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PolyU project Co-Building Kuk Po awarded the Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme to revitalise village

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has received a funding support of HK$3 million from Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme (CCFS) for a cultural rehabilitation / revitalisation project on “Co-Building Kuk Po: Creating, Sharing, Learning & Enjoying” with a duration of 18 months. Led by Mr Michael Chan, Senior Teaching Fellow in School of Design at PolyU, the project aims at revitalizing the Kuk Po village, strengthening connections between the villagers and community and sharing history and stories of Kuk Po.  Kuk Po village has great potential to foster development of diversified industries, such as education, agriculture, catering, craftsmanship and tourism. The project will design directory signs to provide information and direction, along with creation of studied history and stories about the village. A new hiking route at Sheck Nga Tau for elaborating a historical story board, as well as mobile public rest area for tourists and old villagers will be constructed. Also, the project team and villagers will co-organise a series of workshops for the public. Traditional festivals like Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival will be celebrated in a modern way on carnival festivity for the gathering of villagers.  Co-learning ambassador team will be formed to attract new generations of the village and local people on conservation activity and contribution. These innovative activities aim to increase public awareness on Kuk Po and its sustainable development, together with promotion of art education on local community.  Implemented under the Countryside Conservation Office (CCO) in Environment Branch of the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the CCFS is dedicated to support sustainable and holistic conservation efforts in Hong Kong’s rural countryside through an integrated funding source covering a wide spectrum of areas on different levels ranging from natural environment/habitats, non-graded built heritage to cultural and historic assets, etc. 

PolyU and Wenzhou government sign agreement to drive the establishment of a joint technology and innovation research institute

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Government have reached an agreement to drive the formation of the PolyU-Wenzhou Technology and Innovation Research Institute, with the aim of promoting Wenzhou to become a key innovation and technology hub for entrepreneurs and talents. Through this innovation platform which is the result of government-academia collaboration, both sides will partner in the research of core technologies in various fields including new energy, advanced materials, intelligent wearable devices, maritime engineering equipment, offshore wind power, blockchain, and fashion design. PolyU will leverage its research excellence to support Wenzhou’s development into a top-notch technology innovation base, through fostering the city’s translational research and commercialisation of research and innovation. Both sides will also join hands to nurture innovative and entrepreneurial talents who are knowledgeable about critical technologies of the future and possess a global outlook. The framework agreement was signed on PolyU’s campus on 22 May 2023 by Prof. Christopher CHAO, PolyU’s Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Mr WANG Zhenyong, Vice Mayor of Wenzhou. The signing was witnessed by Dr LAM Tai-fai, Council Chairman of PolyU; Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU; Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU; together with Mr LIU Xiaotao, Standing Committee Member of the Zhejiang Provincial Communist Party Committee and the Party Secretary of Wenzhou; Mr WANG Jun, Secretary General of the Wenzhou Municipal Communist Party Committee; and Mr WANG Chi, Head of the United Front Work Department of the Wenzhou Party Committee. PolyU has established strong partnerships with universities and research institutes in the Mainland. The University also collaborates with Mainland businesses and local authorities in the promotion of translational research and knowledge transfer, while actively encouraging its students to learn about the development trends and opportunities in the Mainland. Recently, PolyU has engaged numerous local governments to discuss establishing joint technology and innovation research institutes, which connect PolyU’s capabilities and achievements in basic research to the needs of local industries. These collaborations would contribute to the Nation’s self-reliance in its pursuit of technological advancement and benefit the development of local manufacturing sectors.

Inauguration of joint research centre on smart rail transit technology formed by PolyU and Qingdao West Coast New Area government

Inauguration of the Joint R&D Centre for Smart Rail Transit Monitoring Technology (the Centre) was held on 23 May 2023 at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). The Centre is jointly established by PolyU and Qingdao West Coast New Area (Qingdao New Area) government, with the aim of promoting intelligent rail transit monitoring system. The Centre is a research and technology collaboration between Qingdao New Area government and the National Rail Transit Electrification and Automation Engineering Technology Research Centre (Hong Kong Branch) (CNERC-Rail) of PolyU. Riding on PolyU’s academic and research expertise, the Centre aims to drive advancing rail transit technology for the promotion of smart transportation. The inauguration ceremony was hosted by Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU and Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU and it was joined by a delegation of Qingdao government led by Ms. YU Yu, Head of the Organization Department of the Qingdao Party Committee. The delegation of Qingdao municipal government and administrative committee of Qingdao New Area visited PolyU and the Industrial Centre. The delegates also participated in fruitful discussions with PolyU researchers from CNERC-Rail and Faculty of Construction and Environment. Valuable discussion was made to drive the establishment of a joint research institute with Qingdao New Area government. The joint research institute aims to drive research collaboration, innovations incubation and talents development. Through this government-academia collaboration platform, it aims to promote the development of world-class technology hub in Qingdao.

