Campus Reports

PolyU participated in the Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF) 2023

The Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum (GEEF) 2023 was hosted by Yonsei University on 2 and 3 February. The Forum, themed “Turning Point: From Crisis into Opportunity” aimed to examine progress at mid-point on the way to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and facilitate discourse on the future directions of SDGs. Professor Kwok-yin Wong, Vice President (Education) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University was invited to participate in GEEF 2023 virtually as a panelist in a featured session themed “Future of Higher Education” on behalf of the University Social Responsibility Network. During the session, Professor Wong shared his views regarding the significance and practices of innovative education methods for sustainable growth. Moderated by Professor Donghoon Kim, Senior Vice President of Yonsei University, the session was devoted to SDG 4 “Quality Education” and discussion focused on the role of higher education institutions in realising a sustainable future. Other panellists included, Dr Shinki An, Director of the Yonsei Institute for Global Health, Mr Duncan Ross, Chief Data Officer of Times Higher Education, and Professor Mohd Hamdi Abdul Shukor, Vice Chancellor of the University of Malaya. About GEEF The Global Engagement & Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF), is an annual international forum, organised by the Institute for Global Engagement & Empowerment at Yonsei University, the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future, and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. Stakeholders, including various global leaders and experts, convene to collaborate towards accomplishing the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yonsei University is one of the founding members of the University Social Responsibility Network, of which PolyU is the Chair while the Network Secretariat is hosted at the University’s Global Engagement Office.   

PolyU hosts virtual International University Social Responsibility Summit to share actionable insights and chart the role of higher education in a sustainable future

The International University Social Responsibility (USR) Summit 2022, themed “Education and Action for a Sustainable Future”, was hosted virtually by PolyU and the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) from 16 to 18 November 2022.  This biennial USRN flagship event brought together from around the world 140 speakers and over 640 online participants, including higher education leaders, academics, students and practitioners to exchange ideas, foster partnerships among universities and advance the global USR movement.  In addition to the focus on education and the global community, this years’ USR Summit further broadened its scope to attract presentations from science and technology experts in order to mobilise all-round collaborative research to make our planet more sustainable, and our communities more advanced and inclusive.  Prof. Jin-Guan Teng, President of PolyU, Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs)  and Prof. Daniel Shek, Associate Vice President (Undergraduate Programme) kicked off the Summit, which was organised in conjunction with the 4th International Conference on Service-Learning.  President Teng addressed speakers and guests at the joint welcoming session of the International USR Summit 2022 and the 4th International Conference on Service-Learning,  commenting that the joint event was timely as the world is currently facing many challenges that require universities to promote social responsibility in order to make the world a better place. “We promote social responsibility not only in education but also in our research endeavours” said President Teng. “Be challenged and inspired by what you learn from the community and turn those findings into research ideas and projects. Bring the research back into the community where it can do the most good.” President Teng concluded his welcoming address to the educators and researchers. As the Chair of the International USR Summit 2022 Organising Committee, Prof. Ben Young believed the Summit to be an event where participants reflect on the USRN’s trajectory and an occasion to celebrate accomplishments and partnership. “The light attracts us, the vision gathers us from around the globe, the responsibility empowers us and guides us to co-create a sustainable future for the betterment of all beings on this planet” said Prof. Young.   The three-day Summit comprised various plenary and parallel sessions which delved into six sub-themes:  Assessing and Reinforcing USR Impacts; Collaborative Research to Address Global Challenges; Driving Institutional Changes for USR; Education to Cultivate Social Responsibility; Elevating Sustainable Development through Regional and Global Collaboration; and Social Innovation for Inclusive Communities. Click here for the USR Summit 2022 event playback. About the University Social Responsibility Network  The University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) was initiated by PolyU in 2015 in the belief that universities have an obligation to work together to find solutions to address the economic, social and environmental challenges facing the world today, making the world more just, inclusive, peaceful and sustainable. Serving as a global platform to connect and foster partnership among members, the USRN shares ideas and resources to develop collaborative USR projects with varied scope and scale, advancing higher education as a catalyst for social change through education, research and community service. The USRN comprises 20 member institutions with wide geographic spread.  USRN website: https://www.usrnetwork.org/ About the International USR Summit 2022 The International USR Summit 2022: Education and Action for a Sustainable Future, hosted virtually by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University Social Responsibility Network, aimed to nurture and guide generations of new leaders who will drive social change, and translate innovative ideas into concrete steps towards a better, inclusive and sustainable future.  The USR Summit 2022 was organised in conjunction with the 4th International Conference on Service-Learning.  Service-Learning is moving into a whole new stage of institutional commitment and societal impact.   USR Summit 2022 website: https://usrsummit2022.org/

PolyU President invited to speak at EU-HK SDGs Roundtable Discussions 2022

The Czech Republic Consul General in Hong Kong, Mrs Klára Jurčová, invited Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU to participate as a panel speaker at the EU-HK SDGs Roundtable Discussions 2022 that the Consulate General organised on 31 October 2022. The President joined the third roundtable on the topic of Sustainable Development Goals related to the environment and economics, together with two other panel speakers, Mr Per Augustsson, Consul General of Sweden, and Mr Simon Ng, CEO of the Business Environmental Council. Holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, this is the first time in Hong Kong for the Czech Republic to arrange such an event for policy exchange and aimed at experts from industry, NGOs, academia and the government, as well as Consuls General of the EU countries.

