Featured Story
Newsletter Apr 2021
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Ir LAU Chun-kit, Ricky
BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering, 1989
Recipient of Outstanding Alumni Award 2020
Director, Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) of HKSAR Government
I am very pleased and honoured to be bestowed the Outstanding Alumni Award 2020 by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. I am truly thankful to PolyU, my alma mater, and the PolyU CEE Alumni Association, which generously co-sponsors the award, for this prestigious recognition. PolyU has given me much more than the award; it has opened doors for me to meet people that opened even more doors and opportunities, equipped me with what I need to accomplish a multitude of missions, and prepared me for different formidable challenges in my life.
I still remember my happy university life some 30 years ago. The library had always been one of my favourite places to go. I loved to spend my time there to read, especially during the free time between classes, because I could access books and reference materials of different topics. I wasn’t a total bookworm though, and I started to build up my social network by joining the “Construction and Land Use Students’ Association” and participating in various campus activities such as orientation camp and other extra-curricular events. Through these activities, I met many precious lifelong friends both in and outside of the engineering field. Many of us still gather from time to time, long after our graduation, to recall the fond memories of our campus life, share the experience we gained in workplace, and create new memories together.
I joined the Government as Graduate Engineer after graduation and since then I had been posted to different departments and bureau, including the Highways Department and the Development Bureaux. I took up the post of the Director of the CEDD in 2018 overseeing the implementation of projects including land formation, new town and infrastructure development, landslide risk management, marine works and coastal protection infrastructures, and greening and sustainability services.
The CEDD is committed to striving for excellence in producing engineering solutions for the betterment of Hong Kong. As our work is of high relevance to people’s livelihood, we have been taking a people-centric approach in establishing the planning and design strategies of our projects with consideration given not only to technical and engineering aspects but also social, economic, and environmental factors. I am grateful that my education in PolyU helped nurture me a passion of lifelong learning and an ability to acquire knowledge beyond my profession, which are essential for me to steer projects involving different disciplines and resolving thorny issues behind. PolyU’s teaching always underscores the importance of technological advancements. That’s why I have been leading CEDD to achieve better services and solutions with enhancements brought about by the innovation and technology. This also coheres with the “Construction 2.0” initiative promulgated recently by the Development Bureau.
The biggest driving force for me to excel as a civil engineer, which I take great pride in being, is to build and create towards sustainable developments of Hong Kong, and I believe I have been steadily moving towards this goal. I believe that we share the same vision. May you always look back on your university years with great satisfaction and realise that you have seized fully the opportunities given, spent this precious period of your life on learning how to apply academic knowledge in practice, honing both soft and hard skills to prepare for your life and careers, meeting great friends, and most importantly, nurturing the wisdom and courage to embrace the many opportunities and challenges ahead.