PolyU and CUHK jointly develop ABarginase, the first-in-class drug for multiple obesity-related metabolic diseases

Researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have jointly made a groundbreaking drug discovery in treating multiple metabolic diseases related to obesity and insulin resistance like diabetes and fatty liver disease. The new drug, ABarginase, opens a new path for safe, long-lasting cures to multiple obesity related diseases simultaneously through an ingenious treatment mechanism – arginine starvation. Currently, patients often have to take multiple medications for these inter-related diseases, and are hence more prone to the potential risks of polypharmacy. ABarginase shows promise for the effective treatment of multiple metabolic diseases including prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The fabrication process of ABarginase is inexpensive and highly efficient, making it affordable and widely adoptable for clinical applications. The research is led by Prof. Thomas LEUNG Yun-chung, Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology and Lo Ka Chung Charitable Foundation Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences of PolyU, and Prof. Alisa SHUM Sau-wun, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine of CUHK. Obesity is not just about being fat. It is associated with many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, heart disease, hypertension and cancer. The PolyU-CUHK research team discovered that a low level of arginine (a semi-essential amino acid) in the blood can suppress fat synthesis, promote fat breakdown and sensitise cells to insulin. Native arginase can break down arginine, but it has a short circulatory half-life of less than 30 minutes. Prof. Thomas Leung said, “By using an advanced fusion protein strategy, our research team developed a long-lasting recombinant human arginase, ABarginase, that contains an albumin-binding domain, which enables it to bind with the stable and abundant albumin in the blood stream to extend its half-life by about 200 folds. ABarginase exhibits strong catabolic activity and it would only require one dose of ABarginase a week to maintain circulating arginine at low levels to achieve arginine starvation.” In preclinical studies, diet-induced obese mice were injected with ABarginase once a week, while control mice were injected with saline. Researchers found that within eight weeks of treatment with ABarginase, the treatment group’s body weight, fat mass, fatty liver and characteristic features of diabetes such as high blood glucose, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance were entirely reversed. Prof. Alisa Shum said, “The promising results show that ABarginase has great potential in safely and effectively treating multiple metabolic diseases related to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, and most importantly nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which has no FDA-approved drug so far. We may have found the one drug that can cure them all.” Patent applications for this invention were filed in multiple countries. The research team is now scaling up the production for manufacturing ABarginase at Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) grade in preparation for conducting clinical trials. Prof. Leung and Prof. Shum further added, “As scientists, we dream of building a better world. The successful development of ABarginase is an important step towards realising our dream.” In an affirmation of its potential benefit to patients and positive impact on global health, as well as a testament to the research excellence of inter-university collaboration, ABarginase recently won one of the two prestigious Grand Prizes awarded to Hong Kong in this year’s International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva – the International Federation of Inventors’ Associations (IFIA) Best Invention Award. Obesity is generally recognised as a global health problem. According to the latest data of the World Health Organization, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight and over 650 million adults were obese in 2016, accounting for 39% and 13% of the world’s adult population. While in Hong Kong, about one in two adults are considered to be overweight or obese. The joint research project is supported by the Lo Ka Chung Charitable Foundation Limited, the Health and Medical Research Fund of the Health Bureau and the State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery of PolyU.

