From 6 to 7 November 2025, a delegation from the Otto Poon Research Institute for Climate Resilient Infrastructure (RICRI) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) visited leading partner universities in Singapore, advancing international collaboration in climate resilience research and education.
The delegation, led by Professor Ben YOUNG (Vice President for Student and Global Affairs), Professor LI Xiangdong (Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment & Director of RICRI), Professor Jerry YAN (Chair Professor of Energy Engineering), and Professor DUAN Huan-Feng (Associate Director of RICRI), engaged in fruitful discussions with the Department of Architecture (DoA) at The National University of Singapore (NUS) with Professor HO Huay-Peng (Former Head of Department of DoA), Professor YUAN Chao (Deputy Head of Department of DoA), Professor COMAROFF Joshua and Professor Eddie Siu-Kit LAU. The delegation also visited the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and met Professor YANG Yaowen (Associate Vice President for Lifelong Learning – Academic) and Professor CHU Jian (Chair of CEE).
Professor LI detailing the main research scopes and directions as well as ongoing research topics and tasks, including Energy Infrastructure topics led by Professor YAN Jerry and Nature-based Solutions project led by Professor DUAN during the meetings. The delegation introduced RICRI’s pioneering schemes, including the Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Fellowship (CRIF) and the Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Distinguished Lecture Series (CRIDLS), which were highlighted as key initiatives to foster global academic exchange and research excellence. and outlined opportunities for joint research centres and international symposium series.
The PolyU team, NUS team sand NTU team expressed strong interest in collaborative research and consortium participation. Followed the meeting, the PolyU delegation was guided on a tour of the laboratories focused on structural engineering, construction, and the environment at NUS and another tour of the coastal and hydraulic engineering laboratory.
During the visit to NUS’s Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI), Professor Richard LIEW (Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Professor QIAN Xudong (Director of CFI) introduced the broad scopes of CFI, covering fundamental research, engineering applications, and living lab programs that involve collaboration with government agencies and industry partners. Both parties underscored the shared missions of RICRI and CFI, with both institutes recognising the potential for impactful, win-win collaboration in climate resilience. Colleagues from NUS were invited to the upcoming SKL-CRCC opening and Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Symposium at PolyU.
RICRI remains committed to advancing climate-resilient infrastructure through international partnerships, innovative research, and knowledge exchange, paving the way for a sustainable future.
