Awards and Achievements (Teaching)

Law Lim Cho, our BEM final-year student, won the Best Dissertation Award 2016 of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers

BRE Students Winning the HKIS Outstanding Final Year Dissertation Awards for Undergraduate Students 2015

In the Outstanding Final Year Dissertation Awards for Undergraduate Students (2015) organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS), one alumni of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) of PolyU was rewarded for his final year dissertation announced on 11 November 2015. Under the bachelor degree category (building surveying discipline), Mr Ho Man Lai, Alfred (何文禮) received the Second Award for his empirical study of identifying and analyzing the critical success factors for implementing Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Hong Kong. He was a full-time surveying degree graduate in June 2015 with Upper Second Class Honours whose dissertation was supervised by Dr Daniel W.M. Chan, Associate Professor of BRE. Alfred has been working for Gammon Construction Ltd as an Assistant Quantity Surveyor (AQS) since July 2015. A total of five BRE full-time students won the awards including 1 Top Award and 4 Second Awards. The purposes of the awards aims are to promote research amongst our future surveyors and to reward the efforts of the students. The awards were based on merits in research as well as the research output's applicability to the surveying profession. Each winner received an award certificate and a prize cheque of HK$1,000 at the HKIS Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Awards Presentation Ceremony and Cocktail Reception 2015 held on Monday, 30 May 2016 at the Royal Plaza Hotel, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Championship Goes to BRE Students in ‘Smart-e City Competition’

The championship went to our surveying students in the first ‘Smart e-City Competition’ which was jointly organized by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and K&K Property Holdings Limited over a five-month period of January to May 2016.As the name rightly described,the highlight of the competition was how to transform the old district ‘Kowloon East’ into a smart electronic city. Our warmest congratulations are sent to the champion team ‘Ps Surveyors’ made up of six surveying students including Chiu Ying Ying, Ho Cheuk Wun, Lau Nga Yi, Tai Tiffanie Hiu Lam, Tsui Yuen Shan and Wang Pei. Based on the five crucial principles,namely‘Efficiency’, ‘Energy’, ‘Entertainment’, ‘Eco-friendliness’ and ‘Economy’, the champion team’s proposal‘ Create’ embraced six areas ‘Commerce’, ‘Entertainment’, ‘Education’, ‘Residences’, ‘Transportation’ and ‘Environment’ for transformation of Kowloon East. This champion team ‘Ps Surveyors’ was selected among approximately 150participating students in a range of disciplines from business management, building and real estate, civil engineering, design to languages, etc.After the two-round selections in March and April, the nine outstanding teams forwarded to the final and shared their plans with a panel of judges on 23 May2016.The judges included Mr.Kino Law, Chief Executive Officer of K&K Property, Ms Brenda Au, Head of the Energizing Kowloon East Office (EKEO), Dr Pamsy Hui, Associate Dean(External Relations and Development) of the Faculty of Business, and Dr Patrick Fong, Associate Head (Partnership) of the Department of Building and Real Estate. Apart from thanking the whole team’s great endeavors, Ying Ying added, “We learnt a lot from this competition which allowed us to ‘Create’ a wonderful town plan by applying our knowledge we learnt in the University.Besides, we had a better understanding of Kowloon East than ever.We shall make good use of the scholarship of HK$60,000-andgrab the opportunity of the3-month internship at K&K Property Holdings Limited.” In addition, we are very excited that the 1stRunner-up Team ‘Tommy & Friends’ included Abigael Clairine Gosiaco Victorinoand Xu Rui(two Building Engineering and Management students)and Hong Yining (Surveying student)while the 2ndRunner-up Team‘Hexagon’ included three Surveying students,Lai Kang Leong,Tsang King Fai and YikChun Cheung. Abigael also gotthe Best Presenter Award with a HK$10,000 scholarship and an internship at K&K Property Holdings Limited. We believe all participating students got a wonderful taste of town planning and the valuable experience in this competition.

BRE Students for ‘Summer Programme at University of Oxford’ - Louis & Andrew

 Studying at University of Oxford may be most students’ dreams.With great delight, our two undergraduate students will realize their dreams in this summer. Louis Cheng Tin Wa and Andrew Ng Wing Ho were selected among a large number of applicants to attend the four-week Summer Programme at University of Oxford in the UKin July. Louis Cheng, Year 3 student of Surveying Programme, is very grateful and thrilled to have a feel of studying at University of Oxford two months later. He says, “This Summer Programme will focus on not only Environmental Challenges of the 21stCentury but also Advanced English Language Skills.I think this programme will offer me fresh insights into sustainability that is indispensable part of global construction industries.” Louis adds, “It will be a good start to establish the connection with local real estate institutions in the UK. Also, I wish to introduce PolyU and BRE to students and teachers there.   Andrew Ng, Year3 student of Building Engineering and Management Programme shares, “Joining the Summer Programme at University of Oxford will be certainly an exciting experience for me. It’s because not only the University’s worldwide reputation makes it attractive but also the learning experience and the cultural exchange will broaden my horizon.” In addition to academic subjects, there will be field trips in Oxford and London for the participating students.Andrew emphasizes, “I will graduate from PolyU soon.Apart from the academic accomplishment, I’d really love to grab every opportunity to explore this world and make new friends with different cultural backgrounds.” We believe this Summer Programme will stand these two ambitious youngsters, Louis and Andrew, in good stead fortheiryear-four study and future endeavours after graduation. We wish Louis and Andrew a very fruitful and enjoyable stay at University of Oxford!

