News and Achievements

PolyU 85th Anniversary Sportathon unites staff, students and alumni for sporting fun and to celebrate the University’s Anniversary

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) 85th Anniversary Sportathon was successfully held on the PolyU campus yesterday (17 September 2022). Over 1,800 staff, students, alumni and their family members attended the event to enjoy game booths and sports competitions, and to celebrate the University’s 85th Anniversary. The opening ceremony was officiated by Dr LAM Tai-fai, Council Chairman of PolyU; Dr Katherine NGAN, Court Chairman of PolyU; Prof. Wing-tak WONG, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU; and the Central Management Team of PolyU. Numerous Council Members, Court Members and University Fellows were also present at the ceremony. To recognise the outstanding sports achievements of the University’s students, Dr Lam took this opportunity to present scholarships to 11 elite student-athletes who were admitted under the Student-Athlete Learning Support and Admission Scheme this year. Dr Lam also presented the Yearly Men’s and Yearly Women’s Overall Championships of the 2021-2022 Inter-Collegiate Competition to the winning PolyU Sports Team members. The Inter-Collegiate Competition is organised by the University Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China. Prof. Wong remarked at the opening ceremony, “At PolyU, we are committed to building a vibrant sports and fitness culture on campus to facilitate the holistic development of our students as well as to help both staff and students improve their well-being. PolyU invests significant effort into nurturing elite student-athletes. We are proud that we have a strong and well-disciplined Sports Team, with our student-athletes being highly motivated, determined and displaying excellent teamwork, making them positive role models for the PolyU community.” The PolyU 85th Anniversary Sportathon featured a wide range of activities. Apart from game booths and sports try-outs for families, exciting sports competitions including futsal, 3-on-3 basketball, badminton and table tennis were also arranged on the PolyU campus to strengthen the bond among PolyU members through participation in sports. Another focus of the event was a variety of spectacular sports performances by student-athletes, including artistic cycling, rope skipping, karatedo and taekwondo. The University will continue to mark its 85th Anniversary with a series of upcoming activities. These include a talk on “Chinese Painting Appreciation - Collector and Philanthropist Perspectives” hosted by Mr HO Sai-chu, PolyU’s Alumnus and University Fellow; a public lecture hosted by Dr Louis NG, Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum; and the Artist-in-Residence Programme: A Drama Production by PolyU Theatre “Our Town”.

PolyU 85th Anniversary Public Lecture Series - The Dream Hunters

To celebrate PolyU’s 85th Anniversary, the Student Affairs Office (SAO) is organising the “PolyU 85th Anniversary Public Lecture Series: Together We Dream, We Fly”. This Series invites renowned young achieving speakers with remarkable accomplishments in different aspects to share their inspiring journey in chasing and actualising their dreams. The first talk of this Series, titled “The Dream Hunters 獵夢者”, was held on 16 September 2022 in hybrid mode, with over 120 attendees in person and online. To kick off the talk, Prof. Albert Chan, Dean of Students, delivered a welcome address to introduce Mr Jack Chung, President and Co-founder of Mission Until Dawn (MUD) and our PolyU Alumnus. Jack shared his dream of designing and constructing Safe, Therapeutic and Enjoyable Playgrounds (STEP) for children in overseas developing countries and Hong Kong, and how he started and continued this dream with his fellows during and after his time at PolyU with Uni-Y. After Jack’s inspiring sharing, Prof. Chan facilitated the Q&A session. Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), presented a souvenir to Jack as a token of thanks to conclude the talk.

STARS Residential College Orientation Programme

The Special Talents Admission and Recognition Scheme (STARS) Residential College Orientation Programme was successfully held on 5 September 2022 in the PolyU Student Halls of Residence (Homantin). Accompanied by Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), all resident fellows, tutors and new STARS residents enjoyed an informative and eventful night. Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Associate Vice President of Global Partnerships and STARS Residential College Master, Prof. Albert Chan, Dean of Students, Dr Eric Tam and Dr TL Yip, Associate Deans of Students, also joined the Orientation Programme to welcome all residents to the PolyU family and the STARS Residential College. Prof. Young delivered a welcoming remark to encourage the residents to make the most of their opportunities at PolyU, especially at the STARS Residential College, to continue developing their potential in their talented areas. He also believed that residents’ potential and achievements driven by Residential College colleagues would be energised and developed further. Prof. Geoffrey Shen shared more information about the STARS Residential College All residents took the opportunity to meet with their fellows and tutors. STARS Residential College provides talented students in sports, art, social services, leadership and STEM with a vibrant living and learning environment to foster their holistic development.

PolyU Orientation 2022 - Navigate Your Future

To kick-start the new academic year of 2022/23, the Student Affairs Office hosted its orientation programme – “Navigate Your Future: Orientation 2022” on 26 August 2022.  Various students, student bodies, departments and offices participated in this orientation with physical booths in the Shaw Sports Complex and hybrid briefing sessions at the Global Student Hub. The Orientation Showcase provided a valuable opportunity for students to explore a wide range of student developmental opportunities and services at PolyU. They learned about PolyU’s support services, holistic student development programmes and student activities, and the interaction and lively communication with staff and senior students helped inspire them to make a positive start to their new exciting journey at PolyU. The Orientation Showcase also helped bring excitement and energy to the PolyU campus at the start of the 2022/23 academic year.

