Awards and Achievements (Research)

Ibrahim Deserving Best Presentation Award in the WABER Conference

Taking  on  a  new  challenge,  Mr.  Ibrahim  Yahaya  Wuni,  our  PhD  student, delivered  a  presentation  on  ‘Making  a  Case  for Modular Integrated Construction in West Africa: Rethinking Housing Supply in Ghana’ in the 10th West Africa Built Environment Research (WABER) Conference 2019 in Accra,Ghana in early August. Under the supervision of Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Ibrahim made a lot of efforts on this paper. His outstanding performance deserved the Best Presentation Award in this Conference.   As  the  most  reputable  and  highly-recognized  conference  in  West  Africa,  the WABER  Conference  aims  to  offer  a  platform  to  young  built  environment researchers in the region to sharpen their research skills and knowledge.   Ibrahim, Keep up the good work!    

Dr Ivy Wong’s Successful Applications for Ford Foundation Research Grant

What  fantastic  news!  Dr  Ivy  Wong,  Assistant  Professor of  BRE  has  secured the international research   grant from   the   Ford Foundation for two consecutive years. A couple of successful applications are big rewards for Dr Wong’s great hard work and determination.   With the research grant of US$150,000-her research team got in 2018, the project,‘Community Planning and Self-governance Capacity Building for the Emerging Urban Communities in Periurban China: An Action-oriented Research Approach’ is already underway.   Recently,  marking  another  remarkable  chapter,  Dr  Wong  has  secured  are search    grant    of    US$100,000for  a  new  project  on  ‘Community Development  and  Grassroots  Governance  for  Urbanizing  Villages:  Case Studies,  Best  Practices  and  East-West Dialogues’. This project aims to 1)create   a   knowledge   hub   about   grassroots   governance   and   community development  of  urbanizing  villages,  and  2)  facilitate  East-West  dialogues and  mutual  learning  of  best  practices  and  past  experiences  from  selected cases about grassroots governance and community development.   The heart of Dr Wong’s research endeavors is to advance both academic research  and  policy  studies  on  the  various  aspects  of  urbanization  and governance   in   China,   such   as   urban   and   rural   planning,community participation,     local capacity building and rural property rights transformation,  etc.  Her  efforts  and  impactful work  over  years  are  greatly appreciated.   Join us in having around of applause for Dr Ivy Wong(Principal Investigator),Prof. Bo Sin Tang of HKU (Co-Principal Investigator) and Prof. Jinl ong Liu of Renmin University of China (Co-Principal Investigator)!   Have a read of Dr Ivy Wong’s profile:Sr Dr Ivy SW WONG    

Endowed Professorship Scales Prof. Albert Chan’s Efforts To Realise Sustainable Construction

Hearty congratulations to Prof. Albert Chan on being appointed as the Able Professor in Construction Health and Safety under the University’s Endowed Professorship Scheme!   This endowment will unprecedentedly scale Prof. Chan’s efforts  and  perseverance.  Also,  it certainly   will further   realise   his belief of raising the bar for the well-being and productivity of construction workers.   Over  the  past  three  decades,  Prof.Chan’s research has been focusing on   a   broad   spectrum   of   topics a cross   the   field   of   construction engineering and management.Along  the  way,  Prof.  Chan  realised a   pressing   need   for   identifying innovative solutions to construction  issues.  His  pursuit  of construction  workers’ safety  and health  was  reflected  on  his  recent research.   The  continuing  progress  he  made  was  internationally  applauded  with  a series of awards and prizes over years.Also, his tenacity and expertise had a lasting impact on the sustainable construction.   We wish Prof. Chan a new level of achievements in the near future!   Have a read of Prof. Chan’s brief profile

Dr Sun Yi Securing the Fund from China Academy of Urban Planning & Design, Shenzhen for BRE Research Project

BRE PhD Students Winning the AIB(HK) Professional Excellence in Building Awards 2019 (Category B3 - Student Achievement)