Eye-Opening Internship in South Africa - Alex & Kenneth

 The eye-opening overseas internship has inspired our surveying students, Alex and Kenneth,to pursue excellence in their academic development and future quantity surveying professions. Work-Integrated Education (WIE)has playedan indispensable role in the curriculum of full-time degree programmes in our Department since its launch in 2006.It enables our students to get a taste of applying the knowledge they learnt in classes to the workplace in the construction industry. The two surveying students, Alex Wong Ching Hong and Kenneth Hui Chit Kit, can’t wait to share their story of inspiring internship in the world-famous QS consultancy firm, ‘RLB Pentad Quantity Surveyors Limited’ in South Africa. Kenneth says, ‘To a large majority of people, South Africa is very mysterious. I haven’t thought of discovering this country before the internship. Amazingly, we could have an on-job training at RLB Pentad in South Africa.’ As the student interns, Kenneth and Alex participated in an array of construction projects, particularly working on cost plans.Paying visits to construction projects, for example, government offices and shopping malls in South Africa, was key ingredient during their two-month internship. The internship was one of the best ways for Kenneth and Alex to get a picture of the different practices of the two places’ construction industries, South Africa and Hong Kong. Alex shares, ‘In RLB Pentad,we were assigned to the project team of constructing a new academy building.It was really gorgeous to work with a group of professionals in South Africa. The knowledge we learnt in PolyU could be applied to our work.Although we finished the internship, we look forward to the completion of this academy building.’ In addition to work, the weekend travelling was part of their adventure in South Africa. They have been the University of Pretoria with the help of their boss. Life is a journey of joys, adventures and surprises! Alex and Kenneth add, ‘This once-in-a-lifetime overseas internship further reinforced our ambition of being professional quantity surveyors. We are very grateful for Department of Building and Real Estate as well as RLB Pentad for this wonderful journey.’

Research Scholarship for BRE Research Student

Our PhD student, Angel Wang Anqi, is awarded a research scholarship by the Centre for International Cooperation and Mobility of the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research. Angel is a PhD student of Dr Stanley Yeung, Associate Professor and Prof. Edwin Chan, Associate Head (Research). With the Ernst Mach Grant, Eurasia-Pacific Uninet, Angel will be conducting a comparative study of conservation development in Austria and China during her stay in the University of Vienna from June to November.  

Alex, BRE Student, Winning Silver Medal & Breaking Hong Kong’s Record in the Division 1 Age Group Long Course Swimming Competition’

Congratulations to our student, Alex Kwok on winning the Silver Medal and breaking the Hong Kong’s record in the Men’s 200-metre Breaststroke at the Division 1 Age Group Long Course Swimming Competition! Alex Kwok Ka Fai has broken two individual records in the University Sports Federation of Hong Kong (USFHK)Aquatic Meet for the recent two years. He is currently a year-two student of the Higher Diploma in Building Technology and Management (Surveying)Programme in our Department and a member of the Hong Kong National Swimming Team. Alex started taking swimming lessons at his five years old.With his great potential and interest in swimming, he put a lot of efforts on this sport and got intensive training. Ultimately, Alex joined the Hong Kong National Swimming Team when he was studying Form Five. Alex’s commitment and hard work brought him a multitude of opportunities to complete with other professional athletes in the international swimming competitions in different countries, for instance, Korea, Malaysia, Moscow and the United States. Alex says, ‘Joining the international competitions certainly enriched my swimming techniques and provided me with eye-opening experiences. Most importantly,they gave me every confidence to take on new challenges ahead.’ When it comes to Alex’s painful experience, his ability has been doubted by other swimmers who had training at younger ages. Alex nearly gave up this favourite sport. However, Alex finally chose to work harder, as a consequence, he could make it. Alex determined to be a full-time swimmer with the target of achieving the Olympic level once graduation.Alex wishes to encourage his fellow schoolmates not to give up when they encounter challenges and difficult moments. Alex, we are very proud of you!

