HKUST 2008-2009 Annual Report
5
校董
Chairman’s Foreword
T
he year under review was a watershed for HKUST,
marked by a change of leadership at the top as
Prof Tony Chan took the baton from Prof Paul Chu. As
we welcome the third president, we can reflect on our
achievements as well as the challenges that we face.
For a young University, our rankings in many internationally
recognized surveys are extremely high. Our reputation
amongst the academic community is very favorable. We
are able to attract some of the best faculty members and
students from Hong Kong and abroad to join us.
Physically, the university is embarking on a number of
major construction projects to expand its facilities in
preparation for the transition to a four-year undergraduate
education. When the projects are completed over the next
few years, we will have significant increases in academic
space and landscaped areas on our campus and in the
number of student residential places.
I would like to thank all the faculty members and support
staff for their dedicated service to the University over the
past year for these achievements. In particular, I would like
to pay a special tribute to our Vice-President for Academic
Affairs, Prof Roland Chin, who has led our efforts in
preparation for the 3-3-4 transition, reinventing the
undergraduate experience, and creating new programs.
But these items of achievements do not disguise the fact
that we are facing a number of challenges. Whilst we
have benefited from the generosity of some benefactors,
our reserves are still relatively modest. A young university
is hungry for growth and thirsty for funds for growth. We
will need to re-double our efforts to seek further support
from donors if we are to realize our mission to become a
world class research institution.
The University has benefited from the loyal service of
many high caliber long serving faculty members who
helped lay a solid foundation for us in our formative years.
Many of these founding members have retired or moved
on to new challenges. At the same time, many other
universities have recognized the talents of our faculty
members and have been active in enticing our faculty
members to join them. Therefore, we will need to work
hard to retain our best talents, groom new leaders or
recruit high caliber replacements if we are to maintain or
enhance our position.
Every university, private or public, operates in a larger
social context. Our Government has seen the need to
diversify our economy, identifying six new pillars of
economy, among them education as well as science,
technology and innovation, both central to what we do as
a research university.
As a publicly-funded university of science and
technology, we are duty-bound to act in concert with our
Government. Our mission, after all, is enshrined in our
charter. This much is clear: science and technology is the
new pathway to prosperity. Our leaders in Beijing recognize
it; our leaders here at home recognize it. This is a golden
era of opportunity for HKUST. The good news is that
these days here in Hong Kong and beyond, the name of
our university is never far from the lips of people who talk
about science and technology.
I am particularly happy that given the worldwide shortage
of preeminent academic leaders, we were able to secure
a world class scholar-scientist-administrator of Prof Tony
Chan’s caliber as our new president. I invite all members
of the University community to rally behind our new
president as he charts our new course, opens up new
possibilities, and takes us to our next level of excellence
and achievement.