PolyU BME Alumni Homecoming Day 2022

PolyU Department of Biomedical Engineering is proud to present the PolyU 85th, BME 10th and REC 35th anniversary Alumni Homecoming Day on 19 November 2022 (Saturday). You are cordially invited to join either in person at PolyU Room TU201 or online.   All graduates, including Prosthetics & Orthotics, Health Technology and Biomedical Engineering-related BSc, MSc, MPhil, PhD and other graduates from Jockey Club Rehabilitation Engineering Centre (1987-2005), Department of Health Technology and Informatics (2005-2012), Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering (2012-2017) and Department of Biomedical Engineering (2017- 2022), and all current students ,former staff are welcome to join this Homecoming Day.   For registration, please click here before 31 Oct. 

Associate Vice President (Global Partnerships) visits top partner schools in Harbin

To strengthen connections with top high schools in Mainland China, Prof. Geoffrey Q. P. Shen, Associate Vice President (Global Partnerships) and Director of Global Engagement, visited Harbin No. 3 High School, Harbin Normal University High School and Harbin No. 9 High School in mid-August. They are the leading high schools in Heilongjiang Province, with an average over the past five years of more than a dozen outstanding students coming to study at PolyU annually through the Joint Entrance Examination admission scheme. Prof. Shen's visit was warmly received by the three schools, and he had a meaningful and constructive exchange with the school principals, during which they exchanged views on how to attract more outstanding students to study at PolyU.

Nearly five hundred new Mainland students attend online briefing session

To help freshmen Mainland students adapt to their new life in Hong Kong and PolyU, the Global Engagement Office together with the Student Affairs Office held an online briefing session on the evening of 16 August. Prof. Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs) and Prof. Shen, Associate Vice President (Global Partnerships), delivered welcome speeches to the new students to open the briefing session. Global Engagement Office and Student Affairs Office colleagues then introduced PolyU overseas exchange opportunities and student services to the new students respectively. PolyU also invited the Hong Kong Police Force to give details about how Mainland students can avoid being deceived by telephone scams. The briefing session was well attended with close to five hundred Mainland students present online.

USRN Virtual Boot Camp successfully concluded

Organised by the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) in collaboration with the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (JCDISI) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the USRN Virtual Boot Camp + Seed Fund Competition: Innovating for the COVID New Normal, has been successful concluded. The Boot Camp attracted 45 students in 12 teams from Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Mainland China, South Africa, South Korea and the Philippines to decode complex global challenges under the COVID new normal and then apply innovative and impactful solutions that aim to contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable future.  Student participants were required to showcase their projects on a specific theme, aiming to address the needs of the identified users, present originality and potential for scalable adoption, and show promise in enhancing inclusivity in the community. The 12 team pitches were highly appreciated and praised by the judges. Student teams from Ateneo de Manila University, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Yonsei University were selected as the winning teams and awarded seed funding of USD2,000 to implement their projects between now and November.  To see the teams pitching their ideas, please click here. About the USRN Virtual Boot Camp: The Virtual Boot Camp is a new USRN initiative in collaboration with the University’s JCDISI. Student teams participate in workshops and in further sessions where their ideas are explored and ultimately adopted.    

13 PolyU students named Millennium Fellows

Thirteen PolyU students have been named Millennium Fellows in the class of 2022. PolyU is one of the 200 campuses across 37 nations selected to host Millennium Fellows this year. Presented by the United Nations Academic Impact and MCN, the Fellows will be receiving Social Impact Training and creating social impact projects to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.  “Congratulations to our students who have been selected as members of the Millennium Fellowship Class of 2022. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University nurtures students to become lifelong learners, global-minded leaders and socially responsible citizens,” said Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, PolyU President. “I am sure this programme will further elevate our students’ leadership capabilities for the benefit of Hong Kong, the Nation and the world.” The thirteen Millennium Fellows at PolyU are: • NG Hiu Lam, BA (HONS) FASHION & TEXTILES (INTIMATE APPAREL & ACTIVEWEAR) • PAL Ileana, BEng (HONS) SCHEME IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING • MAN Ka Hei, BSc (HONS) RADIOGRAPHY • LEUNG Kwan Hung, BSc (HONS) LOGISTICS ENGINEERING WITH MANAGEMENT • WU Lina, BBA (HONS) MANAGEMENT • GENG Longling, BSc (HONS) COMPUTING • SHEN Qianyu, BSc (HONS) BUILDING ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT • HUANG YanLiang, BEng (HONS) ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • CHAN Yee, MSc MEDICAL IMAGING & RADIATION SCIENCE • AU Yi Ka, BSc (HONS) PHYSIOTHERAPY • YU Zhexi, BBA (HONS) MANAGEMENT • JIN Zihan, BBA (HONS) ACCOUNTING & FINANCE • LAI Ka Wai, BSc (HONS) LOGISTICS ENGINEERING WITH MANAGEMENT  