PolyU and China Harbour establish joint research centre to promote land development research

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd (CHEC) have collaborated to establish the China Harbour–PolyU Joint Research Centre for Land Development (JRC) to promote sustainable land development, develop a green, low-carbon economy and improve the urban living environment. The Centre inauguration ceremony was held on the PolyU campus on 17 May. The establishment of the research centre symbolises a joint effort between PolyU and CHEC to boost practical research into land development. The Ceremony was attended by Mr TSE Chin-wan, Secretary for Environment and Ecology; Mr Shuiqiu YE, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Mr Ka Sing KWONG, Head of Project Strategy and Governance Office of the Development Bureau of the HKSAR; Ir Aaron Kwok Ming BOK, President of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers; Mr Hoi Shan HSU, Director of the Beijing–Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre; Mr Hang LIANG, Vice General Manager of the Greater Bay Area Branch of the China Communications Construction Company Ltd ; Mr Heming JIANG, Deputy Manager of CHEC (Hong Kong), Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU; Prof. Qingyan CHEN, Director of the PolyU Academy of Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR); and Prof. Xiaoli DING, Director of the PolyU Research Institute of Land and Space (RILS). The collaboration agreement on the establishment of the JRC was signed by Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU and Mr Yong XUE, Managing Director of CHEC (Hong Kong). Mr Tse Chin-wan, Secretary for Environment and Ecology said, “The JRC provides an excellent platform for both basic and applied research in the field of green land development and construction. I look forward to important new research results from the Centre that will contribute to green land development and construction in Hong Kong and help Hong Kong achieve its target of carbon neutrality, making it a more livable and sustainable city.” Prof. Teng, President of PolyU said, “The CHEC–PolyU Joint Research Centre for Land Development will effectively combine PolyU’s strong scientific research capabilities with CHEC’s extensive experience in project implementation. Through close cooperation between the two parties, the Centre will propose innovative ideas and advanced technologies, and, through knowledge transfer, the research outcomes can be applied to land development projects in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, the Nation and other parts of the world, hence improving livelihoods and contributing to societal sustainability.” Mr Yong Xue, Managing Director of CHEC (Hong Kong) said, “The global vision, project experience and outstanding research strengths of the combined team will boost research and development in advanced new technologies, in particular for green, low-carbon and sustainable land development and construction. We aim to promote the findings of the JRC to benefit the entire industry and society as a whole by enhancing the efficiency, safety, cost-effectiveness and environmental protection in the process of land development and construction.” The JRC is the first joint research centre established by the China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC), parent company of CHEC, in partnership with a Hong Kong higher educational institution. The JRC will harness CHEC’s abundant resources and experience in implementing projects and applying technologies in Hong Kong and other parts of the world, with PolyU’s solid research strengths in land and infrastructure development. The JRC will be jointly operated by RILS and CHEC under the leadership of inaugural Co-Directors, Prof. Jianguo DAI, Management Committee Member of RILS, PolyU and Mr Hualei SUN, General Manager of Administration Department of CHEC (Hong Kong). The Centre will initially focus on research innovation, knowledge transfer and talent cultivation in the following areas:   • Technologies for marine engineering and construction of immersed tunnels to connect islands;   • Technologies for innovative prefabricated building, smart harbour and smart airport projects, facilitating the efficient use of land;   • Solutions for municipal and marine solid waste treatment, contributing to the realisation of carbon neutrality, and better recycling and reuse of municipal and marine solid wastes;   • Fibre-reinforced polymer composite materials and green high-performance concrete for marine engineering; and   • Life-cycle technologies for marine infrastructures and development, and application of innovative AI-based spatial information technologies for construction projects. Mr Ming LIN, Chief Scientist of CCCC and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said, “CCCC attaches great importance to technological innovation and application. As the first joint construction industry-university research centre in Hong Kong, CCCC will fully support the operation of the JRC, striving to create a better development blueprint for Hong Kong, contributing to the implementation of national development strategies for transportation, marine construction, and supporting major development projects in Hong Kong and the GBA.”

PolyU showcased innovations at World Intelligence Congress in Tianjin

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) recently participated in the 7th World Intelligence Congress (WIC) in Tianjin to showcase technology innovations and to join other valuable exchange activities. Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU led a delegation of PolyU scholars to attend the opening ceremony of the 7th WIC and other exchange programmes in Tianjin.  With the theme on “Intelligence: Extensive Development Space, Sustainable Growth Driver,” WIC focused on cutting-edge scientific topics such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), 5G+AI, smart manufacturing. The three-day event brought government officials, scientists and entrepreneurs together to explore cooperation opportunities.  In the technology exhibition, PolyU showcased latest innovations in ultra-precision machining and medical technology such as Nano Multi-rings Defocus Incorporated Lens and AI-driven heart disease diagnosis technology. PolyU also co-organized a seminar on Tianjin-Hong Kong technology and innovation cooperation with Tianjin’s technology bureau. In the seminar, Prof. CHAO said riding on Tianjin’s solid entrepreneur and industry foundation and PolyU’s research expertise and talents, both entities would contribute to further collaboration on the establishment of research institute and promotion on translational research and knowledge transfer. During the seminar, PolyU researchers, Tianjin’s technology entrepreneurs and education institutions made insightful sharing and discussion on innovative technologies such as ultraprecision machine technology, drones, AI-driven disease diagnosis, autonomous driving system. The discussion paved the way for further collaboration in research and technology development.  A delegation of Tianjin’s technology bureau visited PolyU in February this year. PolyU was invited by the delegation to visit Tianjin and attend the president-entrepreneur round table forum at the WIC. Moving forward, PolyU would actively promote exchanges and cooperation with Tianjin government and organisations for further cooperation in research and technology development and talents exchange.   

