Media Releases

Over 1,000 PolyU members and guests attend flag-raising ceremony to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today held a flag-raising ceremony on campus in celebration of the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The University is honoured to have had Mr Horace CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, Deputy Secretary for Justice; Mr Kevin YEUNG Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr TANG Ping-keung, Secretary for Security; Miss Alice MAK Mei-kuen, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs; Mr LIU Maozhou, Deputed Inspector of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; and Mr WONG Kwok-hing, Commissioner of Correctional Services, officiate at the ceremony. They were joined by PolyU’s Council Chairman Dr LAM Tai-fai, President Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, University Court Chairman Dr Katherine NGAN, Council and Court members, and over 1,000 distinguished guests, staff, alumni and students at the ceremony, wishing prosperity for the Nation and Hong Kong. The ceremony is performed by the flag-raising team of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force.

PolyU and Wuxi city government to set up pioneering research institute to drive innovation and technology development in Yangtze River Delta

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the city government of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, have reached an agreement to jointly set up the PolyU-Wuxi Technology and Innovation Research Institute – a pioneering move among Hong Kong’s tertiary institutions to establish a scientific research institute in Wuxi and participate in the Yangtze River Delta’s innovation and technology (I&T) drive. The new institute will foster I&T collaboration between government, industry, academia, and research institutions through the provision of an advanced research platform, a unique engineering doctorate programme, and incubation support backed by a robust local manufacturing sector. The PolyU-Wuxi collaboration will also contribute to the Nation’s I&T development.

PolyU announces new programmes and optimised flexible admission arrangements for 2023/24, offering a variety of alternative admission routes to students with special talents

