In the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) by Subject for 2017, PolyU was ranked fourth for both Civil Engineering as well as Construction and Building Technology. These are disciplines that are covered by the expertise in the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE).

The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) is a consulting organization in the United Arab Emirates providing policy advice, strategic insights, and consulting services to governments and universities to improve educational and research outcomes. Its subject rankings rank the world’s leading universities in 227 subject categories, based on the number of research articles in top-tier journals. Data is from Clarivate Analytics (previously the Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters).

Supported by the Research Impact Fund 2018/19, 4 academics of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) are leading projects of major impact. Following are the details:

PolyU received 33.7% of the total Research Impact Fund awarded by the Research Grants Council, with 10 of its projects being supported by it. The 4 projects led by FCE academics represent nearly 40% of the Research Impact Fund received by PolyU.

Dr Bo Wu of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) has been awarded HK$89,600 from the Germany/ Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme 2018/19 for a 2-year project entitled “Shape-from-Shading for High-Precision and High-Resolution 3D Reconstruction of Martian Surface with Compensation of Atmospheric Effects.” His co-investigator is Prof. Wohler Christian from the Technical University of Dortmund in Germany.

A public seminar cum consultation forum on various aspects of underground utility survey’s technologies and specifications applied in various parts of the world was held on 10 January 2019. Organized by Ir Dr Wallace Lai of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), the event was attended by about 170 professionals from different government departments, utility undertakers, utility surveyors, contractors and HOKLAS labs. Speakers included Prof. Nicole Metje of the University of Birmingham, Prof. George Tuckwell of RSK Environmental Ltd. from the UK, Prof. Tom Iseley of the Trenchless Technology Center from the US, Ir Dr Fiona Chan from Hong Kong Accreditation Services, as well as Ir Dr Lai of LSGI, who is leading the 2-year project supported by the Innovation and Technology Fund to develop specifications and certification standards for underground utility survey based on nondestructive testing, surveying, imaging and diagnostic (NDTSID) approaches.

Dr Lai (far left) with the speakers at the seminar

PolyU has approved the joint supervision of the following PhD candidates in the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE):

On 7 January 2019, a few members of the PolyU Council visited the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), including Council Chairman, Dr Tai-fai Lam, Deputy Council Chairman Dr Lawrence Li, Treasurer of PolyU, Ms Loretta Fong, Ms Karen Chan and Ir Dr James Lau. They were welcomed by Prof. You-Lin Xu, Dean of FCE, and its senior management. Prof. Xu gave a presentation on the Faculty’s academic programmes, research achievements, knowledge transfer, internationalization, national engagement and plans for 2019-2020. In attendance were Prof. Xiaoli Ding, Associate Dean (Partnership), Prof. Xiangdong Li, Associate Dean (Research), and the 4 department heads: Prof. Albert Chan of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Prof. Asif Usmani of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), Prof. William Lam of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), and Prof. John Shi of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI). Amongst the issues discussed were the future development of the Faculty, its international standing, the intake quality of its undergraduate programmes, collaboration with industry, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. The meeting concluded with a tour of several laboratories, namely, the Transportation and Highway Engineering Laboratory, the Air Pollution Laboratory, the Fire Laboratory, the Ng Wing Hong Laboratory for Sustainable City, and the Laboratory for Smart City and Spatial Big Data Analytics.

The visitors with some senior management of FCE		Touring a lab

On 12 January 2019, about 200 people attended an info seminar on taught postgraduate programmes in the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE). The Postgraduate Scheme in Construction and Environment was introduced to them by its Chairman, Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Associate Dean (Teaching). 2018/19 entry scholarships for the scheme were subsequently presented in a ceremony to more than 10 deserving students by Prof. You-Lin Xu, Dean of FCE. A few scholarship recipients took the opportunity to share their thoughts on studying at PolyU and its MSc programmes in FCE. Altogether, there were 11 consultation sessions, with the four departments of the Faculty each participating in the programme session(s) that are under their purview.

