HKUST Annual Report 2018-19

12 ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 Learning for Life The Interdisciplinary Programs Office developed an MPhil/ PhD in Individualized Interdisciplinary Program over the year, following the successful introduction of the individualized BSc major. The postgraduate program, to be launched in 2019-20, offers broad academic freedom for students to create a unique interdisciplinary program focused on a specialized area of research and will be one of the first in Asia to explore this pioneering research postgraduate education mode. Dual degree agreements signed in 2018-19 created more openings for postgraduate students to engage in international collaboration and widen training and research options. Such arrangements were concluded with the University of Strathclyde and CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd., which joined with HKUST to offer Hong Kong’s first joint academic-industry run dual master’s degree program in future energy and power system operation and management (School of Engineering). Enrollment for the founding cohort of the part-time MPhil+MSc program got underway in the first quarter of 2019. With the new dual-degree partnershipwith Yale School of Management introduced in2017, the students of theMSc in International Management and the MSc in Global Operations (School of Business and Management) commenced their second year of study at Yale and benefited from the first-class learning and cultural exposure east and west. The School of Business and Management also offered the joint HKUST-SKOLKOVO Executive MBA Program for Eurasia with Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO in Russia, focused on innovation, leadership, and the Belt and Road Initiative. NEW PROVOST TO ADVANCE ACADEMIC MISSION Prof. Lionel NI Ming-Shuan was appointed Provost in January 2019 after a rigorous global search. The appointment marked Prof. Ni’s return to the HKUST family, which he first joined in 2002. Prof. Ni is a seasoned academic administrator, with substantial years of management experience, and an accomplished, internationally recognized scholar in computer science and engineering. In his leadership role, the University’s overall academic strategy and priorities will be critically reviewed, helping HKUST scale new heights in teaching and learning. SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS A total of 1,808 undergraduates had their academic and non-academic talents recognized through 2,351 scholarships, collectively worth $73 million. Around 19% of students received more than one scholarship. The University Recruitment and Admissions Office prepared to expand regional scholarships to Turkey, Central Asia, Vietnam, Myanmar and five more Mainland China provinces for the 2019 intake. In addition, the Student Athletes Admission Scheme was launched to attract local sports talents to HKUST. In prestigious tertiary-wide competitive scholarships in 2018-19, three out of eight awards for new students from ASEAN countries, Korea and India joined HKUST while three out of 10 Belt and Road Scholarship (Indonesia) awardees and three out of 10 Belt and Road Scholarship (Thailand) awardees took up places at the University. All the awards came under the Targeted Scholarships Scheme offered by the HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund. Some 376 awards were offered to 329 postgraduates amounting to $13 million in 2018-19. The total amount of scholarships for both undergraduates and postgraduates reached around $86million, a 2% increase on the previous year. The number of non-academic scholarship awards grew by 32% from 300 to 395, with overall value reaching $6 million. The non-academic scholarships helped recognize students’ achievements in sports, music, innovation, community service and out-of-classroom projects as well as support their future development. HKUST continued its success in the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, attracting 53 out of 250 (21% of the total) awardees for 2019-20 admission. Fellowship students come from 15 countries and regions, adding to the internationalization of the University’s research student community. Bai Xian Asia Institute granted 10 awards to outstanding students from Japan, Korea, Mainland China and other Asian countries to pursue full- time research or taught postgraduate programs at HKUST. For those already studying at HKUST, the Overseas Research Award enabled selected PhD students to broaden their research experience at top overseas universities, including Purdue, MIT, Yale, Princeton and Stanford.