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has launched the new departmental scheme-based admissions arrangement as well as two new elements, namely “Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis” (AIDA) and “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” (IE), from the 2022/23 academic year onwards to better equip students for societal needs. The University is also offering a variety of admission schemes to provide quality tertiary education to students with special talents and help them excel in both academia and their area of expertise. Starting from the 2023/24 academic year, PolyU will further optimise some of the departmental scheme-based admissions programmes, the flexible admission arrangements and other admission schemes, so as to enrich students’ learning experience and prepare them to become “leaders of tomorrow” with a global vision and strong sense of social responsibility, enabling them to bring positive impact to the community. New programmes: Focusing on Chinese history and culture to deepen and widen the scope of study Hong Kong plays a significant role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as well as other national development strategies. As such, young people who are biliterate, trilingual and well versed in Chinese history and culture are talents that the city longs for. In this regard, PolyU’s Faculty of Humanities will launch the new BA (Hons) Scheme in Chinese History and Culture in the 2023/24 academic year. The programme aims to deepen students’ understanding of Chinese culture through various dimensions such as history, philosophy, religions, arts and technologies. With an emphasis on both integration and practicability, students will be given chances to learn outside the classroom and participate in activities like field trips and visits. The programme will be taught in both Putonghua and English to enhance students’ language ability and oral proficiency. Besides, the Linguistics programmes offered by the Faculty of Humanities will be restructured as the BA (Hons)/BSc (Hons) Scheme in Language Sciences, Translation, and Speech Therapy to cultivate the next generation of language talents. The new programme will offer new elements such as Language Analytics and Speech Therapy, to better equip students for societal needs. Students can select their Major in their second academic year from Speech Therapy, Linguistics and Translation, and Language Sciences and Analytics according to their own interests and specialities. In particular, the curriculum of BSc (Hons) in Speech Therapy is designed with reference to the practice/registration standards of speech therapists in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. Graduates will be qualified to practise as registered speech therapists in different service settings, such as the Hospital Authority, schools and private clinics. In addition, PolyU’s School of Accounting and Finance will launch the first BBA (Hons) in Digital Finance and Investment under the BBA (Hons) Scheme in Accounting and Finance to respond to the needs of fintech talents. PolyU’s School of Fashion and Textiles will also restructure and rename the BA (Hons) Scheme in Fashion and Textiles to BA(Hons) Scheme in Fashion to address the demands of industry talents. PolyU’s Vice President (Education), Prof. Kwok-yin WONG, said, “We have been enhancing our undergraduate programmes in line with the needs of social development. Starting from this academic year, PolyU has launched the departmental scheme-based admissions arrangement and two new elements, AIDA and IE, so as to meet future societal needs. These developments are well-received by students in general, as they find that the enhanced curriculum can help broaden their perspectives, enrich their academic knowledge and improve their competitiveness. Looking forward, Hong Kong will give full play to its unique strengths to speed up its integration into national development. Meanwhile, PolyU will continue to nurture more talents for societal needs. I hope that all of our students can leverage the flexible study options provided by the University to better equip themselves for the opportunities in the future and make contributions to the community.” STARS and other admission schemes unleash students’ potential PolyU offers a variety of admission schemes to serve as alternative admission routes for those whose exceptional achievements cannot be fully reflected in their Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination results. In addition to the Outstanding Sportsmen Recommendation Scheme (OSRS), which has been running for over 20 years, the University has commenced the Special Talents Admission and Recognition Scheme (STARS) in the 2022/23 academic year. Students who have demonstrated remarkable talents in sports; arts and culture; community service and leadership; and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) will be provided with opportunities to receive quality tertiary education. Under the scheme, the University will provide all-round support to students with the STARS Residential College and the STARS Scholarship. Prof. Ben YOUNG, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), said, “Harnessing our quality holistic education, PolyU has been committed to nurturing our students into ‘leaders of tomorrow’ with professional knowledge, as well as an affection for Hong Kong and the country and a global perspective. As we value our students’ talents in different areas, we enable them to cultivate their potential and help them excel in both academia and their domain of expertise. A total of 94 freshmen were admitted through STARS this year. Some of them have participated and won awards in major international competitions, while others have been active in volunteering, or achieved exceptional performance in the area of innovation and technology. I sincerely wish that all the students who joined us through the first cohort of STARS can flourish at PolyU, and fully participate in our vibrant and dynamic campus life.” Prof. Young reminds students with special talents to submit their records of non-academic achievements with their applications, and place PolyU’s programmes higher on their JUPAS list. Support offered under STARS includes: STARS Scholarship of up to HK$100,000 per year priority to be allocated at the STARS Residential College in the Homantin Halls to experience the diversified activities in the halls individual mentorship of academic work flexibility in learning and study assessments extension of study periods For details of STARS, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ar/ug-scholarships/ Separately, designated programmes of PolyU participating in the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS) in 2023/24 will be increased to 30 from 23 in the previous year. Secondary school principals are invited to submit their nominations to PolyU via an online system between 6 October and 7 December 2022. Flexible admission arrangements for 2023/24 The flexibility towards the minimum score requirement for JUPAS admissions will be continued in 2023/24. Students who fall slightly short of the general entrance requirements for degree programmes, i.e. “3-3-2-2-3-3” (level 3 in both languages and level 2 in Mathematics and Liberal Studies together with level 3 in two additional electives) but meet the following conditions will be given special consideration for admission: one HKDSE subject result is one level below the required level “3-3-2-2-3-3” with a total score# in their best five subjects at least one point higher than the scheme-based average score for the best five DSE subjects of the last admission exercise have selected PolyU’s degree programmes as their Band A choices, i.e. their first three priorities, in JUPAS #HKDSE level attainments will be converted to score points where Level 5**=8.5, 5*=7, 5=5.5, 4=4, 3=3, 2=2, 1=1 For further information on applying for PolyU’s undergraduate programmes, please visit www51.polyu.edu.hk/eprospectus/ PolyU Undergraduate Info Day to be held on 8 October 2022 PolyU will hold the Undergraduate Info Day 2022 (Info Day) from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm on 8 October 2022 (Saturday). A broad range of activities will be available on the Info Day, such as admission talks, information seminars, consultation sessions, student sharing sessions, guided visits, exhibitions, and consultations with PolyU academic staff. There will also be talks on the newly launched STARS and the flexible admission arrangements to help prospective students with non-academic talents make an informed choice about their future academic pursuits at the University. Highlight Events: one JUPAS admission talk for Secondary Six students; two admission talks for non-JUPAS applicants with international qualifications or sub-degree qualifications; one admission talk to introduce STARS; over 70 programme seminars organised by various faculties, schools and departments; over 60 guided tours to various laboratories or facilities; and student sharing and consultation sessions arranged by the Academic Registry and academic departments. The Info Day will be held in a hybrid format. Participants are required to register in advance and choose the desired format and sessions. Please visit www.polyu.edu.hk/infoday/ for further information. Undergraduate admission in the 2022/23 academic year Among PolyU’s full-time public-funded undergraduate programmes, BSc (Hons) Scheme in Hotel and Tourism Management was the most popular, being chosen by 1,123 JUPAS applicants as their first choice. BSc (Hons) Scheme in Computing and AI and BBA (Hons) Scheme in Management and Marketing placed second and third, attracting 1,083 and 1,036 applicants respectively. More than 91% of PolyU admittees this year chose the University’s programmes as their Band A choices. In terms of admission grades, the top three programmes were, subsequent to the Main Round Offer of JUPAS, BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy (average score for the best six HKDSE subjects: 39.8), BSc (Hons) in Radiography (average score for the best six HKDSE subjects: 38.1) and BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy (average score for the best six HKDSE subjects: 37.6) respectively. Among the admittees via JUPAS, the average score for the best five HKDSE subjects was 23.9. 277 undergraduates admitted this year achieved 5** in at least one subject, with both Chinese and English at level 3 or above, in the HKDSE examination, attaining a notable admissions profile.   ***END***