BRE academics receiving funding from Environmental Protection Department

BRE Academics teaching BRE2031-Environmental Science Were Awarded Research Grants from Environmental Protection Department   Congratulations to our Associate Professor Dr. Meng Ni and Research Assistant Professor Dr. Yongtao Tan for their success on winning 2 research grants from Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF), Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of HK SAR. Both Dr. NI and Dr. Tan teachBRE2031-Environmental Science.Bothare very active researchers in Energy and Environment. About their projects: Dr. Yongtao Tan was awarded a research grant for a project entitled: Study on Green Retrofit of Aged Residential Buildings in Hong Kong This project aims to collect and identify the best practices (technologies, programmes, or schemes) of green retrofit of buildings and analyze their application to Hong Kong; develop green retrofit guidelines for aged residential buildings in Hong Kong, and provide Government suggestions to initiate relevant schemes to help building owners. Dr. Meng NI was awarded a research grant for a project entitled: A new method for simultaneous plastic waste treatment and electricity generation using high performance direct waste solid oxide fuel cells (DW-SOFC) This project aims to develop advanced electrochemical systems for simultaneous plastic waste treatment and energy recovery. Advanced fuel cells will be fabricated, characterized and tested. Comprehensive mathematical models will be developed to simulate the coupled transport and reaction processes in the fuel cells for subsequent system optimization. About Dr. Tan and Dr. Ni: Dr. Tan obtained his Bachelor Degree (BEng in Civil Engineering) and Master Degree (MSc in Engineering Management) from Southeast University, Nanjing, China. And he obtained his PhD degree from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Building & Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dr. Tan’s major research interests are competitiveness and strategic management in construction, sustainable construction and sustainable urbanization. He has published 20 papers on top refereed journals (9 papers in SCI/SSCI journals; Web of Science h-index: 4) and 4 book chapters. He has won the ECS fund in the 2015/16 round. Dr. Tanis also an active reviewer for international journals, such as Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, Habitat International. He has served as session chair for 2 international conferences. He is also the council member of The Chinese Research Institute of Construction Management (CRIOCM) and A.M. ASCE.   Dr. Meng NI received his Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees in 2000, 2003 and 2007, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor at Department of Building and Real Estate. He is the group leader for Building Energy Research Group at BRE and the group leader for Environmental Energy Research Group at Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD). Dr. Ni’s research interests include renewable and sustainable energy technologies (i.e. fuel cells and solar energy), numerical heat and mass transfer, building energy and built environment. Dr. Ni has published over 90 papers in prestigious scientific journals and he is the first author or sole author for most of his publications. Dr. Ni’s publications have received more than 4000 SCI citations (excluding self-citations). His current H-index is 28 (web of science). Dr. Ni is a member of American Society for Mechanical Engineers and The Electrochemical Society. He is the Associate Editor for 3 academic journals: (1) Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments (Elsevier); (2) Science Bulletin (Springer); and (3) Frontiers in Environmental Science. He is serving as a member of Editorial Board for 9 scientific journals and an active reviewer for over 60 scientific journals. He has delivered over 20 keynote/invited lectures at international conferences. He has served as a committee member for 7 international conferences and a session chair for 5 international conferences. Dr. Ni received Young Scientist Award from The Hong Kong Institution of Science in 2007 and Top Reviewer Award from Applied Energy in 2011. Recently, Dr. Ni also received outstanding reviewing awards from 6 excellent journals, including Applied Thermal Engineering, Applied Energy, Energy Conversion and Management, Journal of Power Sources, Chemical Engineering Journal, and Electrochimica Acta. More information about Dr. Ni can be found at HERE Dr. Ni’s journal publications can be found at: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/D-3589-2009

Joint PolyU-Tongji PhD alumnus, Dr. Xuhua CHANG appointed Assistant Professor at Tongji Law School

A 2016 Joint PolyU-Tongji PhD graduate, Dr. Xuhua CHANG, has been appointed Assistant Professor at The Intellectual Property (IP) Institute of Tongji Law School, Tongji University in Shanghai since 1 January 2016. During his studies at PolyU, he was supervised by Dr. Patrick S.W. Fong, Associate Head and Associate Professor in the Department of Building and Real Estate and his supervisor at Tongji University was Prof. Qiang CHEN of the School of Economics and Management. Dr. Chang has published many refereed journal and conference papers in collaboration with his supervisors and his 2015 Academy of Management (AOM) Conference paper entitled “University Invention Disclosure: Balancing the Right Stage and Type”, landed him with the Best Papers Award under the Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) division. Dr.Chang’s research interests focus on technology transfer, intellectual property law and S&T policy evaluation. He remembered vividly from his job interviews that one of the main reasons for him to obtain this prestige position at Tongji University is because of his 2-year solid joint PhD experience at PolyU which the University treated it as studying overseas. His department is supporting him to achieve a solicitor qualification and eventually send him to The Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich, Germany for academic attachment. Max Planck Institutes are research institutions operated by the Max Planck Society, with a world-leading reputation as a science and technology research organization, with dozens of Nobel Prizes awarded to their scientists. Speaking of his fond memories of studying at PolyU, Dr.Chang was very impressed by PolyU’s atmosphere, academic diversity, and spirit of science. He is willing to become the bridge between PolyU and Tongji.

PolyU ranked 16th in ‘Architecture/Built Environment’

In the latest ‘QS World University Rankings by Subject’, PolyU ranked 16thin the world and 2ndin Hong Kong for the subject of ‘Architecture/Built Environment’. As one of the contributors to this achievement, we are very delighted that in terms of the two objective measures, ‘Citations per Paper’ and ‘H-index Citations’, the scores are 95.7 and 100, respectively. More about the ranking: http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2016/architecture#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=poly