News

PolyU Young Scholar’s Research Helps to Identify Children with Developmental Language Disorders in Early Stage Awarded MOST Major Project on Brain Science

To help identify children with developmental language disorders in the early stage and to reveal the impact of sleep activities on language development, a project led by Dr Zhang Caicai, Associate Professor of the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), has been awarded funding from the National programme Sci-Tech Innovation 2030 – “Brain Science and Brain-like Research” Major Project (Young Scientist category), with a total amount of RMB 5M.  This is the only project in Hong Kong supported by this programme in the area of brain cognition mechanisms this year. Dr Zhang's research team has conducted extensive work in the research fields of language acquisition, language disorders and neurolinguistics in children and achieved fruitful results. She also has formed an international cross-disciplinary team led by PolyU with the participation of Georgetown University, the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, including experts in neurolinguistics, speech therapists, pediatric brain imaging specialists, psychologists and geneticists. The awarded project is entitled “Neurocognitive markers for typical language development and language disorders in children: A longitudinal study based on long-term memory, sleep and brain development”.  This project will adopt a longitudinal approach to track 100 physiologically healthy Cantonese-speaking children in Hong Kong from the age of three to seven years old for five years, assessing their long-term memory, language and sleep activities every year, including language assessments and diagnoses of language disorders.  Dr Zhang remarked, "The age of three to seven is not only an important stage for children's speech, language and literacy development but also a golden time for diagnosing developmental disorders of speech and language, stuttering, and dyslexia.” This project will introduce novel sleep research to reveal how long-term sleep quality and post-learning brain oscillatory activities contribute to declarative and procedural memory consolidation and the development of these memory circuitries over time.  Dr Zhang said, "Sleep plays a vital role in children's cognitive development, including long-term memory and language development. Our team hopes this research can inform educational policies such as the optimal sleep duration during childhood. By tracking the development of children’s brain function and structure, this project will generate a new model of the development of brain circuitries subserving long-term memory, depict the dynamic development of brain anatomy and structural connectivity, and create a database of child brain growth. These outcomes will shed light on the optimisation of language assessment, diagnostic tools, and evidence-based language interventions for children. Launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the "Brain Science and Brain-like Research" Major Project involves five research areas and 59 topics with total funding beyond 31 billion.

PolyU Joins Innovation Hub@HK to Promote Commercialisation and Technology Transfer to the Industry and the Greater Bay Area

Organised by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC), the launch ceremony of the Innovation Hub@HK website was held on 18 Aug 2022.  As one of the participating research institutions, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is honoured to take part in this campaign jointly with other top-notch research institutes to showcase the Research and Development outcomes to facilitate commercialisation and technology transfer to the industry, the Greater Bay Area, and beyond the longer term. PolyU President Prof Jin-Guang Teng, Vice President (Research and Innovation) Prof Christopher Chao, and PolyU experts were invited to join this festive launch ceremony. This dedicated website will act as an access for the industry to discover and explore more about the deliverables of the applied research work of Hong Kong’s top researchers. It also marked the beginning of further collaborations among the quangos and universities.  A wide range of incredible innovations developed by PolyU could be found on the following website:  https://www.innovationhub.hk/

PolyU Scholar’s Pioneering Efforts in Colour Science Awarded China’s Excellent Young Scientists Fund

Dedicated to pioneering works in the field of colour science, Dr Tommy Minchen Wei, Associate Professor from the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has been awarded funding from the National’s 2022 Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) with a total amount of RMB 2 million.  Dr Wei has been continuously conducting research on fundamental colour science, and the research outcomes have contributed to the further understanding of human visual system and mechanisms, in order to investigate and improve the quality of lighting and imaging systems. The awarded project he led, namely “Colour Appearance Model and Colour Space”, aims to investigate colour appearance and difference under complicated conditions. The research findings can be used for various imaging systems, such as cameras, displays, smartphones, tablets, drones, and metaverse-related systems, which will be of great scientific and practical importance for colour science and industry. Under the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) aims to support young scholars (under the age of 38 for male or 40 for female) who have attained achievements in basic research and conducted innovative research in their chosen fields, fostering them to be internationally leading scholars.  