PolyU Innovation and Technology Forum draws collective wisdom of industry leaders in supporting Hong Kong’s I&T development and funding

The Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology (PReCIT) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today hosted a second forum in the Innovation and Technology Forum Series with the topic “Funding Landscape from Research to Commercialization”. About 250 I&T leaders, practitioners, influencers and stakeholders gathered to contribute ideas on how to foster research funding and commercialization for Hong Kong’s I&T development ahead of the Policy Address. Prof. Wing-tak WONG, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU, said “Research is a critical component of the I&T ecosystem. Innovation through research alone, however, cannot help Hong Kong reach its ambitions of being an international I&T hub. Instead, research must be accompanied by funding, knowledge transfer and commercialization. Academia-industry partnership is key to achieving the success we collectively desire.” At the forum, Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Mr Peter YAN, CEO of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport); Dr Denis YIP, CEO of Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI); Mr Raymond WONG, Head of Investment of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP); and Dr Charleston SIN, Executive Director of the MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node, exchanged insights and ideas about promoting technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and funding. They also addressed the opportunities and challenges of Hong Kong’s I&T development, approaches to foster social innovation, and intellectual property (IP) reform at a panel discussion moderated by Prof. Eric CHUI, Co-Director of PReCIT and Head of Department of Applied Social Sciences of PolyU. Dr Miranda Lou highlighted the unique role of universities in bridging the research-to-market gap through proof-of-concept and technology validation schemes at early stages, nurturing innovation and technology talents through curricular and immersive programmes, supporting start-ups to use universities’ intellectual properties and connecting them with market and resource networks. To date, PolyU has supported more than 450 start-ups for technological and social innovations in different domains. The University will continue to work closely with the government, industry and investors to accelerate the commercialisation of PolyU's research and innovations for greater societal impact. Mr Peter Yan said that venture capital (VC) investment in Hong Kong had increased over the past years, manifesting the precedence investors accorded to I&T development. Given ongoing geopolitical and socio-economic changes, the tech venture market is creating a new landscape. Cyberport continues to actively assist entrepreneurs and start-ups in capitalising on emerging technologies’ development, the Greater Bay Area and regional markets to expand fundraising opportunities, thus accelerating the translation and commercialisation of technology innovations. Dr Denis Yip introduced the ASTRI University Transfer Scheme, sharing how efforts are made to connect the key stakeholders in the technology ecosystem, namely university and research institutes, to reach the ultimate goal of commercialization. Starting from “0 to 1” is taking the first step to create impactful technology innovations; from “1 to 10” will be the crucial process of technology commercialization where ASTRI’s deep technologies will play a pivotal bridging role. Mr Raymond Wong explained that HKSTP is expanding the funding and investment landscape, with over 220 investment cases within Science Park in the past five years raising HK$80 billion. The HKSTP Venture Fund now has over HK$600 million in assets under management, where every HK$1 invested by HKSTP draws external investment of HK$16 to support tech ventures at different stages of funding. Dr Charleston Sin explained the importance of a sustainable business plan for research funding and commercialization. Two start-ups nurtured by PolyU shared their success stories at the Forum. Prof. Pei LI, Co-founder of Grand Rise Technology Limited and Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology at PolyU, a Forbes Asia 100 to Watch 2022 start-up specializing in biomaterials-based coating, stated that market-driven research was the key to securing funding and commercialization, and that innovation should meet application. Mr Jackson LEUNG, Founder and Director of Vision Science and Technology Co. Limited, an award-winning advanced optometric products R&D company, highlighted that securing the right business team familiar with market needs and peer competition is the key to success. He said IP was very important to start-ups and he hoped the government would give more support to these companies with their IP applications. Tuesday’s forum was co-organised by PolyU’s Department of Applied Social Sciences, the Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office, and the Research and Innovation Office. It was supported by Cyberport, ASTRI, HKSTP and the MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node. Founded in 2022, PReCIT is a university-level interdisciplinary policy research centre. Led by Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU and Director of PReCIT, and Prof. Eric Chui, Co-Director of PReCIT and Head of Department of Applied Social Sciences of PolyU, PReCIT’s primary areas of research include carbon-neutral cities, Greater Bay Area I&T development and the Belt and Road Initiative development in Southeast Asia. The next forum entitled, “Integrating I&T into GBA and the National System” cum PReCIT launching ceremony will be held on 24 November. For more information about PReCIT’s events, please visit www.polyu.edu.hk/precit/.   ***END***

