of HKUST in education,science and technology,business and management as well as knowledge transfer,adding forces to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area(GBA)which are gaining traction in innovation.Located in Qingsheng,Nansha in Guangzhou,HKUST(GZ)is part of amodern high-end service area there,situating next to ahigh speed rail station and occupying an area of 1.13 square kilometers.The collaboration agreements were signed by Mr.WEN Guohui,Mayor of the Guangzhou Government;Prof.Wei SHYY,President of HKUST;and Prof.WEI Minghai,President of Guangzhou University under the witness of Mr.ZHANG Shuofu,Secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee;Mr.Andrew LIAO Cheung-Sing,Chairman of the HKUST Council;Mr.HUANG Ningsheng,Vice Governor of Guangdong Provincial Government;Prof.LI Lu,Director-General for Educational Scientific and Technological Affairs from the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in HKSAR;Mr.HUANG Guang,Inspector of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office,Exchange Division of State Council;Mr.LI Hai,Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of the Ministry of Education;Dr.CHOI Yuk Lin,Under Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government and Prof.QU Shaobing,Chairman of Guangzhou University Council.Under the agreement,the Guangzhou Government agrees to fund the project’s entire construction cost,and subsidize the new campus’future basic annual operating budget taking reference of the Hong Kong University Grants Committee framework.Meanwhile,HKUST will introduce its management model,teaching and research culture into the new campus to ensure it maintains the same quality and standard as its Hong Kong counterpart.HKUST will also ensure that the new campus’facilities,design and planning comply with international standards.HKUST Council Chairman Mr.Andrew Liao expressed heartfelt gratitude to the staunch support of both Guangzhou and HKSAR governments.“Talent is key to GBA’s development into aglobal innovation hub.As an international research university,HKUST hopes to bring its vision and teaching experience into Guangzhou and work with HKUST’s Fok Ying Tung Research Institute in Nansha and Shenzhen Research Institute to groom innovative talents with global vision for the region.We also hope that this collaboration could help enhance knowledge transfer in Hong Kong and address the city’s shortfall in the high-tech manufacturing sector,connect technology with business and create new driving force for Hong Kong’s economy,”he said.HKUST President Prof.Wei Shyy said,“All three parties who signed the agreement today share the same passion in turning HKUST(GZ)into aleading research university,progress against the foundation of asophisticated global institution and enjoy academic freedom in accordance with the law.HKUST(GZ)will maintain the same quality and standard as HKUST,the two campuses will be fully synergistic without overlapping academic structures.With the new campus located next to the newly planned high-tech park in Guangzhou,HKUST students could better transfer their research achievements and innovative ideas through the established industrial chain there.Students from both campuses can also share each other’s laboratories and research facilities.The exchange will be beneficial to the science and technology development in both Hong Kong and the region.”According to the agreement,the new campus will adopt English as its basic language.Only postgraduate students will be admitted in the initial phase,with admission size eventually growing up to 4,000.The Senate of HKUST will be responsible for setting teaching principles and curriculums of HKUST(GZ),ensuring that the quality and policy are the same as those developed and treasured since HKUST’s founding.The curriculum will take into account of international trends and the needs of GBA,with emphases on interdisciplinary subjects.The parties have started preparatory work on areas such as academic planning,institutional structure and campus design and development.HKUST will work closely with Guangzhou University to launch application in atimely manner and obtain necessary licenses from various mainland authorities. 查看详细>>

