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HKUST 2015-2016 Annual Report
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seminar hosted by the Toronto Region Board of Trade,
he spoke on “Innovation and Technology: Another Pillar
of Hong Kong Economy”. Over 120 representatives
from government, academia and industry attended.
The delegation to the UK met presidents
and senior management of six universities,
and delivered insightful talks to students and
faculty in November. Among the activities,
President Chan and faculty members explored
opportunities
for
opportunities
with
the
Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University
of Warwick and the Technology and Innovation
Centre at the University of Strathclyde.
In March 2016, President Chan visited four
institutions in Boston and New York City to
explore potential collaborations in innovation
and entrepreneurship, and exchange ideas on
knowledge transfer. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), Harvard University, Colombia
University and New York University’s Center for
Urban Science & Progress were keen to explore
ways to further strengthen existing collaborations
and identify new ways of working together with
HKUST. President Chan also went to the MIT Media
HKUST’s 25th Anniversary Global Alumni Events
SAN FRANCISCO
BEIJING
LONDON
SINGAPORE
Lab, The Harvard Innovation Lab and Wyss Institute
for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard
University, for an exchange of views.
Worldwide Connections
A series of events worldwide was organized to mark
HKUST’s quarter century since establishment. The
University’s 25th Anniversary Global Alumni Celebration
in London was arranged to coincide with the delegation’s
Fall trip to the UK. Over 120 guests joined the event,
including presidents of leading European institutions,
China’s ambassador to the UK, alumni, supporters,
students from our World Bachelor in Business program
and exchange students.
As part of the celebratory schedule in London,
the School of Science presented their “Science-
Vision into the Future” to a packed venue. In San
Francisco in February 2016, over 160 guests attended
a further anniversary gathering at which the School
of Engineering presented on “The Role of HKUST
in the East and West”. In Hong Kong, more than 1,500
distinguished guests including top academic scholars
and leaders from renowned institutions participated
in the University’s 25th Anniversary Celebration
Banquet in June 2016.
Also in June, HKUST hosted the two-day inaugural
Times Higher Education Inaugural Asia Universities
Summit 2016 (THE Summit) where we were honored to
have over 30 presidents and senior officials of leading
institutions from 14 Asian nations and cities, and other
countries, sharing with us their insights on “How
universities Nurture Creativity and Innovation”.
Purposeful Partnerships
In 2015-16, the University’s ninth strategic
partnership was agreed with KTH Royal Institute
of Technology, Sweden. HKUST proactively forms
strategic partnerships with elite universities and has
already built such relationships with the University
of Minnesota, Rice University, Technion – Israel Institute
of Technology, University of Southern California, École
Normale Supérieure, École Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne, Technische Universität München and
Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Under the Sponsorship Scheme for Targeted Strategic
Partnerships, HKUST provided seed funding for 37
collaborative projects, which resulted in joint research
publications and workshops as well as academic and
research exchanges. Selected joint projects were
subsequently awarded grants from bodies including
the National Natural Science Foundation of China and
Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council.
In addition, HKUST regularly engages with peers
in key regional and international networks. In
December 2015, the University hosted the 21st Annual
General Meeting and the 37th Board of Directors
Meeting of the Association of East Asian Research
Universities. Twenty presidents and vice-presidents
from 17 member universities attended the meeting,
which focused on the opportunities and challenges
brought by the internationalization and globalization
of higher education.
In 2016, the International Secretariat of the
Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU)
located to the HKUST campus. APRU is an alliance
and advisory body composed of 45 leading research
universities in the Pacific Rim region. HKUST
will continue to contribute positively to these
organizations as we value the importance of working
closely together to shape higher education and
research in the Asia-Pacific region.