PolyU scholar shares experiences on generating lifetime learning to students from research project on THE Campus

While some may think that entering student science competitions is all about the gold medals, the long-term nature of such projects is perfect fodder for learning meaningful skills.  Winning award is clearly a common goal of competition entry. However, effective management of student involvement in research project competitions should aim not only for success but also at ensuring a meaningful learning process for student researchers who dedicate considerable time to a project. Dr Pai ZHENG, Assistant Professor of Department of Industrial Systems and Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) shares his experiences with THE Campus on generating lifetime learning for students from research competition.  Dr ZHENG said, “A supervisor’s role encompasses managing the project but also mentoring students in terms of academic, social and teamwork skills. It is important to inspire and guide students, particularly in times of uncertainty and difficulty, such as if and when significant changes need to be made.”  Dr ZHENG led a research team for the aforementioned successful research project “Mutual Cognitive Human-Robot Collaborative Manufacturing System” comprised undergraduate and postgraduate students. Dr Zheng is also the principal investigator of the Research Group of AI for Industrial Digital Servitisation at PolyU.  The team won a number of local and international Information and Communication Technology (ICT) awards for their work to improve collaboration between people and robots.  Dr ZHENG said, “It must be kept in mind that, as in any science and technology discovery, a research project is a long-term learning process in which ongoing motivation of interest and persistence is crucial for success.” For more:  https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/how-supervisors-can-use-research-competitions-inspire-lifetime-learning  

PolyU scholars win ZPRIZE for ground-breaking Web3 technology in zero-knowledge cryptography

Computer science scholars from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have won the ZPRIZE in the Plonk-DIZK GPU Acceleration prize category for innovative solutions in empowering zero-knowledge cryptography. Led by Prof. Allen AU from the University’s Department of Computing and Research Assistant Professor Dr Xingye LU, the research team was awarded a cash prize of US$550,000. Zero-knowledge cryptography, also known as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), allows a “prover” to convince a person of the validity of a computation without leaking any information; it is hence referred to as zero-knowledge cryptography. It is seen as a breakthrough technology impacting Web3, a decentralised online ecosystem based on blockchain, because it enables data privacy protection, efficiency improvement and scalability of transparent systems such as blockchain. Zero-knowledge cryptography is important to foster trust and promote widespread adoption of decentralised applications, which in turn is crucial for the growth of Web3. It also facilitates the development of innovative solutions for privacy-preserving data sharing and collaborative computation. A variety of industries including financial services, healthcare and supply chain management would benefit from the application of this technology. Christopher CHAO, PolyU Vice President (Research and Innovation), said, “We take great pride in our scholars’ remarkable achievements in winning the ZPRIZE. It showcases PolyU’s unwavering commitment to advancing blockchain technology and revolutionizing Web3 through innovative research and transformative solutions.” A major challenge for real-world adoption of ZKPs, particularly for applications at scale, is the high computation cost. In addressing this issue, the research team focused on enhancing the efficiency and scalability of Plonk, a popular ZKP system. The team delivered this achievement by leveraging GPU acceleration to achieve computation speedup and distributing the workload evenly across multiple servers to improve scalability. Prof. Au said, “This is crucial because generating these proofs can be computationally intensive, and so a faster and more efficient method could enable the use of zero-knowledge cryptographic in a wider range of applications.” This new implementation can generate a proof in less than one hour for a circuit of size 228 gates, which is the largest circuit with reported successful plonk proof generation. The research team’s solution has achieved a significant computation speedup of over 40% on a single machine. With the new distribution approach, the team was able to improve the overall proof generation process by a factor of 10 compared with existing method. The Plonk-DIZK GPU Acceleration Prize falls under the open division category of the ZPRIZE for general public interests. ZPRIZE is a collaborative effort across the blockchain industry that involves over 32 global partners and sponsors who contribute time, effort and resources to this industry-wide competition, with the aim of increasing the practicality and awareness of this technology. Dr Lu said, “Our submission will become open-source libraries for the benefit of the community. We hope this new technology can support the next generation of decentralized protocols and applications to enable secure, interoperable and scalable applications for the next-generation web.”