PolyU Joins a World-leading Catalysis Research Consortium to Accelerate Carbon Neutrality

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) joins a world-leading catalysis research consortium launched by Johnson Matthey (JM), together with Fudan University (Fudan), Xiamen University (Xiamen), and University of Oxford (Oxford), working in partnership to accelerate global carbon neutrality goals using a novel formic acid strategy. Through the collaboration, PolyU hopes to bring formic acid to a cutting-edge solution for sustainable chemical processes and provide a new level of innovation, focus and ambition to confront challenges in green catalysis and sustainable chemistry. The consortium is a world-leading catalysis and chemistry group with each member’s specialities, working together on scientific research focussed on how CO2 can be used in green bulk chemicals production.  Dr Mark Su, President – China at Johnson Matthey, said, “We know we can only accelerate progress through strategic partnerships. By working with world-leading universities, collectively we will be able to acquire and leverage technological capabilities which can help to provide the low carbon solutions that help China achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.” PolyU team led by Dr Molly Li, Assistant Professor of the Department of Applied Physics, proposed using carbon and hydrogen atoms from green formic acid to facilitate a heterogeneous hydroformylation route and deliver industrially important substances without using any fossil fuel sources. Dr Li remarked, “Leveraging PolyU’s expertise in surface science and in-situ spectroscopy, as well as our strength in advanced characterisation facilities, we will pave the way toward new class of heterogeneous catalysts to make industrially important chemical processes clean and green.”    About Johnson Matthey (JM) JM is an international chemical manufacturing company founded almost 200 years ago in London. As a global leader in sustainable technologies, JM has applied cutting-edge science to create solutions with a worldwide customer base through continued investment in sound research and development. JM has been leading this field to apply unrivalled scientific expertise to enable cleaner air, improved health and more efficient use of natural resources.    About PolyU Department of Applied Physics (AP) PolyU AP has long been engaging in top-notch scientific research activities, which is well-equipped with more than 30 laboratories and has benefited from the world-class research facilities in various university-managed research facilities. To pursue world-leading research and innovations that impact the scientific community and regional industries, the researchers are also actively involved in industrial collaborations and consultancy projects, contributing to the technological development.