Prof. Xu (far left) and Prof. Shen (far right) with some scholarship recipients		At the info seminar

To build up the capacity of construction professionals to leverage innovation and technology for continuous improvement, the Development Bureau (DB) of the Hong Kong Government established the Construction Innovation and Technology Fund (CITF) in October 2018. It also commissioned the Construction Industry Council (CIC) to administer the CITF. A few representatives from the DB and the CIC visited the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) on 16 January 2019 to introduce the CITF to its academic staff. They included Ms Oi Yen Lee, Assistant Director (Finance and Registration), and Ms Sandra Tang, Senior Officer (CITF), from the CIC as well as Mr Frankie Tai, Assistant Secretary (Works Policies), and Mr Chung Tai Mak, Chief Executive Officer (Construction Manpower), from the DB. They were received by CIC member Prof. Kwok-fai Chung, Associate Head (Academic Development) of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), and Prof. Xiaoli Ding, Associate Dean (Partnership), who made some welcoming remarks before Ms Lee of the CIC gave a detailed presentation on the CITF, its aims and objectives, what it covers and who are eligible for it. In attendance were 18 academics of FCE, whose questions about the scheme were addressed fully at the Q & A session following the presentation.

Ms Lee introducing the CITF

In the first employer engagement function of its kind, PolyU hosted about 220 leading employers of PolyU graduates in a luncheon at Hotel Icon on 18 January 2019. Organized by the Communications and Public Affairs Office and the Office of Careers & Placement Services, the luncheon’s theme was “Partnering with Employers – Shaping Tomorrow’s Talents.” The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) was represented by Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Associate Dean (Teaching), who served as a host at one of the 4 tables reserved for FCE. VIP guests of FCE were Prof. G.H. Chen and Ir Dr Jonathan Chan. Also present was Ir Dr Anthony Lo of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, the recipient of the Department of Building Services Engineering’s (BSE) Outstanding Alumni Award 2018, whose success story was featured in a video that was shown at the luncheon. Amongst the table hosts were Prof. Albert Chan, Head of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Prof. Eddie Hui, Associate Head (Partnership) of BRE, Prof. Asif Usmani, Head of BSE, Prof. Shiu Keung Tang, Associate Head of BSE, Prof. Chi Sun Poon, Associate Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Prof. Yong Xia, Prof. John Shi, Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), and Dr Lilian Pun, Associate Head of LSGI.

The guests watching a video featuring Ir Dr Lo		At the luncheon

Prof. Shen (middle) with 2 student ambassadors		Prof. Xia (far left) and Prof. Poon (second from right) with some guests

Established under the Occupational Safety and Health Council Ordinance in 1988, the Council is a statutory body for promoting safety and health at work and sustaining the valuable workforce of Hong Kong. To encourage research study of occupational safety and health at the tertiary level, the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) established the OSH Student Best Project Scholarship 2017/18. 3 PhD students from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) were honoured in an award presentation ceremony organized by OSHC on 18 January 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Following are the details:

Ms Yiu (left) and Dr Chan (right)		(left to right) Dr Wong, Mr Fordjour, Dr Chan

At the annual dinner of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers – Safety Specialist Committee (HKIE-SSC) on 11 January 2019, a part-time PhD research student of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Ms Nicole Yiu, received the Runner-up Award (Doctorate Degree Group) of the CIC Award for her thesis “An Empirical Investigation of the Current Application and Future Development of the Safety Management System (SMS) in the Hong Kong Construction Industry.” She was supervised by Dr Daniel Chan, Associate Head (Teaching and Learning) of BRE, and Ir Prof. Albert Chan, Head of BRE. The objectives of the competition are to promote safety engineering and science innovation as well as to provide an open and competitive platform for engineering students to demonstrate their engineering capabilities and share the learning process in safety regime.

3 students supported by entry scholarships of the Postgraduate Scheme in Construction and Environment have recently graduated with Distinction. Following are their thoughts on what studying at PolyU has meant for them.

Mr Ka Lok Wong, a graduate of the BEng programme in Building Services Engineering, received an Outstanding Student Lighting Project Award from the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) Hong Kong at its annual dinner. He completed his final-year project under the supervision of Dr Minchen (Tommy) Wei of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE). As a part-time MSc student in BSE, he currently works for AECOM Technology Corporation.

As the international scientific and standardizing body in the fields of light and lighting, CIE publishes international standards and technical reports for fundamental knowledge and applications in the fields of light and lighting.