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)is joining forces with Haven of Hope Christian Service(HOHCS)to gain further understanding and to develop solutions that could improve the quality of life for the elderly and their caregivers.The two parties signed aMemorandum of Understanding(MoU)today to forge their partnership.Combining HKUST’s research competence and HOHCS’expertise and experience in healthcare and elderly services,the collaboration seeks to address the challenges brought by Hong Kong’s ageing population,and promote the city’s innovation and technological development,through application of gerontechnology.The collaboration also serves to address some major challenges of the local gerontechnology sector,such as lack of collaboration among academia,government and non-government organizations,as well as alack of test beds for gerontechnology products[1].Under the partnership,HKUST will aim to develop tailor-made solutions or products to meet the needs of HOHCS’service users,while HOHCS will offer atesting platform.Seven projects are now under discussion:a study on the genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease in the Chinese population for future development of diagnostics and therapeutics;a real-time 3D facial landmark recognition technology for early detection of mental and physical diseases;a virtual therapist that not only keeps the elderly company but also enables examination and monitoring of their emotional and stress levels;a study to quantify the therapeutic effects of garden spaces on the elderly;tap water disinfection by micro-PEF(pulsed-electric field)for prevention of water and droplet-borne diseases;a system that helps optimize HOHCS’operations such as meal delivery services;and auto-guided wheelchairs and vehicles for logistic transportation.The MoU was signed by Prof.Nancy IP,Vice-President for Research and Development of HKUST,and Dr.LAM Ching-choi,Chief Executive Officer of HOHCS,with witnesses including Prof.Wei SHYY,HKUST President;Dr.CHENG Hon-kwan,Honorary Court Member of HKUST and Honorary Chairman of Board of Directors of HOHCS;Prof.Joseph KWAN,Director of Health,Safety and Environment of HKUST and Chairman of Board of Directors of HOHCS and Dr.NG Sze-fuk,Chairman of Sai Kung District Council who helped facilitate this collaboration.Other HKUST faculty members,HOHCS management staff and community representatives also attended the signing ceremony held on the HKUST campus today. 查看详细>>

Home>About HKUST>Media Relations>Press Releases>HKUST Researchers Discovered Mutation Route That Helps Find New Therapeutic Lead for Deadly Brain Cancer Patients HKUST Researchers Discovered Mutation Route That Helps Find New Therapeutic Lead for Deadly Brain Cancer Patients 03-12-2018 Aresearch team consisting of scientists from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)and Beijing Tiantan Hospital have uncovered the mutational mechanism of how a... 查看详细>>

The School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST)today(December 4,2018)announced its plan to turn“experiential learning”courses into compulsory courses for 800 Year 1undergraduate students in two to three years’time.All engineering students will have to build an engineering artifact to acquire multidisciplinary knowledge that suits what society needs.Prof.Tim CHENG,Dean of Engineering,said,“There is an increasing market need for engineering talents with knowledge across different engineering disciplines instead of one particular discipline.We therefore hope that by working on an innovative artifact using their own hands,our students can become engineers with multidisciplinary knowledge and problem-solving ability.Our vision is that our students will be able to cope with technology changes and continue to innovate no matter what roles they play in society throughout their long career after graduation.”HKUST School of Engineering officially introduced“experiential learning”six years ago.Each year,around 180 Year 1students enrol in the First Year Cornerstone Engineering Design Project Course,and around 130 students,with the guidance of their professors,participate in local and overseas engineering design competitions.These students have to design and build an engineering artifact,such as an airship,a smart car and an underwater robot.The School is planning to require all Year 1engineering students to enrol in an“experiential learning”course in two to three years,so that they will acquire multidisciplinary knowledge and hands-on experience.To tie in with the application of“experiential learning”to the School’s curriculum,the School has created an“Undergraduate Student-initiated Experiential Learning Lab”(USEL Lab)that is open to students’use around the clock.The lab is areconfigurable learning environment that performs the functions of adesign studio,a prototyping studio and ademonstration studio,etc.and is furnished with equipment such as alaser cutting machine,a high-efficiency 3D scanner and amotion capture system.It is operated and managed by senior engineering students who serve as“student technical advisors”.A“Dream Team Open Lab”has also been launched recently to allow more student groups to build their projects for competitions.“The shift to amore student-oriented approach and having students learn by creating and doing in engineering education is aglobal trend.As ayoung university,HKUST is willing to introduce daring education innovations.The School of Engineering has put alot of resources and talents into developing‘experiential learning’,and is dedicated to maintaining our leadership role in engineering education innovation,”Prof.Cheng added. 查看详细>>