Three PolyU Outstanding Scholars Awarded RGC Senior Research Fellow 2022/23

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been awarded three of the ten grants under the Research Grants Council's (RGC) Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS) 2022/23, another testament to PolyU scholars’ accomplishments and research excellence.   The successful PolyU scholars are Prof. SUN Defeng, Chair Professor of Applied Optimization and Operations Research and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics; Prof. LI Gang, Sir Sze-yuen Chung Endowed Professor in Renewable Energy in the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering; and Prof. CHAN Ko-ling Edward, Professor of the Department of Applied Social Sciences. Their research in the areas of applied mathematics, material sciences, and social work and public health has been awarded a total of HKD 23 million SRFS funding. The RGC’s Senior Research Fellow Scheme aims to provide sustained support to exceptionally outstanding researchers at UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong, with a view to facilitating their dedication to research and development and to helping universities attract and retain research talent. The Scheme provides ten grants to scholars from any academic disciplines in each round of the annual exercise. Nominees are assessed based on various criteria that include leadership quality and vision in the chosen area of research, the merit of the research proposal and the support provided by the university.  Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, congratulated all awardees and said, “After a rigorous assessment process, our three researchers were recognised for their research capabilities, contributions and the potential impact of their proposed research projects. We are proud of their outstanding research. This achievement also recognizes the efforts of the PolyU research teams in promoting and conducting multifaceted research.” Details of the awardees and their research projects: Prof. Sun Defeng, Chair Professor of Applied Optimization and Operations Research, and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics Research Project: “Nonlinear Conic Programming: Theory, Algorithms and Software” Nonlinear conic programming (NLCOP) lies at the core of optimisation research which involves the design of efficient algorithms to solve mathematical problems of optimisation under constraints. This project will focus on NLCOP problems when the constraint set is C2-cone reducible. Prof. Sun’s team will design non-smooth Newton-type algorithms and augmented Lagrangian methods for solving NLCOP problems. They will also develop an efficient optimisation solver for addressing a class of virtual instances of NLCOP issues. Furthermore, researchers will investigate reinforcement machine learning techniques to solve NLCOP problems faster. The success of this project will contribute to a broad range of important applications including the sixth-generation wireless communication technology (6G), investment portfolio management, financial risk management, supply chain management, production planning and automatic driving. Prof. Li Gang, Sir Sze-yuen Chung Endowed Professor in Renewable Energy in the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering  Research Project: “Printable Organic Solar Cells: Materials and Device Investigations towards Applications” Organic solar cell (OSC) is an emerging photovoltaic (PV) technology with distinct advantages in many areas, such as flexible/portable PV, building integrated PV and transparent power applications. Aiming at accelerating the OSC technology, this project proposed systematic materials and device structure investigation of new photoactive materials, stable transport materials, innovative ternary OSC active layer engineering, a novel approach for transparent OSC and printing technology. The project will significantly push forward OSC technology in terms of high efficiency, operation stability, compatibility with unique applications and being printing friendly. The proposed research represents a new frontier for OSC technology, which integrates chemistry, physics and material science to generate new perspectives in science and come up with solutions to challenging issues in renewable energy. Prof. Chan Ko-ling Edward, Professor of Department of Applied Social Sciences  Research Project: “Family Polyvictimization and Social Policy Responses in East Asian Societies” Prof. Edward Chan is the first to examine family poly-victimization (FPV), which refers to the co-occurrence of at least three types of family violence, including intimate partner violence, child abuse and elder abuse. He has developed innovative methodologies and digital assessment tools to measure FPV accurately. This project will be conducted in five East Asian cities, namely Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei. With cross-culture data from East Asian families, this project will examine the effects of traditional East Asian cultural practices and develop clinical protocols and policies in response to FPV. Findings will shed light on the application of early detection mechanisms for FPV by adopting a family-oriented approach and using the family as the basic unit of service. It will also facilitate the development of integrated prevention and multi-disciplinary collaboration in East Asian contexts. The improvements in social policy and service delivery approach aim to bring very significant social impact and benefits to families victimised by FPV and to East Asian cities as a whole.  

PolyU-made Space Instruments for Lunar Sample Acquisition awarded The Science and Technology Progress Award

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) designed and manufactured the state-of-the-art “Surface Sampling and Packing System”, which successfully contributed to the National’s Chang’e 5 mission for lunar sample acquisition. This historical invention was awarded “The Science and Technology Progress Award -  2nd Class” (科學技術進步獎-二等獎) by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) in recognition of PolyU’s scientific innovation and technological advancement, and also received an appreciation letter from The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) for the University’s contribution to space instruments. The Chang’e 5 mission in 2020 was not only China’s first undertaking to acquire rocks and soil from the Moon’s surface but also the world's first attempt to do so for more than 40 years. PolyU was the only tertiary institution in Hong Kong to contribute to the Chang'e 5 mission. The PolyU-developed system “Surface Sampling and Packing System” is a highly sophisticated invention that uses robotic technology for lunar sample acquisition – an unprecedented method. It was developed by a research team led by Professor Yung Kai-leung , Sir Sze-yuen Chung Professor in Precision Engineering, Director of Research Centre of Deep Space Explorations, Chair Professor of Precision Engineering & Associate Head, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Prof Yung has also been individually bestowed “The Science and Technology Progress Award -  2nd Class".  For more details on the “Surface Sampling and Packing System”, please visit:  PolyU’s space instruments contribute to Nation’s first lunar sample return mission   