PolyU showcases research in Asia Summit on Global Health

PolyU participates in the Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGH), showcasing its research expertise in health innovation. PolyU is honored to lead panel discussion on the theme of “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as the Powerhouse of Healthcare Innovation”. Prof Wong Wing-tak, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU is the panel chair. Valuable experience and insights on health innovation and collaboration are shared by the speakers. The sharing also drew substantial interest of government officials, business leaders, researchers and event participants with interactive sharing. The exhibition also showcases PolyU’s research expertise in healthcare, life sciences, AI innovations and material application, as well as impactful innovations of InnoHK R&D Centres, to highlight Hong Kong's strengths in the healthcare sector. ASGH is a cross-disciplinary platform which will bring together senior government officials, academia, investors, influential business leaders, as well as financial and professional service providers from related sectors around the world to exchange insights and explore business opportunities and partnership in advancing global health.

PolyU contributes to environmental protection supported by the Environment and Conservation Fund

Eleven projects of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) are funded by the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) with a total awarded amount of HK$6.23 million. This achievement demonstrates PolyU’s research excellence and expertise on environmental protection in different disciplines across construction and building, engineering and applied science. The awarded research projects cover a variety of topics, including climate change, waste reduction and management, recycling, air and water quality protection etc. PolyU scientists are dedicated to the innovative adoption of technologies, addressing Hong Kong’s environmental challenges and needs. The eleven awarded projects initiate new technologies and solutions such as waste minimization, energy efficiency, recycling, decarbonization and thermal management to improve Hong Kong’s living environment on air, land and sea. The ECF was set up by the government of HKSAR to provide funding support for educational, research and other projects and activities in relation to environmental improvement and conservation of local environment since 1994. Details of the 11 ECF funded projects: Principal Investigator Project Title Awarded Amount (HK$) Prof. CHAO Yu-hang Christopher, Vice President (Research and Innovation) A Feasibility Study on Various Types of High-Efficiency Chillers in Hong Kong: A Life-Cycle Assessment 1,000,000 Prof. DU Ya-ping, Professor of Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering CO2 and CH4 Conversion into High-Value Liquid Chemicals and Fuels in One Step at Room Temperature by Sliding Arc Plasma-Catalyst Synergy 500,000 Dr. FU Sau Chung, Research Assistant Professor of Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering Development of an energy efficient technology for removal of microplastics from wastewater 495,000 Dr. DONG You, Associate Professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Coastal Hazard Protection Benefits of Ecosystems in Hong Kong under Global Climate Change 806,400 Dr. ZHANG Shipeng, Research Assistant Professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering High-Performance Artificial Aggregate derived from Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Bottom Ash 452,000 Dr. SHEN Xi, Assistant Professor of Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering Development of a non-contact solar-thermal converter material for sustainable solar desalination 499,400 Ir Prof. WEN Chih-yung, Head and Chair Professor of Aeronautical Engineering, Associate Director of Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology A Novel Real-Time Thermal Management solution Using Lightweight CFD and Reinforcement Learning for Hong Kong's Next-Generation Data Center 500,000 Dr. WANG Minghao Research Assistant Professor of Department of Electrical Engineering Dynamic decarbonization audit and cost-efficient management system of multiphysical photovoltaic power generation systems in smart cities 500,000 Dr. REN Jingzheng Associate Professor of Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Converting waste plastics into value-added products: process design, simulation, and feasibility analysis 482,000 Dr. LI Meng-jung Molly Assistant Professor of Department of Applied Physics Process intensification reinforces the carbon-free ammonia-to-hydrogen efficiency through microwave heating 500,000 Dr. ZHAO Jiong Assistant Professor of Department of Applied Physics Convert the Coffee Grounds into Two-Dimensional Graphene Thin Film 500,000