Media Releases

PolyU launches its 85th Anniversary celebration, pledging to help Hong Kong shine as an international innovation and technology hub

The celebration of the 85th Anniversary of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) commenced today with a kick-off ceremony held at the Jockey Club Auditorium.

AiDLab Officially Launched Today as a Pioneer in Integration of AI and Design - Delivering first-in-market intelligent design solutions and world-class academic excellence

Established to lead the global dialogue on creative innovation, the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab), was officially launched today as one of the multiple research centres within the InnoHK research clusters under the flagship initiative announced in the Chief Executive’s 2021 Policy Address. Founded jointly by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Royal College of Art (RCA), United Kingdom, the laboratory is the region’s first research platform that focuses on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with creative design. AiDLab brings together top international academics, designers, and engineers, to conduct human-centred interdisciplinary research providing multi-faceted solutions for current global issues using AI and distinct innovative designs.

Over a thousand children participate in an inclusive design research project of a country park, as part of the PolyU School of Design’s research on children and public design

The Public Design Lab of the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) launched an inclusive design research project (the Project) named “Playful Public Design by Children” in 2019. Using the real-life setting of Shing Mum Country Park, the Project engaged a group of kid art educators and over a thousand children together with their parents to study the inclusive design of country parks. The Project is a critical breakthrough in research collaboration between a university design research lab and a creative learning studio. It not only enabled the Public Design Lab’s researchers and designers to explore children’s participation in public design, but also facilitated CreativeKids’ design facilitators and researchers to collect data on children’s observations, concerns, ideas and solutions. The Project furthermore provided valuable references for researchers and art education practitioners to carry out public design research both with and for young children. The Public Design Lab will present the Exhibition of “Playful Public Design by Children”, showcasing the creative design and thinking process of the participants with augmented reality and project videos. The Exhibition is currently open until 31 December 2021 in Gallery A, Podium Level, Jockey Club Innovation Tower, PolyU. Officiating guests attending the opening event held earlier included: Mr Eric Yim, Chairman of the Industry Advisory Committee at PolyU’s School of Design; Professor Michael SIU, Chair Professor of Public Design at PolyU’s School of Design; Dr LEUNG Siu-fai, Director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department; Ms Winnie HO Wing-yin, Director of the Architectural Services Department; and Dr Angelina LO, Founder Director of CreativeKids. The children and their parents who participated in the Project also shared their design ideas at the event. In recognition of its impact and creativeness, “Playful Public Design by Children” was selected by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) to represent Hong Kong in the Golden Cubes Award 2020 (international level) organised by the International Union of Architects (UIA). Launched in March 2019, the Project “Playful Public Design by Children” was co-led by the Public Design Lab of PolyU’s School of Design and CreativeKids, a local art design education studio for children and youth. A total of 1,023 children and their parents participated in the Project, which lasted for over a year. According to the development capabilities and interests of the participants, a number of playful design projects were designed for four age groups: (1) Signage design for prohibiting monkey feeding for children aged between 3.5 to 5.5; (2) Whirly facilities design, playful tools design and butterflies study for those aged between 5.5 to 8; (3) Gazebos design, tree-based outdoor space design and treehouse and observation towers design for those aged between 8 and 12; (4) self-directed design and recycling bins design workshop for teenagers aged between 12 and 18. For more details of the “Playful Public Design by Children” Project, please visit the website:https://www.sd.polyu.edu.hk/en/research/design-legacy-public-design-lab#playful-chinese.   ***** END *****

PolyU to confer Honorary Doctorates upon Two Distinguished Individuals

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) announced that the University will confer honorary doctorates upon two distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their respective professions. The two recipients are (in alphabetical order of surname): Mr CHEUNG Ka-long and Professor YANG Mengfei.