PolyU InnoTech Open Day showcases the University's contributions to I&T development via world-class education, interdisciplinary research, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today held the PolyU InnoTech Open Day on campus to showcase the University’s latest endeavours in education, interdisciplinary research, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship which are helping to empower the innovation and technology (I&T) development of Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and beyond. The Open Day, a signature PolyU 85th Anniversary event, was specially designed for entrepreneurs, industry partners, start-ups, researchers, young talents, secondary school students and parents. Professor Dong SUN, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, Ms Rebecca PUN, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government, Mr LIU Maozhou, Inspector of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in HKSAR, Dr LAM Tai-fai, PolyU’s Council Chairman, Dr Lawrence LI, Deputy Council Chairman, Dr Roy CHUNG, Honorary Court Chairman, and Professor Jin-Guang TENG, President, Professor Wing-Tak WONG, Deputy President and Provost, and Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President, officiated at the Opening Ceremony of the event today. Another highlight of the event was the inspiring lecture given by Sir Michael HOUGHTON, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2020, on the topic of “Eliminating hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as a major public health threat” via video conferencing. Professor Dong Sun, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, said, “Over the years, PolyU has been playing a long-supporting and pioneering role in driving the I&T development in Hong Kong. With the government’s solid commitment to the I&T development, coupling with our strong capabilities in scientific research and academic excellence of our universities, Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem is flourishing and increasingly vibrant.” Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, said, “The development of a vibrant innovation & technology industry is key to the future success of Hong Kong, and has received very strong support from both the central government and the Hong Kong SAR government. I am sure the new term of government will put in more resources for accelerating I&T development in Hong Kong. PolyU aims to play a significant role in this area, and today’s event exemplifies our efforts.” The Opening Ceremony also marked the inauguration of the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR). PAIR is the largest research platform of its kind in Hong Kong and the GBA to foster interdisciplinary research, partnership with world-renowned scholars, and the transfer of technologies to stakeholders. PAIR aspires to be a world leader in providing interdisciplinary solutions for major societal challenges, and its research focuses on frontier areas such as artificial intelligence, carbon neutrality, deep space exploration, smart cities, smart energy, and many more. Professor Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, said, “There are a number of societal challenges facing us every day, from poverty to hunger, and from climate change issues to how to build a sustainable city. Interdisciplinary research solutions can be used to tackle many of these world challenges. We hope to make an impact on Hong Kong, the GBA and the world.” The six winners of the newly launched PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2022 and 10 winning teams of the President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Knowledge Transfer (KT) were also presented with the awards at the ceremony. YIRA is a university-level award to recognise young faculty members whose research demonstrates excellence in addressing global challenges (for the full list of awardees, please visit https://polyu.me/3yFmQn3), while the President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in KT recognises impactful projects that demonstrate contributions in advancing technological or industry standards through application of PolyU’s research and innovations (for the full list of awardees, please visit https://polyu.me/3O8QRkU). In addition to the Opening Ceremony, a series of activities were held throughout the day, providing visitors with an excellent opportunity to learn more about PolyU’s contributions to I&T, as well as to explore academic, entrepreneurial and collaboration opportunities. The start-up pitching and PolyU unicorn sharing sessions not only highlighted the impressive achievements and innovations of start-ups nurtured by the University but also allowed young future entrepreneurs to broaden their exposure and expedite ideation. The Research & Innovation breakout sessions featured novel and frontier topics related to life sciences, smart cities, neurohealth, future society, energy technology for carbon-neutrality, healthy food and lifestyle management, future manufacturing, artificial intelligence of things and intelligent wearable systems. These sessions served as a platform for industry practitioners and PolyU expert researchers to exchange views on technology innovation and development, collaboration, industry trends and applications. For secondary school students who are curious about the learning experience at PolyU, there were student consultation booths, info seminars about academic programmes, campus life sharing sessions and themed tours to various campus facilities and labs. There were also showcases of PolyU's newly established CURI Residential College and STARS Residential College – the former supports undergraduate students in conducting scientific research under the guidance of University professors; and the latter provides talented students in sports, art, social services, leadership and STEM with a vibrant living and learning environment to foster holistic development. To add more excitement to the event, visitors were greeted by two special guests, the artificially intelligent robots Sophia and Grace, created and programmed by Hanson Robotics, a Hong Kong-based humanoid robotics company. Sophia is also the first robot in the world to be granted citizenship and the first robot Innovation Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme. Thanks to The Hong Kong Jockey Club, there was an exclusive contemporary art showcase of 400 mini Drago Cavallo (dragon horses), a contemporary expression of Chinese culture and a symbol of inspiration designed by renowned artist Simon Ma, to spread positivity on campus during the Open Day.  

