PolyU held its 27th Congregation this month, with 319 graduates bestowed with Doctor of Philosophy degrees in the session on 6 November 2021 presided over by PolyU’s Chairman of Council Dr Lam Tai-fai. Schools and Faculties also held their Congregation sessions throughout the month.

With the COVID-19 pandemic under good control in Hong Kong, physical Congregation was resumed while continuing with online mode for graduates who could not attend in person.

This year, PolyU graduated 9,819 students. In addition to PhD degrees, the University bestowed 100 professional doctoral degrees, 48 Master of Philosophy degrees, 4,578 taught Master’s degrees or postgraduate diplomas, 4,448 Bachelor’s degrees and 326 sub-degree awards.

PolyU is committed to nurturing more interdisciplinary talents and fostering interdisciplinary collaborative research. The University will launch new education programmes in “Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics” and “Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, and strengthen students’ exposure to Chinese history and culture. PolyU will also actively initiate interdisciplinary research programmes to address major societal challenges through the newly established PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research.

Addressing the Congregation, Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, urged graduates to embrace social responsibility and make positive contributions to societal development. “From the current challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic to the long-term challenge of climate change, as PhD graduates from PolyU, you will be in a strong position to contribute to the effort of humankind in addressing these issues,” he said.