PolyU receives staunch support from the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation for the establishment of the Smart Cities Research Institute and the Research Institute for Smart Energy

Thanks to a generous donation from the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation (the Foundation), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has established two research institutes in support of the University’s research endeavours in the areas of smart cities and sustainable energy. The two research institutes are named the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) and the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) in appreciation of the Foundation’s significant contributions. Officiated by Dr David Chung, Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government, the naming ceremony was held earlier this month. It was attended by Ir Dr Otto Poon Lok-to, Founder of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation, Dr Lam Tai-fai, PolyU’s Council Chairman, Professor Jin-Guang Teng, PolyU’s President and others. In his welcoming remarks, PolyU’s Council Chairman Dr Lam Tai-fai extended his heartfelt gratitude to Ir Dr Otto Poon Lok-to for his long-standing support to PolyU, “Dr Poon is a strong advocate of using innovation and technology to solve societal problems. Smart cities and energy challenges are two topics of great importance to society today. We are excited to join hands with Dr Poon to set up two research institutes focusing on these strategic areas in order to contribute to the further development of Hong Kong, the Nation and the wider international community.” The Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr David Chung, said that the Government had been collaborating with the two Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institutes in conducting trials and pilots in a number of smart city projects, ranging from the application of urban informatics to smart and sustainable energy, in order to improve the quality of life of our citizens. “The Innovation and Technology Bureau will continue to develop Hong Kong into a smart city and to make space for our local talents to help contribute to the betterment of Hong Kong as well as our country. I urge all of you to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the National 14th Five-year Plan and development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. There is much to gain from collaboration with our neighbour cities and we have much to learn from each other, especially on the new frontier of smart city development. PolyU, with its outstanding research institutes and academics, will have a big role to play in building Hong Kong into an international I&T hub,” Dr Chung added. Founder of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Ir Dr Otto Poon Lok-to remarked that “the notion of smart cities embraces a wide array of topics. The establishment of SCRI will serve as a catalyst to blend the various elements of smart cities together in order to contribute to the success of Hong Kong’s Smart City Blue Print 2.0.” Ir Dr Poon also raised concerns regarding climate change, and noted that renewable energy and energy storage were two essential research topics. He appreciated PolyU researchers' dedicated commitment to advancing the frontiers of technology and knowledge to cope with energy challenges. Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, thanked Ir Dr Poon for his unwavering support to PolyU over the years and said “Interdisciplinary collaboration can provide solutions to address societal challenges. Against this backdrop, the University has established the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), a hub to promote research and innovation across disciplines. To date, ten research institutes and five research centres have been established to offer impactful solutions in areas including land and space creation, smart ageing, advanced manufacturing, smart cities, smart energy and more.” Established in 2020, SCRI and RISE will bring together PolyU experts from diversified fields to develop impactful interdisciplinary research. SCRI aims at being a global centre of excellence in urban informatics and a living smart cities laboratory for Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in order to promote smart cities development in Hong Kong and in the country. Its research focus areas include Smart Mobility, Smart Living, Smart Environment, Smart People, Smart Government, and Smart Economy. SCRI is collaborating with some of the world’s top universities including the University of Cambridge and University College London, as well as major industrial players to develop innovative solutions. SCRI’s innovations have received worldwide recognition and won two Gold Medals at 2021 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days and two prizes in the 2021 Smart 50 Awards. RISE strives to pursue translational research on innovative solutions for energy-related problems. Its five research focus areas include District Energy Systems and Smart Grid, Smart Buildings and Smart Energy Systems, Advanced Energy Storage Technologies, Advanced and Renewable Energy Conversion Technologies, and Advanced Energy Materials. RISE’s world-class research has been recognised in various global research rankings. According to a recent report by Stanford University, 16 RISE members have been listed among the top 2% of scientists in relevant research fields globally, with three members ranking in the top 25 places. In addition, three RISE scholars have been acknowledged in the Highly Cited Researchers 2020 list by Clarivate Analytics. For more details about the research institutes, please visit the respective websites: Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) https://www.polyu.edu.hk/scri/ Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) https://www.polyu.edu.hk/rise/   ***** End *****

PolyU innovations in advanced textiles, new materials synthesis and centimetre-precision positioning win TechConnect awards