PolyU 227 projects supported by the General Research Fund and Early Career Scheme with a total grant of HK$195 million

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has successfully awarded a total grant of HK$195 million from the General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) for 227 projects in the 2022/23 exercise. PolyU ranked third in terms of the number of awarded projects and amount among the eight UGC-funded universities this year. In the 2022/23 General Research Fund, PolyU has 209 projects funded with a total amount of HK$182 million. Notably, among the subject discipline of engineering, PolyU received the most significant funding amount with HK$87 million for 88 projects, accounting for 30%  of the total funding within this panel, which is also the best performer. Panel / Subject Discipline  Number of Funded Projects Awarded Amount (HK$) Biology & Medicine Total 23 25,700,000 Business Studies Total 28 14,170,000 Engineering 88 87,203,000 Humanities, Social Sciences Total 32 26,738,000 Physical Sciences Total 38 28,681,000 Total 209   182,492,000      (Source: General Research Fund 2022/23)   For the 2022/23 Early Career Scheme, PolyU has awarded HK$12.9 million for 18 projects, of which 8 projects are from the Engineering discipline; 4 projects are from the Physical Sciences; 3 projects belong to the Business Studies; 2 projects are in Humanities, Social Sciences; and 1 project is in Biology & Medicine. Professor Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, said, “PolyU takes pride in our researchers that have demonstrated a wide range of high-quality research. We are encouraged by these achievements and delighted to have such excellent results to support our colleagues to further their research endeavours.” About GRF & ECS Under the Research Grants Council, the  General Research Fund (GRF) aims to supplement universities’ research support to researchers who have achieved or have the potential to achieve excellence. The  Early Career Scheme (ECS), introduced in 2012/13, is intended to nurture junior academics. The assessment criteria include the scientific and scholarly merit of the proposal, originality, potential for social, cultural or economic application, and more.  

Project Led by Prof LI Xiang-dong Awarded Theme-based Research Scheme 2022/23

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has been striving to propose advanced technologies and conduct research for sustainable development. Led by Prof Xiang-dong Li, Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment, Director of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development, Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology, the research project titled “Unravelling the Black Box between Air Pollution and Public Health for Transformative Air Quality Management’’, is supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC) for the Theme-based Research Scheme 2022/23 (Twelfth Round). The longstanding impact goal of this project is to provide policymakers, organisations, and practitioners with more effective and targeted control measures to mitigate the health effects/burden of air PM2.5 pollution. Air pollution is the greatest environmental health risk factor for premature deaths worldwide; fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is one of the biggest concerns among air pollutants. However, identifying the toxic components and their associated sources responsible for PM2.5 health effects represents a major scientific challenge prior to policymaking. The recent advances in environmental toxicology and molecular epidemiology provide opportunities for solving the long-standing puzzle. Supported by an existing PM2.5 global monitoring network, the research team will select multiple cities representative of distinct natural and socioeconomic conditions in the study. The project is expected to generate solid evidence of key PM2.5 toxic components and emission sources that contribute to the acute toxicity of PM2.5, particularly in the exacerbation of two index diseases of the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and ischemic heart disease (IHD). Furthermore, the team will evaluate the benefits vs costs of their proposed strategy of targeting the sources of PM2.5 toxic constituents against the conventional approach targeting total mass concentrations. Effective, practical, and economical approaches to managing air quality and public health will be recommended through this project. For example, the completion of the current project may lead to 1) a revision of the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) algorithm and the associated 'Health Advice' and 2) a review and updates of the Air Quality Objectives (AQO) in Hong Kong.  Prof Li remarked, “With several team members serving as advisors for the WHO, we will organize regular workshops to discuss important health issues with all potential stakeholders in expert groups. As more lines of evidence emerge, the findings will be conveyed to other national and international bodies to influence future policy formulations on air quality in different parts of the world. The major focus of the current project is on the acute effects of PM2.5. Still, our integrated approaches established here are expected to affect studies on the chronic effects of PM2.5and the regulation of PM2.5in terms of its long-term effects, including lung cancer and neurodegeneration.” By considering different carbon emission reduction scenarios toward the goal of carbon neutrality, the outcomes of the study will also contribute to health co-benefits from air pollution and climate change mitigation. The experiences of Hong Kong and the GBA may serve as a case model for global reference. With the mission to meet the goals of sustainable development and global health, this project will build a state‐of‐the‐art research platform and provide high-quality training to next-generation graduate students and early career researchers for the future development of environmental health research and education. The Research Grants Council announced the funding results of the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2022/23. Eight outstanding research proposals were awarded a total funding of over $306 million, of which $270 million will be provided by the RGC and around $36 million matched by the universities concerned.  