International Summer School 2022

The International Summer School (ISS) 2022 concluded successfully on 20 August. Starting on 14 July 2022, ISS participants undertook short-term studies at PolyU by completing credit-bearing courses offered in various disciplines, with both face-to-face and online learning.    To help the exchange students from our partner institutions integrate into Hong Kong’s local culture, ISS organized a wide range of enrichment activities. Major events included a virtual tour to the West Kowloon District led by PolyU Attachés in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, three Chinese paper-cutting workshops, Zentangle drawing, alcohol ink painting, as well as an in-person tour that guided students to discover cultural attractions on Lantau Island such as the Tian Tan Buddha and Tai O Village.   To further expand networking opportunities during ISS, a Buddy Programme was launched whereby international students were matched with PolyU students who served as Buddies supporting learning in and off campus, significantlyenriching the ISS students’ inter-cultural experience.

USRN launches a pioneering Virtual Boot Camp: Social Innovations for a Sustainable Future

The first ever USRN Virtual Boot Camp kicked off on 5 July 2022, calling for students over the world to decode complex global challenges under the COVID new normal and to aim high by applying innovative and impactful solutions for an inclusive and sustainable future. The USRN Virtual Boot Camp, themed “Innovating for the COVID New Normal”, is a new initiative of the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) in collaboration with Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (JCDISI) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). The Virtual Boot Camp received an overwhelming response from students of USRN member institutions. In their applications, students were requested to present existing solutions or ideas that had emerged out of the COVID pandemic which they believed to have the potential to create social good. Upon careful evaluation, 45 outstanding students from Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, South Africa, South Korea and the Philippines were shortlisted to join the Camp. Throughout July 2022, they participated in teams in workshops and in sessions specifically designed for the teams to explore ideas and their possible future adoption. “The emergence of ‘COVID New Normal’ gives rise to numerous social innovations and practices across different communities, countries and continents, serving their unique contextual social requirements. All these creativities have laid the groundwork for this USRN Boot Camp,” said Professor Ben Young, USRN Co-Chair and PolyU Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), in his welcome remarks during the Virtual Boot Camp online briefing session. He added that since most universities had enhanced their digital education and communication infrastructures, USRN students were increasingly well-equipped to have confident exchanges with others online. “’Online Communication, Virtual Studying’ is a new education model which, it is anticipated, will outlast the pandemic. With the advances in AI technology, our lifestyles will be re-defined through the integration of physical mobility and virtual interaction,” he remarked. Professor Young explained the multiple purposes of the Virtual Boot Camp in this new era – to address social issues, to drive social innovations for unmet social needs, to facilitate a global exchange of ideas and practices, and to inspire the young generation to innovate for a better future. He encouraged students to make full use of the precious opportunities during the Virtual Boot Camp, to stretch their creative horizons and address societal challenges together. Mr. Ling Kar-kan, Director of JCDISI, also invited student participants of the Virtual Boot Camp to be courageous and creative to make solutions, “Only when you can be creative and innovative can the world’s future become bright” At disruptive times, such as during the COVID pandemic, innovations bring the potential to challenge existing social norms and drive forward a sustainable future. “You may share your unique experience of the disruption caused by COVID and innovate solutions to help people overcome various problems. We believe there are many opportunities for us to learn from each other’s experiences and insights,” added Mr. Ling, who in the same briefing session, advocated for transformingthe inconvenience caused by COVID into opportunities. In addition to the student participants, the Virtual Boot Camp welcomed 11 Expert Speakers and seven Specialist Mentors from USRN member institutions from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, South Africa, South Korea, the Netherlands and the Philippines, to share insights on innovations for life in the COVID New Normal. These experienced social innovators guided students to explore and adopt ideas, and design prototypes that have the potential to social good. Students showcased their idea adoption projects on the last day of the Virtual Boot Camp on 30 July 2022. Innovative social ideas which can address the needs of the identified users, present originality and potential for scalable adoption, and show promise in enhancing inclusivity in the community were awarded a seed funding to further develop and transform their ideas into actions. They will be further given an opportunity to showcase their solution development journeys at the Social Innovation Regional Forum 2022 organised by JCDISI later this year.