HKUST Annual Report 2016-17

44 HKUST 2016-2017 Annual Report ACHIEVING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE The School of Engineering continued to shine in global rankings, with HKUST ranked No.19 worldwide and No.1 in Hong Kong in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-17 by Subject: Engineering and Technology, and No.15 globally and No.1 in Hong Kong in the QS World University Rankings in Engineering and Technology 2017. The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering will be established through the integration of the Division of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering effective July 2017. The restructuring will catalyze the University’s strategic development in bioengineering and health-related engineering and technologies, in addition to strengthening the current research and education programs in Chemical Engineering. PACE-SETTING PROGRAMS The School’s four-year undergraduate degree programs went through Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) accreditation in late 2016. They received full accreditation up to the 2020 intake. The recently established BEng in Aerospace Engineering was granted provisional accreditation up to the first cohort of graduates in 2018, to be followed by a full accreditation visit. To broaden undergraduate options, the School established a pioneering partnership with the University of Exeter in the UK to allow students to earn a BEng or BSc in Engineering or Computer Science and a law degree from the University of Exeter within five years. The first three years will be spent at HKUST and the final two at Exeter, where students can choose either a Juris Doctor (JD) or Master of Laws (LLM). The full program is set to commence in 2018-19. Preparation for a new minor in Robotics took place over the year. The minor, to be launched in Fall 2017, offers students a theoretical foundation and hands-on experience of robotics, control, and automation. A practicum-led undergraduate program is being developed to nurture future innovators. The program will offer a learner-centered curriculum designed to help students develop technical and design thinking skills, a systems view, and an entrepreneurial mindset for success. EXPERIENTAL EXPANSION The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management introduced experiential courses on electric vehicles and computing in industrial applications respectively, enabling students to gain hands-on experience. The School also developed a first-year project-based engineering design course to expose students to different engineering disciplines before deciding on their majors. The setting up of a 24/7 student-run MakerSpace offers a reconfigurable learning environment that serves as a design studio, prototyping studio, training center, co-op shop and demonstration studio, and enables students to try out their ideas. The facility is already home to several experiential learning courses and more than 30 student-initiated projects. SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING A productive year saw the expansion of dual degrees and experiential learning and the launch of a comprehensive cybersecurity lab