Renowned for her decade-long stints as the Under Secretary for Food and Health and the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Chan was the first PolyU alumna and nurse in Hong Kong to assure these ministerial positions.

She has made remarkable contributions to formulating and implementing policies on health, food safety and environmental hygiene services. Moreover, Professor Chan has been widely recognised for her pioneering academic achievements, including her research in public health, tobacco control, primary health care, children’s health, health promotion and disease prevention.

Despite her numerous accomplishments, she remains rooted to her nursing background and continues to support her alma mater. As a founding faculty member of the School of Nursing, she played a pivotal role in PolyU’s introduction of the first bachelor’s degree nursing programme in Hong Kong. Over the years, she has also served the School of Nursing in various capacities, including as a consultant and external examiner.

A building surveyor by profession, Sr Dr Cheung Tin-cheung has dedicated nearly four decades of services to the Hong Kong government, with tenures spanning various departments. As Director of Buildings, he led the Buildings Department to review and develop policies and strategies that greatly enhanced building safety. He has proven to be a visionary open to new ideas and innovation through his endeavours to improve the quality of building development and promote a sustainable built environment. By removing barriers to technological adoption, he has fostered the culture of change within the building industry.

Dr Cheung has also forged close ties with his alma mater. He has served as a Member and Chairman of the Departmental Advisory Committee for the Department of Building and Real Estate, contributed to the validation panel for the Department’s doctoral programme and frequently participated as a speaker at various events.

Professor To is a globally recognised scholar in myopia and glaucoma. Apart from publishing in top journals and being a sought-after keynote speaker at international conferences, he is a pioneer leading his research team to develop the ground-breaking Defocus Incorporated Soft Contact (DISC) Lens and the Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) Spectacle Lens, which have been proven to slow the progression of short-sightedness among children by as much as 60%. Recognised as significant technological breakthroughs in vision health, both innovations have received multiple awards, including Grand Prizes at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva.

His headship of PolyU’s School of Optometry from 2013 to 2022 was equally impressive; in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2020, 88% of the School’s research outputs were rated as “internationally excellent” or above. Moreover, Professor To has connected the School with research laboratories and scholars worldwide, sparing no effort to foster interdisciplinary research.

Renowned for his philanthropic endeavours and volunteer work, Mr Wong firmly believes in community service and giving back to society. Leveraging his expertise in accounting, he has volunteered as an Honorary Auditor, Honorary Treasurer and Financial Advisor for various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including the China Candlelight Educational Fund and UNESCO Hong Kong Association Glocal Peace Centre. He has also chaired the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Hong Kong Executive Committee.

In addition to his two decades of service, he consistently provides financial support to the ACCA Charitable Foundation, ORBIS and other NGOs, as well as higher education institutions. Mr Wong’s contributions to his alma mater are equally impressive. Over the years, he has served as a PolyU Council and Court Member, President of the Federation of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Alumni Associations, President of the Accounting and Finance Graduates Association, as well as a student mentor and event speaker, supporting University development, alumni engagement, and student growth on all fronts.

Mr Fang is a co-founder of Hai Robotics, the first unicorn startup nurtured under PolyU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The company independently developed HaiPick, the world’s first Autonomous Case-handling Robot, a system that boosts warehouse operation efficiency by three to four times and storage density by 80% to 400%.

Hai Robotics currently serves customers from over thirty countries and regions, with offices in China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the U.S. Revolutionising warehouse logistics, it has filed over 1,800 patent applications worldwide and earned the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award in 2022.

Mr Fang has played a crucial role in facilitating collaboration between PolyU and Hai Robotics, including the launch of the Smart Delivery System in the University’s new Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Lab (AIR Lab) that not only strengthens robotics education, but also encourages co-creation and innovation among students and researchers.