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HKUST 2014-2015
Annual Report
The Interdisciplinary Programs Office (IPO) comprises the Division of Environment
and the Division of Biomedical Engineering, enabling students and researchers to
optimize their capabilities in a non-traditional collaborative environment
INTERDISCIPLINARY
PROGRAMS OFFICE
At the beginning of 2014-15, IPO unveiled a newly renovated
and brightly colored office area and two Learning Commons,
which provided a vibrant environment for faculty, students
and staff to study and socialize.
SPARKING BRIGHT IDEAS
Fostering internationalization and a global outlook,
Dual Degree Program in Technology and Management
undergraduates visited Silicon Valley in the US in January
2015 to join the Technology and Management International
Business Plan Competition. Working with multicultural peers
from overseas universities, they conceived business plans on
the theme of automative and information communication
technologies. While in Silicon Valley, they also made eye-
opening visits to innovative companies, including Google,
eBay/PayPal, Tesla, Walmart, Mercedes-Benz, and Uber.
A collaboration between Google and HKUST resulted in
IPO and the School of Engineering jointly organizing the
Solve For X competition in Fall 2014 to encourage students
and faculty across disciplines to work together on out-of-
the-box concepts or moonshot ideas. Two Dual Degree
undergraduates were part of the winning team led by Prof
Michael Sung, School of Engineering, on the research of
Mass-Volume Graphene Production Using Waste Carbon
Emission Harvesting to Enable EV Battery Technologies. The
project was the first from Hong Kong and Mainland China to
be accepted by Google on its Solve For X platform.
FOSTERING LINKS WITH INDUSTRY
Dual Degree students gained closer connections and
deeper understanding of the business world through an
experimental corporate project, sponsored by Hong Kong
Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and IBM. Working in
teams, students interviewed HKTDC managers and global
buyers to understand market needs and challenges. They were
coached by HKUST course instructors and IBM consultants
during the semester to develop strategies and proposals on
increasing the number of global buyers attending various
exhibitions and conferences at the Convention Centre.
The annual Risk Management and Business Intelligence
(RMBI) Symposium served as a useful platform for experts
from academia and industry to meet and exchange views
while providing students with an invaluable opportunity to
learn from industry professionals. RMBI Symposium 2015
focused on the topical issues of Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock
Connect and big data analysis, drawing over 200 students,
scholars and industry leaders.
RESEARCH BEYOND BOUNDARIES
The Division of Environment and Institute for the Environment’s
scientific team took the lead in an Air Quality Improvement
Project in the Pearl River Delta. The project adopts a regional
approach to quantify sources of PM2.5 particles, which have
a major impact on health and visibility, and is the first to
involve Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau environmental
authorities in complementary and coordinated research of
this problem.
The Division of Biomedical Engineering co-sponsored two
workshops on Bio-inspired Flight Systems and Bio-inspired
Autonomous Systems, with international experts conducting
intensive courses and discussions with participants from both
academia and industry. This new engineering field combines
the disciplines of biology and engineering technology with
the goal of solving practical problems through transfer and
application of knowledge gained from biological systems.
SOLVING REAL-WORLD CHALLENGES
IPO students stepped out of school to apply their knowledge
and innovative technologies through the Student Innovation
