HKUST Annual Report 2017-18

6 President’s Report DRAWING TALENTS, LEADING THE WAY The creation of three new divisions and departments, the realignment of three more, and the approval of five new bachelor programs propelled to the forefront an array of rising and interdisciplinary high-impact areas, namely, ocean science, sustainability, decision analytics, public policy, biological engineering, and integrative systems. All will answer the increasing local and global demand for graduates equipped to drive forward the data-rich “smart” communities, workplaces, and ways of life in the decades ahead and enable the University to retain its leading edge by attracting top young minds and academics to these significant fields. Novel pedagogies to foster the skills and dynamic mindset required to thrive in the forthcoming era included the adoption of a pioneering team-based project approach for our new Integrative Systems and Design bachelor program and the signing of a unique partnership with the Minerva Project, an elite higher education provider, that will draw out students’ creative and critical thinking and boost future teaching innovation at HKUST. On the research front, the University’s world-class researchers secured around $474 million from funding organizations in Hong Kong and outside the city. Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council and the Innovation and Technology Fund provided support for 222 and 36 new projects respectively, including one Theme-based Research Scheme Project that received $50 million, including matching, to produce eco-friendly rechargeable electron-fuels and a new type of energy storage system. The setting-up of four research centers brought the total number to 44 at the Clear Water Bay campus and Mainland platforms. The new hubs are focused on artificial intelligence, smart city technologies and policy facilitation, integrated circuit design, and epigenomics, and will encourage interdisciplinary exploration in these key areas of the future by drawing together established and early career researchers from different fields to share insights and initiate collaborations. In addition, four more joint laboratories with leading industry partners were initiated to study artificial intelligence in mobile computing and augmented reality, big data finance, environmental health technologies, and to share high-end facilities for research on the environment. It was indicative of our long-term vision that HKUST also became the first institution in Asia to join the Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society, a not-for-profit consortium set up by major global technology platforms, including Amazon and Google, to promote ethical development of artificial intelligence. In 2017-18, the University continued to successfully implement its Strategic Plan, with pace-setting moves in the five key objectives: recruitment and development of leading talents; trendsetting in education and research; championing knowledge transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship among the University community and beyond; diversity and integration to foster collaboration and inclusiveness; and best-in-class exemplar in standards, practices, and operations.