PolyU Junior Researcher Mentoring Programme 2022 stimulates a new generation’s interest in research

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to promoting whole-person education and providing holistic education to prepare young people to cope with future challenges. To stimulate the new generation’s interest in research, PolyU once again this year organised the “Junior Researcher Mentoring Programme” (JRMP), allowing senior secondary school students to participate in various research projects under the guidance of PolyU academics and to explore the diverse subjects which comprise the University’s undergraduate curriculum, thereby enabling them to better prepare for their future academic and career pursuits.

Prestigious UGC Teaching Award Conferred upon PolyU Educators

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) announced today the latest achievement of PolyU academics in winning in two categories of the University Grants Committee (UGC) Teaching Awards for 2022. Dr Tulio MAXIMO, Assistant Professor from the School of Design, was selected as the awardee for the Early Career Faculty Members category; and the English Across the Curriculum (EAC) Team, led by PolyU scholar Dr Julia CHEN, Director of the Education Development Centre, won the award in the Collaborative Teams category. Dr Maximo and the EAC Team received the coveted awards presented to them by Mr Carlson TONG, Chairman of UGC at a presentation ceremony held on 26 September 2022. The UGC Teaching Award was introduced to honour academics of the UGC-funded universities for their outstanding teaching performance and achievements, as well as their leadership in and scholarly contributions to teaching and learning within and outside their campuses. Professor Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU congratulated the awardees and said: “PolyU takes pride in teaching and research excellence. Both Dr Maximo and the EAC Team, including Dr Julia Chen, Director of the Education Development Centre, and Dr Grace Lim, Teaching Fellow of the English Language Centre, are outstanding and enthusiastic educators who adopt student-centred and innovative pedagogies to create an active learning environment for students. We appreciate their dedication in maximising students’ learning experiences and outcomes, and congratulate them on their extraordinary efforts and achievements.” An early career academic adopting empathy to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in education and beyond The Early Career Faculty Member award acknowledges those with exceptional achievements in the nascent stages of their academic career. Dr Maximo, is inspired by his learning experience of being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as a child to adopt empathy as his core teaching strategy. He strives to foster a people-centred learning environment in which students feel comfortable and supported to develop, practise and demonstrate their design and thinking abilities. With a passion to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the community, he created the “Design Meets Disabilities” subject, which focuses on integrating more inclusive design concepts into the design programme curriculum, and effectively applying an empathic approach in guiding students to design more user-friendly products, especially for people with disabilities. He also actively liaises with non-government bodies to engage students in community projects so that they gain first-hand experience with community users and can apply an empathetic approach to meeting their needs. Dr Maximo said: “As a teacher, I believe empathy is key to forging the creative leaders of tomorrow and instilling the goal of a more equal and diverse society. I use empathy as a core teaching strategy to bring course content closer to people’s lives so that students can relate theories learnt in class to the lives of those in their surroundings. To improve my teaching, I also use empathy to stand in my students’ shoes.” Timely and tailored English literacy support through innovative pedagogies and technologies Spearheaded by PolyU, the winner of the UGC Collaborative Team Teaching Award 2021-22 is the English Across the Curriculum (EAC) team that includes experienced educators from City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The Team’s EAC initiatives complement standalone English courses and have two main features: offering students from across different disciplines timely, tailor-made and targeted English learning materials; and creating synergy and opportunities for collaborations between English language and discipline subject teachers. To date, the EAC Team’s work has impacted over 30 departments, 60 courses, 100 teachers and 10,000 students. One of the Team’s student-centred innovations is an interactive mobile app called Capstone Ninja. The first-of-its-kind, Capstone Ninja incorporates English language learning modules and bite-sized quizzes/exercises, and enables undergraduate students to access discipline-specific, customised learning materials in real-time while they complete their capstone/final-year projects. The app has communication tools such as a text-chat function to connect teachers and students in the learning process and a scheduler to help students manage their writing process. With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting traditional educational pathways, Capstone Ninja offers a mobile-based solution, which has proven to be a timely innovation that empowers both student and teacher alike. The EAC project leader Dr Chen said, “Our team is resolved to create affordances that offer timely solutions to support student learning. We share a deep conviction that language is best learnt when students see the relevance and actively look for multiple channels to increase their exposure to the linguistic skills they need. We thank all the English teachers, discipline academics, technical and supporting staff, and student collaborators who have worked with us on English Across the Curriculum. The UGC Teaching Award belongs to them as well.” The UGC Collaborative Team Teaching Award is given in recognition of outstanding inter-disciplinary pedagogical work. The sterling achievements of the inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional EAC team have been lauded not just among UGC-funded institutions but more broadly in the tertiary sector in Hong Kong and internationally.   ***END***

