PolyU hosts 85th Anniversary Dinner, strives to excel further in education, research and knowledge transfer

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) celebrated its 85th Anniversary today and hosted a dinner at Hotel ICON, its teaching and research hotel. Honourable guests including community leaders, government officials and industry partners joined PolyU staff, students and alumni at the event that marked the finale of the University’s year-long Anniversary celebrations.

Honourable guests including community leaders, government officials and industry partners joined PolyU staff, students and alumni at the event that marked the finale of the University’s year-long Anniversary celebrations.

Immersed in the 85th Anniversary Theme Song that embodies PolyU’s spirit, Mr CHEUK Wing-hing, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR; Dr CHOI Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education of the HKSAR; Ms WAN Ning, Deputy Director General of the Youth Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Dr LAM Tai-fai, PolyU Council Chairman; Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, PolyU President, and senior members of the PolyU Council, University Court and central management officiated the evening event.

Two inaugural publications from the newly launched PolyU Press, PolyImpact: PolyU Inventions and Innovations that Benefit the World and Builders of a Better World: Outstanding PolyU Alumni Awardees, were introduced at the dinner to showcase the University’s achievements in nurturing talents and conducting impactful research for the benefit of society.

Addressing the event, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing said, “PolyU has contributed tremendously to society through nurturing talents since its inception. The University has also made impressive progress in academic and scientific research areas, yielding enormous impactful results. In the new era of the Nation’s development, as a first-class Hong Kong institution that excels in education and research, PolyU has proactively supported the goal of building Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub set out in the Nation’s 14th Five-year Plan. PolyU has also seized the opportunity brought about by the HKSAR Government’s Global STEM Professorship Scheme and redoubled its efforts to attract internationally renowned I&T scholars to teach and conduct their research in Hong Kong.”

Dr Lam Tai-fai said, “This year marks the Nation, Hong Kong and PolyU entering a new chapter of development and embarking on a new journey with fresh impetus. For 85 years, PolyU has grown and thrived with Hong Kong’s society, and steadfastly supported the development of the Nation and Hong Kong in different times through nurturing talents, developing technologies, and responding to the needs of society, with a view to benefiting the community. Looking ahead, PolyU will scale new heights and make further contributions to Hong Kong and the Nation with our unique strengths.”

Prof. Jin-Guang Teng said, “Backed by our strong foundation, we will keep striving to excel further in providing world-class education and conducting cutting-edge research. We will support Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to develop into an international innovation and technology hub by nurturing talents with diverse strengths who can play a leading role in the I&T ecosystem, intensify our efforts in conducting interdisciplinary research to meet societal needs, and promote knowledge transfer of R&D outcomes. PolyU will also continue to nurture more future talents who possess a strong sense of national identity and social responsibility as well as a global perspective.”

Earlier in the day, PolyU held the University anniversary day flag-raising ceremony on campus attended by over 500 members of the PolyU community.

Over the past year, PolyU has held a year-long 85th Anniversary celebratory programme under the theme “We Are PolyU, Together We Excel”. Activities under this programme included the Main Entrance unveiling ceremony, the InnoTech Open Day, the Art and Culture Series, the Grand Concert, the Sportathon, the Distinguished Lecture Series, the theme song and Power Up Exercise, and many more.

The University has progressed from its earliest days as the Hong Kong Government Trade School, founded in 1937, to become the Hong Kong Technical College in 1947, then the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1972, and eventually assumed full university status in 1994. It moved to its current campus at Hong Hom in 1957. Today, PolyU is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world, with almost 460,000 graduates who have become a positive force for society’s development.

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