PolyU further contributes to the development of China's aerospace technology by collaborating with the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology in establishing the “Joint Research Centre of Advanced Aerospace Propulsion Technology”

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology (AAPT) have signed an agreement to establish the “Joint Research Centre of Advanced Aerospace Propulsion Technology”. Led by the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering (AAE) of PolyU, the collaboration aims to establish a highly competitive scientific research force and technical cooperation team in the field of advanced aerospace propulsion technology through a long-term and in-depth strategic partnership. It is expected to further contribute to the development of China's aerospace technology. Advanced aerospace propulsion technology is a future-oriented field with broad application prospects. PolyU and AAPT have formed an ongoing complementary partnership to establish the “Joint Research Centre of Advanced Aerospace Propulsion Technology”. The five-year cooperation plan involves a number of joint research and development projects. Adhering to the global future development direction of aerospace propulsion technology, the projects will focus on the research and development of key technologies, and enhance the engineering research and production capabilities in the field. The signing ceremony for the cooperation agreement was held on 4 July 2022. The document of cooperation was signed by Professor Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU and Mr LI Bin, Associate Dean of AAPT, and was witnessed by Professor Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU and Mr WANG Wanjun, Dean of AAPT. PolyU’s President, Professor Jin-Guang Teng said, “AAPT is the R&D centre of liquid propellant rocket engines in China. PolyU and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) have been working closely together to support the Nation's space exploration and research. This new collaboration will further support the development and modernisation of the Nation’s civil aerospace industry, manned spaceflight and space exploration. PolyU is honoured to continue its ongoing contribution to the development of the Nation’s aerospace science and technology.” Mr Wang Wanjun, Dean of AAPT said, “PolyU AAE has a world-leading research foundation, as well as design experience in aerospace and aeronautical propulsion technology. With PolyU’s comprehensive professional facilities and intelligence resources, the Joint Research Centre for Advanced Aerospace Propulsion Technology can become an influential platform for knowledge exchange. It will be of great benefit to the promotion of research and technological development in the field.” In addition to several joint research projects, this collaboration is also committed to cultivating a group of high-level interdisciplinary experts for future applications. “This collaboration will facilitate academic exchanges and resources sharing, and support scholars in conducting various academic seminars more efficiently, while also nurturing high-tech talents such as research doctoral students and visiting scholars. The joint research team will additionally be involved in a wide range of joint research programmes to foster major projects.” said Professor Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU. Mr Li, Associate Dean of AAPT said, “The Joint Research Centre will push the cooperation between PolyU and CASC to a new height. This longer-term and comprehensive partnership will serve and support the country's major needs and implementation of its technology projects.” PolyU’s Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering The Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering (AAE) is committed to leading the development of the field of aeronautical and aviation engineering by amalgamating the experts in the Faculty and the industry. It has a rich history and solid background in engaging in academic research, and industrial collaborations related to aeronautical and aerospace engineering. AAE is well known for its researches in advanced technologies including supersonic combustion ramjet, liquid-propellant rocket engine and propellant combustion globally. Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology (AAPT) Established in 1965, the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology (AAPT) is one of China’s core aerospace science and technology research units, owned by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). It has 11 units, which are all equipped with advanced facilities for innovation and research, production, and testing. As the only research centre in China focusing on aerospace propulsion technology, its development and production of various propulsion systems have been supporting the Nation’s space exploration and aerospace technology modernization and development.