As the world’s ageing population presents global challenges and the demand for healthcare rises, PolyU is committed to collaborating with the global community in developing effective solutions. Its active participation in recent healthcare summits underscores its leadership role in promoting healthy ageing and advancing health innovations.

Fostering global collaboration for elderly wellbeing

Co-organised by PolyU’s School of Nursing (SN), a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services, and the PolyU Research Institute of Smart Ageing, the two-day Healthy Ageing Conference aimed to promote healthy ageing efforts in the Western Pacific region and beyond, bringing together over 200 experts from 15 countries and regions.

In his speech, PolyU President Professor Jin-Guang Teng stated that the Conference provided a platform for policymakers, the healthcare industry, academics and stakeholders to jointly promote healthy ageing.

Ms Qi Xinjie, Second Class Counsel (Deputy Director-General Level) of the Department of Ageing and Health, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, emphasised that China and WHO had conducted a series of collaborations on integrated medical and elderly care, the establishment of age-friendly medical institutions and the development of geriatric medicine, achieving positive results.

Dr Libby Lee, the Acting Secretary for Health of the Government of HKSAR, noted that the Conference provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange across healthcare disciplines, experience sharing, partnership building, as well as innovation solutions exploration.

Dr Hiromasa Okayasu, Director of the Division of Healthy Environments and Populations at the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, commended SN for its efforts in facilitating the Conference and advancing healthy ageing initiatives.

Distinguished guests, including Prof. Teng (top left), Ms Qi (top right), Dr Lee (bottom left) and Dr Okayasu (bottom right), spoke at the Conference and shared their views on healthcare for an ageing population.

The Conference introduced WHO’s Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) 2.0 framework, reinforcing the person-centred model and incorporating essential factors such as caregiver support. Professor Angela Leung, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services, noted that this approach facilitates early identification of older adults in need of care. Educational materials and a Community Practice Workshop were launched to enhance understanding of ICOPE 2.0. The event also addressed various healthy ageing topics, reinforcing PolyU’s leadership in developing innovative solutions for elder health and contributing to global healthy ageing efforts.

The WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Health Services has developed both online and offline educational materials for ICOPE 2.0 and introduced a newly-developed training video at the Conference.

Transforming healthcare via research and technology

Amid rising global healthcare demand due to an ageing population and increasing chronic diseases, scholars, startups and research teams from PolyU participated in the Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGH), which was organised by the HKSAR Government and Hong Kong Trade Development Council. As Asia’s premier event for health innovation and investment, the Summit serves as a platform for stakeholders within the dynamic healthcare sector to exchange insights and collaborate.

In “Data-driven Healthcare Transforming Patient Journey”, Prof. Zhang emphasised the importance of healthcare data for researchers and the need for long-term collaboration among all stakeholders to advance healthcare research and innovation.

To highlight PolyU’s integration of medicine and AI in advancing healthcare innovation, Professor Zhang Weixiong, Associate Director of the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research, Chair Professor of Systems Biology and Artificial Intelligence of the Department of Health Technology and Informatics, and a Global STEM Scholar, shared his insights during the thematic session “Data-driven Healthcare Transforming Patient Journey”. He discussed the transformative potential of big data and AI in optimising patient care, underscoring the critical role of healthcare data for researchers and the necessity of long-term collaboration among all stakeholders to collectively advance healthcare research and innovation.

At the “InnoHealth Showcase”, seven PolyU startups and three research teams exhibited innovations in pharmaceuticals, AI, medical devices and community health, highlighting PolyU’s strengths in healthcare innovation. Through its PolyVentures ecosystem, PolyU has nurtured around 600 startups, contributing significantly to global health advancements.

Seven PolyU-nurtured startups and three research teams showcased their innovations at ASGH.

The InnoHK Centre for Eye and Vision Research invited a delegation from its partner, the University of Waterloo, to the ASGH exhibition to jointly explore future collaboration opportunities in vision science and health innovation.