News

Opening Ceremony of IET-PolyU Mentorship Programme 2023/24

DATE: November 2, 2023 VENUE: FJ404 ORGANIZER(S): Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University CO-ORGANIZER(S): Institution of Engineering and Technology   The Institute of Engineering and Technology and Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering of PolyU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help ISE students in Industrial and Systems Engineering gain valuable experience and insights from experienced mentors. This year, we have almost 25 mentees participating in the IET-PolyU Mentorship Programme, with 9 mentors who all have more than 10 years of industry experience in various fields. During the mentorship kick-off ceremony, Mr. Cola Lam, an alumni of BEng (Hons) of Product Engineering with Marketing and secretary of the IET Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering Section (MIES), provided an inspiring talk for mentees and shared his professional experience in career path development. Mentors interacted with the students and offered valuable advice during the networking session.

香港理工大學與萊茵科斯特簽約共建智能製造聯合實驗室 PolyU and Rhein-Köster Setup a Joint Laboratory in Smart Manufacturing

On October 30, 2023, at the signing site of the second Shandong-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Fair, the "Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Rhein-Köster Joint Laboratory of Smart Manufacturing" MOU was officially signed (10 million Hong Kong dollars over 5 years). Dr ZHENG Pai, Assistant Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Mr. CUI Zhi, Chairman of Rhein-Köster attended the signing ceremony. This is the first joint laboratory to be established in the field of smart manufacturing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It will give full play to the professional characteristics of both parties, focus on the R&D in the fields of digitalized smart production line and human-robot collaborative manufacturing systems, and jointly develop a talent nurturing teaching scheme for future industries. Rhein-Köster, an industrial pioneer in the research and development, promotion and implementation of applied talent development, has taken the lead in boosting the innovation of industry-empowered education. The company is working closely with the Zibo high-tech zone in Shandong province to explore the integrated model of "government-enterprise-school-market". Currently, Rhein-Koester's model has been widely used in more than 10 industry-education integration training bases throughout the country. Rhein-Koester aims to develop new innovative training and industrial systems to achieve sustainable hydrogen production and related energy management, contributing to combating climate change by cultivating talents and professionals in cooperation with various universities in Germany. Through the establishment of Sino-German junior colleges, the company also empowers high-quality employment and the development of graduates of all levels of ability. Rhein-Koester is advancing the pace of internationalization and promoting its educational philosophy to the world.

Mentoring the Next Generation: PolyU Scholars Guide High School Students in Developing a Metaverse Virtual Environment in the Junior Research Mentorship Program

This year, PolyU hosted the third "Junior Research Mentorship Program", in which approximately 80 scholars from various disciplines within PolyU guided over 130 high school students through four-month research projects. Two Form 6 students, Sarah Zeng from C&MA Sun Kei Secondary School and Vanessa Chan from Diocesan Girls' School, conducted a study titled "Development of a Metaverse Virtual Environment". This study was carried out under the guidance of Dr YM Tang and Mr Hadyn Ng from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. In the project, participating students were tasked with creating a virtual environment within the metaverse, complete with avatars or virtual characters to facilitate user interaction in this digital realm. Unlike applications that are primarily designed for entertainment, the main objective of this project was to incorporate game elements into applications that promote healthy physical activity. The students successfully demonstrated game design sensibilities and proficiency in 3D modeling, both of which were crucial to the creation of the metaverse project. By the end of the project, an interactive back-to-school game had been developed within the metaverse environment. This allowed the students to gain first-hand experience interacting with a diverse user base within this virtual space. Additionally, the students conducted research and analysis to evaluate the project's outcomes and determine their feasibility. We believe that the experiences and accomplishments of these students will serve as inspiration for their peers, encouraging them to continue striving for excellence in their own endeavors.   Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/3sDBgEL Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3PnFLfB Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/3PpOPQY Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3Ep5ldL HK01 - https://polyu.me/3sCcxkn

Ms Cadence Law, PEM alumni received the Brilliant Innovation and Technology Talent Award

Congratulations! Our PEM alumni, Ms Cadence Law who is also a Hong Kong Productivity Council's young engineering talent, has recently attained the Brilliant Innovation and Technology Talent Award presented by the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation! The award aims to recognise individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Hong Kong through innovative technologies, providing quality products or services, and leading their companies or teams towards success.

Two LEM students participated in the 11th International Logistics Case Workshop & Competition

Two of our talented students, Mr. CHU Wang Cheung and Miss MAO Jianing, from the BSc (Hons) in Logistics Engineering and Management, recently participated in the 11th International Logistics Case Workshop & Competition held in Bangkok, Thailand from June 21 to 25, 2023. During the event, our students had the opportunity to visit several prominent logistics facilities in Thailand, including Airports of Thailand (AoT)'s terminal, LCB1's port facilities, JWD Group's warehouses, Lazada's sortation center, and CTI Logistics' cold storage facilities. These site visits provided valuable insights and real-world exposure to our students. Following the informative site visits, our students teamed up with fellow participants from Thailand, Singapore, and Taiwan for the competition segment. They were tasked with providing recommendations to the companies from an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) perspective. We believe that their experiences will inspire and motivate their peers to continue striving for excellence.

