SHKP-Kwoks’ Foundation x PolyU Building Homes with Heart Scholarship Programme supports FCE to nurture new generation of talent for industry

Ten FCE students received scholarships from the Building Homes with Heart Scholarship Programme, a joint initiative by the SHKP-Kwoks’ Foundation (the Foundation) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), at the programme’s inaugural award ceremony on 3 August 2023. The ten undergraduate and postgraduate students come from the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE), the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). Each student was awarded a scholarship of up to HK$40,000 to relieve their financial challenges and support them in their pursuit of studies in construction, real estate, or engineering-related disciplines.

Director of the Foundation Mr Thomas KWOK expressed at the ceremony that he hopes the scholarship programme will become a driving force for the students to achieve greater success in their studies and careers, thereby contributing to the future development of the country and Hong Kong.

The scholarships were presented to the awardees by Mr Thomas KWOK, and SHKP Executive Directors Mr Adam KWOK and Mr Robert CHAN. After the ceremony, the awardees had the chance to engage in an exchange with Mr Adam KWOK who encouraged the students to maintain their lifelong pursuit of learning.

Also joined the ceremony were PolyU Vice President (Student and Global Affairs) Prof. Ben YOUNG, PolyU Dean of Students Prof. Albert CHAN, and Dean of FCE Prof. Xiang-dong LI.

BRE undergraduate receives Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2023

Ms Sze Lam WONG, a year four BSc (Hons) in Property Management student of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), received the Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2023 for her outstanding academic performance, passion for innovation and technology, and well-rounded personal quality and upside potential.

Ms Wong received the scholarship from the Chief Executive of HKSAR, Mr John LEE, on 13 June 2023. There are 25 students selected from different local universities and disciplines this year, four of them come from PolyU. Each awardee would be awarded a scholarship of up to HK$150,000 to support their attachment programmes at overseas/ Mainland universities/ institutions.

The scholarship is jointly organised by the Innovation and Technology Commission, HSBC, and The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups to encourage and nurture outstanding students to contribute to the InnoTech industry.

FCE students sweep ESRI Young Scholars Award 2023 for great GIS innovations

We are pleased to learn that FCE students obtained outstanding results from the ESRI Young Scholars Award 2023. Launched by the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) in 2012, the Award aims to encourage and reward university students who create innovative geographic information system (GIS) applications for promoting smart city development in Hong Kong.

The projects of our FCE awardees target to tackle various problems we are facing in our daily lives in order to make Hong Kong a more attractive and enjoyable place to live and visit, such as ensuring environmental preservation amid active hiking activities and promoting cultural tourism development via greener transportation.

Congratulations to all the awardees from FCE, please click the project titles to learn more about their innovations.

BEEE student receives ASHRAE HK Chapter Scholarship and wins Hanson Merit Award with team

Mr Cheuk Him HO, an undergraduate student of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE), has been awarded the ASHRAE Hong Kong Chapter Scholarship 2022-23. He is among the five scholarship recipients in the degree category and is the only PolyU awardee.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The ASHRAE Hong Kong Chapter was founded in 1984 and is one of the large Chapters in ASHRAE.

Earlier on, Mr Ho also partnered with Dr Bo SUN, Postdoctoral Fellow of BEEE, and won a Hanson Merit Award in the Energy Saving Championship Scheme 2022 (Secondary and Post-secondary School category) under Prof. Lin LU’s supervision. The winning project is titled "Long-term Energy Performance of Bifacial and Monofacial Solar Photovoltaic Panels in Hong Kong".

HKIS Scholarships and Dissertation Awards recognise FCE students

Students from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) and the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) were honoured with scholarships and outstanding dissertation awards from The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS). HKIS President, Sr Paul WONG, the Chairman of Research Committee, Sr Dr Mei-Yung LEUNG, and the Chairman of the Board of Education, Sr Steven TANG, presented the prizes to awardees at the HKIS Scholarship 2023 cum Outstanding Dissertation Awards 2022 Presentation Ceremony on 25 July 2023.

HKIS has been awarding scholarships to university students for their outstanding academic achievements and presenting prizes to both undergraduate and postgraduate students for their research excellence, to nurture young talents in related professions. The lists of FCE awardees are as follows:

PhD students from FCE stand out in PolyU Three-minute Thesis Competition

In the inaugural PolyU Three-minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) held at the end of June, the FCE research postgraduate student representatives outshined their fellow competitors and bagged two out of the four prizes.

Mr Zhongnan YE of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) won the Champion and Mr Idris Temitope BELLO of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) won a People’s Choice award. Both were nominated to the University 3MT® for their outstanding performance in the FCE 3MT® held in mid-June. As the PolyU Champion, Mr Ye will represent the University in the Asia-Pacific 3MT® to compete against contestants from Oceania, North-East Asia, and South-East Asia. Click their 3MT® titles to watch the video recordings.

FCE engages prospective students via outreach activities

A three-day residential camp of PolyU Summer Institute 2023 was held on 24–26 July for local secondary school students. During the second day’s Faculty attachment session, 40 participants took part in the half-day tour arranged by FCE. The participants were given the opportunity to explore laboratories, attend an info seminar, and witness demonstrations of cutting-edge equipment. Current FCE undergraduate students also shared their experiences and insights with the participants about university life.

A sharing session cum tea reception for PolyU International Summer School 2023 was held on 2 August. A group of exchange students joined the FCE sharing session to learn about the taught postgraduate and PhD programmes offered by FCE. Current postgraduate students from FCE also played a part and shared their experiences, and mingled with the participants during the tea reception.

FCE Annual Forum 2023

To enhance FCE researchers’ skills in developing high-quality research proposals, the Faculty organised the FCE Annual Forum 2023 on 26 July where academics from different departments were invited to share their successful experiences in writing proposals for various RGC competitive grants.

Prof. Yi-Qing NI of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), who just received HK$48.29 million funding from the RGC Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2023/24 (Thirteenth Round), shared with participants his insights and tips on securing this important funding. Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty, also provided his point of view as an RGC Panel Member on reviewing applications for ECS/GRF Grants. Followed by a vibrant discussion between speakers and participants, the forum was concluded with a closing remark by Prof. Meng NI, Associate Dean (Research) of FCE.

Over 70 FCE members attended the forum. The detailed list of topics and speakers are as follows, interested FCE staff can watch the forum recording here.

Welcome new staff to FCE