Research Overview

We are pleased to report that our Department has educated more than 11,000 graduates up to 2020, many of whom are holding very senior positions in industry - not only as manufacturing, production and industrial engineers but also in a variety of industries that support both the manufacturing and service sectors. We are proud to mention that thirteen graduates of the Department had been granted Outstanding PolyU Alumni Awards; this is the second highest number in the University.

With regard to research, the Department continuously aligns its research direction with the changing industrial vista of Hong Kong and the region. Over the last ten to twenty years, the profile of the Department has completely changed from one that was largely confined to serving the manufacturing industry to one that is now much broader in its scope, covering both manufacturing and the service sectors. We also believe that it is vital to be at the forefront of research for developing relevant academic programmes, particularly at the postgraduate level.

Our research strategy focuses on both fundamental and applied research, with emphasis on technology transfer and service to industry and the community, particularly in the areas of advanced manufacturing technology, engineering management and logistics, and smart systems and design. We are particularly strong in applied research. In fact, the Department has achieved the highest number of Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) projects among all industrial/manufacturing engineering Departments in Hong Kong universities for many years.

The Department established the Centre for Advances in Reliability and Safety at the HK Science and Technology Parks in 2020 to help HK advance in the areas of Product Safety and System Reliability. In ultra-precision machining and precision metrology research, we obtained a European Commission (EC) / Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) Collaboration Project on diamond cutting of hierarchical optical surfaces under an EC Horizon 2020 programme for the mass production of functional structured surfaces. We also participated in a European Metrology Programme for an Innovation and Research (EMPIR) project on reference algorithms for measuring aspherical and freeform lenses.

Our Knowledge Management Team supports knowledge transfer and innovation management. In this area, we have served many government departments such as Correctional Services, Social Welfare, and Department of Health, and major corporations such as MTR and CLP Power Hong Kong Limited. The Centre is also supporting and coordinating the Global Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise (MIKE) Award and Study Group in enterprise innovation research.

The Department has also collaborated with the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) in successfully developing a Surveillance Camera for China’s first Mars Landing Mission and in further developing proposals for China’s future Key State Deep Space Exploration Programmes, such as the Mars Sample Return Mission and Asteroid Sample Return Mission.

Our research is multi-disciplinary and we have a wide variety of partners for our collaborative projects. Our academic programmes are well founded and supported by our research strength.