In the Professional  Excellence  in  Building  Awards  2019 organized  by  the  Australian Institute of Building (Hong Kong Chapter) (AIB-HK),two PhD research students of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) of PolyU were rewarded for their entries submitted to the category (B3 - Student Achievement) on 21 June 2019.   One  part-time  PhD  student  (Ms  Yiu  Sze-nga,  Nicole)received  the  Certificate  of  High Commendation award whereas another full-time PhD student (Mr Timothy Olawumi) won the  Certificate  of  Merit  award.  They  received  their award  certificates  at  the  Award Presentation  Ceremony  held  on  21  June  2019  at  the  Sheraton  Hong  Kong  Hotel  and Towers, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Both of them are being currently supervised by Dr Daniel W.M. Chan, Associate Professor of BRE.   Award Category  Entry Title Student Name Certificate of High Commendation An Empirical Investigation of the Current Application and Future Development of the Safety Management System (SMS) in the Hong Kong Construction Industry Ms Yiu Sze-nga, Nicole (Part-time PhD Student) Certificate of Merit An Exploratory Study of the Application of Building Information Modelling (BIM) to the Sustainability of the Built Environment Mr Timothy Olawumi (Full-time PhD Student)   The nomination requirements of the award category (B3 - Student Achievement) are open to  any  undergraduate  or  postgraduate  students  studying  construction,  civil,  building,mechanical, architectural, E&M engineering or surveying in universities and colleges (both full-time mode and part-time mode).    

BRE PhD Student Winning the "First Prize" of Best Student Presentation Award of CIB WBC 2019

In theCIB World Building Congress 2019 (WBC 2019) on Constructing Smart Cities held on17-21  June  2019  at  PolyU,  the  full-time  PhD  research  student  (Mr  Abdullahi  Saka  from Nigeria) of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) won the "First Prize" of the Best  Student  Presentation  Award  (Category:  Smart  Planning,  Design  and  Construction,Smart Environment) organized by the Hong Kong PolyU Student Chapter of CIB (CIBSC).    Mr  Saka  received  an  award  certificate  and  a  cash  cheque  of  HK$  1,000  at  the  Closing Ceremony  held  on  20  June  2019  at  PolyU.  His  winning paper  is  entitled"Adoption  of Building  Information  Modelling  (BIM)  in  Small  and  Medium-Sized  Enterprises  (SMEs)  in Developing  Countries:  A  System  Dynamics  Approach"co-authored  with  his  Chief Supervisor,  Dr  Daniel  Chan,  Associate  Professor  and his  Co-Supervisor,  Dr  Francis  Siu,Assistant Professor of BRE.   The  aim  of  the  competition  was  to  provide  a  platform  for  all  eligible  members  of  CIB Student  Chapters  to  exhibit  their  studies  and  research  outcomes.  Altogether,  18presentations were selected from all applications and there were 3 parallel groups with 6 participants in each group. Each group conferred one “First Prize” and one “Second Prize”of the Best Student Presentation Award and thus a total 6 winners across three categories of conference paper themes.   Group 1 - Theme: Smart Buildings and infrastructure, Smart Transportation and Mobility,Smart Utilities and Facilities Management Group 2 - Theme: Smart People and Living, Smart Service, Smart Governance, Policy and Economy Group 3 - Theme: Smart Planning, Design and Construction, Smart Environment    

Antwi-Afari Maxwell Fordjour Winning the Outstanding Student Project Award 2018/19 of the HK Ergonomics Society

Gold Medal in 47th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, Swiss and the 2018 JCCE Best Paper Award for Prof. Heng Li's research team - Winning Project : A Vision-based Smart Construction Management Solution

Asia Pacific Federation of Project Management (apfpm)’s Project Management Awards& Hong Kong Institute of Project Management (HKIPM)’s Project Management Achievement Awards for Prof. Albert Chan –Winning project : Developing a Personal Cooling System for Combating Heat Stress in the Construction Industry

Fund (International Collaborative R&D Programme) of International Collaboration Programme of Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement for Dr Seo JoonOh – Winning proposal : Automated DB-free Visual Analytics Platform for Enhancing Construction Productivity by 20%

We are thrilled with a very encouraging result of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme 2019/20. 3out of our Department’s 4 nominations that PolyU put forward to the Research Grants Council have been  awarded  the  Hong  Kong  PhD  Fellowship  2019/20.  The  shortlisted  candidates  include  Eshun Bridget Tawiah Badu, Cheng Chun and Dai Yawen. Prof. Albert Chan is Badu’s proposed chief supervisor  while  the proposed  chief  supervisor  of  another  two  candidates  is  Prof.  Ni  Meng.  We greatly look forward to welcoming them in September.