The Outstanding Student Awards Presentation Ceremony 2021

The Outstanding Student Awards Presentation Ceremony 2021 was held online on 21 April 2022. A total of 28 final-year students who excel in both academic and non-academic pursuits during their studies are selected as PolyU’s outstanding students at departmental, faculty/ School, and university levels. Congratulations to Miss Ho Hiu Man from the Faculty of Humanities, who has won The Most Outstanding PolyU Student of the Year. During the Ceremony, President Jin-Guang Teng delivered a welcoming remark to congratulate our awardees, addressing the appreciation for their excellent academic achievements and strong personal development. Prof. K.Y Wong, Vice President of Education, Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation), Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), Prof. Daniel Shek, Associate Vice President (Undergraduate Programme), Prof. Albert Chan, Dean of Students, and Deans of Faculty and School joined the Ceremony online in announcing the awardees. A group photo was taken to capture this precious moment. On behalf of all the awardees, our Most Outstanding PolyU Student 2021, Miss Ho Hiu Man, shared their gratitude to PolyU for making their university journey a fruitful and memorable one.  

Dean of Students Talk Series: Understanding the GBA through Understanding HKSAR and Mainland China

The Dean of Students Talk “Understanding the GBA through Understanding HKSAR and Mainland China” was held online on 23 February 2022, attended by over 200 PolyU students and staff. Our honourable speaker, Mr David Lee, presented numerous informative data on the Greater Bay Area, and shared his own valuable and unique experience in working at the GBA and Mainland China. After Mr Lee’s sharing, a Q&A session was conducted with Professor Albert Chan, Dean of Students, as the facilitator. During the session, Mr Lee provided the participants with further insights, such as how to seize the opportunities provided by the GBA and his view on the GBA’s future development. He also encouraged the audience that we all should learn to be at peace with what we are in order to develop further on our journey.  At the end of the talk, Professor Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), joined Mr Lee and Professor Chan for a group photo together with the online participants to commemorate this memorable moment.

President's Sharing Session with Students

As the new academic semester starts, President Teng with the Central Management Team (CMT) hosted a President’s Sharing Session with Students on 21 February 2022 via the online platform. The event was well-received by around 80 students who exchanged views with the CMT online. During the sharing session, President Teng updated students on the latest development of the University; Dr Miranda Lou, Executive Vice President introduced the programmes for entrepreneurship and the updates of the PolyU 85th Anniversary; Prof. Kwok-yin Wong, Vice President (Education) shared with students on the teaching & learning arrangements during the pandemic; and Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), introduced the services provided by the Student Affairs Office, the Global Engagement Office, and the Culture Promotion and Events Office. The major areas of concern raised by students include the arrangements of study, outbound exchange, career and pandemic support. The sharing session provided a good opportunity to foster communication and mutual understanding between our students and the University. 

GSAP Swearing-in Ceremony 2021/22

The annual signature event “Global Student Ambassador Programme: Swearing-in Ceremony 2021/22” was held online on 16 February 2022. Professor Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), delivered a speech to welcome the new ambassadors, indicating the appreciation on their commitment and the importance of their continuous learning in various aspects. In view of the local pandemic situation, the participants "travelled" to a virtual mini-metaverse where Professor Young and Professor Albert Chan, Dean of Students, kicked off the ceremony. The professors also served as the witnesses as over 85 ambassadors made their pledge to become a Global Student Ambassador. A group photo was taken to commemorate this memorable moment after the pledge. To conclude the ceremony in a fun and interactive way, an online game "How much do you know PolyU?", was prepared to test how well the ambassadors knew of the University, such as PolyU's latest achievements and historic events.

First-ever collaborative talk series with Chinese Mainland Students’ Association on scam

To step up combating actions against deception and enhance university students’ awareness of various kinds of deception and scams, SAO and the Chinese Mainland Students’ Association (中國內地學生協會) jointly initiated a collaborative talk series and co-organised the first talk at the beginning of Semester 2 on 14 January 2022. The talk was tailormade to motivate mainland students to learn more about telephone deception tricks and to raise the awareness of cultivating a caring network to safeguard the well-being of their peers who might fall prey to fraudulent crimes.  Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), Prof Ben Young, supported the initiative amid the surge of telephone deception cases in which more and more university students, in particular those from the Chinese Mainland, have been tricked by fraudsters into handing over personal bank information to scam callers who claim to be bank staff, mainland officials or law enforcers. The talk was delivered online by experienced speakers from the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC, 反詐騙協調中心) of Hong Kong Police Force and was well received by around 70 students at undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels. Anti-scam alert pamphlets and promotional gifts produced by ADCC were given out to equip students with additional tips for recognising and combating spam and scam calls.

Dean of Students Talk Series: Bionic Human and the Quest for Transcendence

Over 130 participants joined the  Dean of Students Talk on “Bionic Human and the Quest for Transcendence” held on 26 November 2021 in hybrid mode. Prof. Arthur Fuk-Tat Mak, Adjunct Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, shared his knowledge and views on the development of bionic technology, the reference of bionic human in mass media, and the human quest for transcendence. A Q&A session, facilitated by the Dean of Students Prof. Albert Chan, was conducted after Prof. Mak’s insightful sharing. Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and International Affairs), presented a souvenir to Prof. Mak as a token of thanks at the end of the talk.