ISE graduates won the Champion and Merit Awards in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Management Student Project Competition 2023

Miss Tse Suet Yi, a graduate of the BEng (Hons) Product Engineering with Marketing programme, received the Champion Award in the “Industrial and Systems Engineering Management Innovation Project Competition 2023”, which was organized by the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers – Hong Kong. The title of her project is “Designing and Modeling in the Metaverse: A Comparative Study between Traditional Education Class and Metaverse Virtual Class on Sign Language”, supervised by Dr. YM Tang. This project explores the potential applications of the Metaverse in education, specifically in teaching sign language. The study involves a comparative analysis between traditional education classes and virtual classes in the Metaverse, using modeling and design techniques to improve the learning experience of sign language. This project highlights the potential of the Metaverse in revolutionizing the way we learn and interact with different subjects through immersive virtual environments.   Miss Cheung Sze Tung, a graduate from the BSc (Hons) Enterprise Engineering with Management programme, received the Merit Award in this competition for her project titled “Analyzing Online Customer Reviews (OCRs) Data in a Smart Product-Service System based on Supervised Learning Models”, which was supervised by Dr Carman Lee. In the project, sentiment analysis on OCRs of Amazon was conducted using six different machine learning models. The results were then applied to the development of a framework for the smart product service system to improve business operations under the digital ecosystem.

ISE innovations honoured internationally at the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva

Project: Novel High Efficacy Nano Multi-ring Defocus Incorporated Spectacle Lens for Myopia Control   Awards: Prize of the State of Geneva Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury   Principal Investigators:  Prof. Benny CHEUNG Chi-fai Chair Professor of Ultra-precision Machining and Metrology, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Director of State Key Laboratory of Ultra-precision Machining Technology Prof. TO Chi-ho Visiting Chair Professor of Experimental Optometry, School of Optometry Mr Jackson LEUNG Tze-man Co-founder, Vision Science & Technology Co Ltd (a PolyU Academic-led startup)   Details:   The novel Nano Multi-ring Defocus Incorporated Spectacle (NMDIS) lens is an advanced spectacle lens designed to slow the progression of myopia in children. The NMDIS lens combines two cutting-edge technologies – the Defocus Incorporated Soft Contact (DISC) lens and Ultra-precision Nano Multi-ring Machining Technology (UPNMMT) – to produce high-quality lenses.The NMDIS lens features annular spaced correction zones and defocus zones. The correction zones function as a regular concave lens to correct vision at the centre of the retina, while the defocus zones focus light slightly in front of the retina to achieve myopia defocus. This effectively inhibits elongation of the eyeball, slowing the progression of myopia.UPNMMT enables the precision moulding of NMDIS lenses by fabricating the unique tangential continuity nano multi-ring structure on the moulds. By optimising the width and height of the defocus zones, it enables a reasonable distribution of optical power to generate a smooth and seamless lens surface, and strikes a good balance between clear vision, comfort, and myopia control for children.   Project: Mars Landing Surveillance Camera for Tianwen-1 Mars Soft Landing Mission   Awards: Prize by the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca Romania Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury   Principal Investigator:  Prof. YUNG Kai-leung Sir Sze-yuen Chung Professor in Precision Engineering, Director of Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations, Chair Professor of Precision Engineering and Associate Head, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, PolyU   Details:   This is a space qualified camera designed for use on Mars. The camera has a wide temperature range, low distortion, an ultra-wide 170-degree diagonal field of view, and can withstand 6200g of shock, making it suitable for use in the harsh environment of Mars. Despite weighing only 390 grams, the camera features innovative design elements such as integrated thermo-dissipation and layered metallic radiation protection with a flexible shock absorbing structure. The camera successfully landed on Mars in 2021 on board the landing platform of Tianwen-1 lander. It monitored the landing status and the deployment of the Mars Rover, including the unfolding of the solar panels and antennas, and the readiness of the Rover to descend onto the surface of Mars. The many innovations and key technologies developed for this camera have been transferred to special products on earth, such as surgery robotics, for the benefit of society.   Project: Mutual Cognitive Human-robot Collaborative Manufacturing System   Award: Bronze Medal   Principal Investigator:  Dr ZHENG Pai Assistant Professor, Endowed Young Scholar in Smart Robotics, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Co-founder, CobotAI Limited (a PolyU Academic-led start-up) Details: This innovative technology offers a promising mutual-cognitive human-robot collaborative manufacturing system (MCHRCMS), that provides a safer and more intuitive way for humans and robots to work together. Its main features and advantages include: Vision-based HRC holistic scene perception. Advanced machine learning techniques accurately predict human intentions, estimate object 6DoF positions, and segment the 3D working environment with an average accuracy rate of over 97%. HRC safe interaction strategies. Digital twin and augmented reality (AR) technologies are adopted to ensure human-robot safety and prevent collisions. The system leverages deep reinforcement learning and inverse kinematics to plan robot motions and avoid errors with an accuracy rate of over 99.5%. AR deployment of visual reasoning-based cognitive decisions. AR provides intuitive support for HRC instructions with an overall response time of less than 0.6s, making the system friendly to use. This technology can be well-adopted in human-robot symbiotic manufacturing scenarios under Industry 4.0/5.0. To learn more about PolyU’s impactful innovations showcased in the Expo, please refer to the Appendix. (Source: PolyU Website, PolyU Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office)  