Peter Hung supports PolyU to establish Endowed Professorship in Pain Management

While the demand for healthcare services is growing drastically in Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been playing an instrumental role in bringing significant new research breakthroughs to rehabilitation sciences over the years. H H Hung Charitable Foundation, founded by Mr Peter HUNG, has provided a generous donation to establish the Peter Hung Endowed Professorship in Pain Management, to support PolyU’s continuous contributions to pain management research. Prof. Amy FU, Associate Head of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Director of PolyU Rehabilitation Clinic, has been appointed as the Endowed Professor.

PolyU and OPPO establish Joint Innovation Lab to foster research and innovation on AI-driven computational imaging in the Greater Bay Area

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) signed a cooperation agreement with Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd (OPPO) for the establishment of the “PolyU-OPPO Joint Innovation Lab” (Joint Lab). The laboratory will focus on joint research projects including AI-driven computational imaging and its chipisation, computer vision, immersive multimedia and AR/VR technology. OPPO aims to provide total funding of no less than RMB 10 million to support PolyU research and innovation projects and the establishment and operation of the Joint Lab.

PolyU 85th Anniversary Sportathon unites staff, students and alumni for sporting fun and to celebrate the University’s Anniversary

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) 85th Anniversary Sportathon was successfully held on the PolyU campus yesterday (17 September 2022). Over 1,800 staff, students, alumni and their family members attended the event to enjoy game booths and sports competitions, and to celebrate the University’s 85th Anniversary. The opening ceremony was officiated by Dr LAM Tai-fai, Council Chairman of PolyU; Dr Katherine NGAN, Court Chairman of PolyU; Prof. Wing-tak WONG, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU; and the Central Management Team of PolyU. Numerous Council Members, Court Members and University Fellows were also present at the ceremony. To recognise the outstanding sports achievements of the University’s students, Dr Lam took this opportunity to present scholarships to 11 elite student-athletes who were admitted under the Student-Athlete Learning Support and Admission Scheme this year. Dr Lam also presented the Yearly Men’s and Yearly Women’s Overall Championships of the 2021-2022 Inter-Collegiate Competition to the winning PolyU Sports Team members. The Inter-Collegiate Competition is organised by the University Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China. Prof. Wong remarked at the opening ceremony, “At PolyU, we are committed to building a vibrant sports and fitness culture on campus to facilitate the holistic development of our students as well as to help both staff and students improve their well-being. PolyU invests significant effort into nurturing elite student-athletes. We are proud that we have a strong and well-disciplined Sports Team, with our student-athletes being highly motivated, determined and displaying excellent teamwork, making them positive role models for the PolyU community.” The PolyU 85th Anniversary Sportathon featured a wide range of activities. Apart from game booths and sports try-outs for families, exciting sports competitions including futsal, 3-on-3 basketball, badminton and table tennis were also arranged on the PolyU campus to strengthen the bond among PolyU members through participation in sports. Another focus of the event was a variety of spectacular sports performances by student-athletes, including artistic cycling, rope skipping, karatedo and taekwondo. The University will continue to mark its 85th Anniversary with a series of upcoming activities. These include a talk on “Chinese Painting Appreciation - Collector and Philanthropist Perspectives” hosted by Mr HO Sai-chu, PolyU’s Alumnus and University Fellow; a public lecture hosted by Dr Louis NG, Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum; and the Artist-in-Residence Programme: A Drama Production by PolyU Theatre “Our Town”.   ***END***

PolyU 85th Anniversary Public Lecture by Prof. Poon Chung-kwong on Knowledge and Self-Cultivation

To mark the 85th anniversary of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the University presented a public lecture today at the Jockey Club Auditorium. Prof. POON Chung-kwong, President Emeritus of PolyU was invited to speak on “Knowledge and Self-cultivation”, and to share his insights on how young people can pursue knowledge and build effective self-cultivation practices. Mr Eric CHAN Kwok-ki, Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delivered the opening speech at the public lecture. The lecture was attended by more than 700 guests, students and alumni.