ISE scholar honoured the National Disruptive Technology Contest by Ministry of Science & Technology

The research project “Low-temperature molding technology for precision optical components based on new nanocomposite glass materials” (基於新型納米複合玻璃材料的精密光學元件低溫成型技術) led by scholar of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is honoured the 2022 Merit Award of National Disruptive Technology Contest (全國顛覆性技術創新大賽領域賽優秀獎) in the field of new materials by Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST). A total of 2,851 projects from all over China participated in the Contest, and PolyU is the only Hong Kong institution being honoured. The PolyU driven start-up project, led by Prof. W.B. Lee, Emeritus Professor of Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, develops the technology for the precision molding of a modified nanocomposite glass materials which could be formed at a low temperature below 300 OC, followed by sintering or formed at room temperature with ultra-violet curing without vacuum requirement in the manufacturing of aspheric or free formed optical glass lens. The project is also a collaboration with the Nano Manufacturing Laboratory of the City University of Hong Kong. This research will bring significant innovative breakthrough to the precision optics manufacturing industry. The research results can be applied in low-cost, high-volume manufacturing of optical components such as lenses and Fresnel lenses, for applications in next-generation portable devices, smartphones for driverless cars, holographic displays and VR glasses, and light field display technology of metaverse etc. The National Disruptive Technology Contest focuses on integrated circuit, artificial intelligence, future networks and communications, biotechnology, new materials, green technology, high-end equipment manufacturing and multiple disciplines, and other technology which could bring cutting-edge innovation and breakthrough. (Source: PolyU Research and Innovation Office)

Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering 2023

The ISE Department is pleased to present the “Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering 2023” to two distinguished graduates in recognition of their Scholarly Achievement and Professional Achievement as well as significant contributions to the Department, PolyU and the community. Their remarkable achievements and valuable contributions have earned them the well-deserved honour. Congratulations to the following awardees! Outstanding Alumni Award in Scholarly Achievement of PolyU Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering 理大工業及系統工程學系傑出校友學術成就獎 Prof. William Ho Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management, Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne, Australia Doctor of Philosophy, 2004 BEng (Hons) in Manufacturing Engineering, 2000 Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Professional Achievement of PolyU Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering 理大工業及系統工程學系傑出青年校友專業成就獎 Ms LAW Wing Ting Cadence Senior Consultant, Hong Kong Productivity Council BEng (Hons) in Product Engineering with Marketing, 2015   For more details about the awardees, please visit here.

ISE student won Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2023

We are delighted to announce that Ms Haley Kwok Hin Chi, a year 3 student of BSc (Hons) in Enterprise Engineering with Management programme, is one of the esteemed awardees of the Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2023. The scholarship was jointly established by the Innovation and Technology Commission and The Hongkong and Shanghai Corporation Limited (HSBC), and is now administered by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG). After a rigorous selection process, Haley was selected as one of the 25 awardees from seven local universities taking science, engineering and health-related programme. The Scholarship aims to recognize outstanding undergraduate students in Hong Kong who have demonstrated exceptional skills and achievements in the field of innovation and technology. The scholarship provides Haley with an opportunity to expand her international and Mainland exposure, gain industry experience, and contribute to the community through the Overseas / Mainland Attachment Programme, Mentorship Programme, Service Project Programme, and Local Internship Programme. Haley expressed her gratitude to the professors and mentors for their guidance and support throughout the scholarship application process, as well as to the department for providing her with valuable research experience. She believes that her unwavering dedication and commitment have significantly contributed to her success in winning the Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2023. "It is a very competitive scholarship. PolyU and ISE have provided full support to me throughout my study. Be innovative and adventurous!" said Haley. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Haley and wish her all the best in her future endeavors in the field of innovation and technology. The Innovation and Technology Scholarship aims to provide recognition to outstanding undergraduates in universities in Hong Kong as well as opportunities of widening their international / Mainland exposure and gaining industry experience. Successful awardees are awarded a scholarship of not more than HK$150,000, comprising the following four components: Overseas/ Mainland Attachment Programme Mentorship Programme Service Project Programme Local Internship Programme