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) was awarded three prestigious prizes at this year’s TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo (TechConnect) in Washington DC. PolyU research teams excelled in the area of “Materials & Manufacturing” with two innovations being awarded TechConnect 2021 Global Innovation Awards. The PolyU innovators had developed a nature-inspired ‘sweatable’ textile material capable of ultra-fast sweat dissipation; as well as inventing an environmentally friendly technique to synthesizing MXenes – a promising energy storage material designed to meet rising global energy demands. In the area of “AI, Data, Cyber & Software”, PolyU has developed 3D LiDAR-aided GNSS precise positioning technology that allows highly robust centimetre-level global positioning in urban environments for automated driving, which also received a TechConnect 2021 Global Innovation Award. PolyU is the only higher education institution in Hong Kong this year that received the awards, which recognise the top 15% of submitted technologies based on their potential positive impact in different technological areas. Other awarded innovators include those from global-renowned universities, institutes and laboratories, including several national laboratories affiliated with the US Department of Energy. It is the fifth year that PolyU research teams have been awarded the prestigious prizes at the world's largest multi-sector event for fostering development and commercialising innovations. Professor Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, congratulated the teams. He said: “I am delighted that PolyU’s latest innovations – from advanced manufacturing, materials and electronics micro-systems to AI, data and software technologies – have been recognised and showcased at TechConnect. Not only does this acknowledge the value of PolyU’s impactful research and the innovations that shape smart city development and tackle various environmental and public health issues, but it also paves the way for further research collaboration in the global arena.” PolyU’s three award-winning innovations are: Sweatextile: A Nature-Inspired Textile of Unidirectional Water Transport and Dissipation for Moisture Management, Comfort and Protection by Dr SHOU Dahua, Professor FAN Jintu and Dr WEI Xin, Institute of Textiles and Clothing Going beyond the capabilities of existing wicking textiles, Sweatextile mimics the perspiration action of human skin, quickly directing and dissipating excessive sweat as water droplets on the outer surface, keeping the wearer dry, comfortable and having greater energy and endurance. In addition to enjoying fast wicking and moisture dissipation, Sweatextile protects wearers from external liquids such as rain and contaminated water. This innovation can benefit a wide range of consumers including outdoor enthusiasts and highly-active professionals. HF-free facile and rapid synthesis of MXenes related materials for Efficient Energy Conversion and Storage Applications by Professor HAO Jianhua and Ms PANG Sin-Yi, Department of Applied Physics MXenes have widespread uses in electrochemical energy storage and biological application due to their high robustness and non-toxicity. Traditional synthetic routes require the use of highly toxic hydrofluoric (HF) acid to synthesize MXenes, which raises considerable safety and environmental concerns. To overcome this problem, a HF-free electrochemical method has been developed to synthesize MXenes. The resulting MXenes exhibit stable and highly efficient energy storage and hydrogen gas synthesis capabilities, offering promising applications aiming to address the fast-approaching energy crisis and increasing energy demands. 3D LiDAR Aided GNSS Precise Positioning for Level 4 Autonomous Driving by Dr HSU Li-Ta and Dr WEN Weisong, Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering The 3D LiDAR-Aided GNSS Precise Positioning technology developed by PolyU tightly couples its environmental perception capability with high-precision satellite positioning technology to achieve an intelligent self-adjusting satellite ranging measurement modeling and correction. This allows highly robust centimetre-level high-precision global positioning in urban environments to be achieved for Level 4 autonomous driving. Besides the three award-winning innovations, a number of other PolyU inventions were also shortlisted in the TechConnect Innovation Showcase which recognises promising technologies within their respective fields. The PolyU showcase included advanced material and manufacturing innovations, such as: an integrated microfluidic system that can replicate natural photosynthesis with greater energy efficiency; an eco-friendly smart coating material which adopts a “smart” cooling mechanism that can both enhance daytime cooling and minimize nighttime heat loss; and a novel antimicrobial 3D printing technology that enables new medical usage of 3D printing products to combat contact transmission of lethal microbes in public areas. For more details of the event and the awards, please refer to the official website of TechConnect at https://www.techconnectworld.com/World2021 and the list of awardees at https://www.techconnectworld.com/World2021/participate/innovation/awards.html.   ***End***

PolyU to launch three research centres under InnoHK Clusters

In support of the Hong Kong government’s new initiative, InnoHK Clusters, which aims to develop Hong Kong as a hub for global research collaboration, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has joined forces with world-leading institutions to develop research centres under two newly established research clusters – AIR@InnoHK (focusing on artificial intelligence and robotics technologies) and Health@InnoHK (focusing on healthcare related technologies), in a bid to bring together leading researchers from around the world to conduct impactful collaborative research in Hong Kong.

Statement by the Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM)

The Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM) welcomes the various new initiatives announced by the Chief Executive in the 2021 Policy Address to further enhance the competitiveness of the higher education sector in Hong Kong and to support the development of Hong Kong into an international innovation & technology hub. The Committee believes that with these new initiatives, the UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong will be able to scale new heights in their pursuit of research and educational excellence, talent development, and to support the socio-economic development of Hong Kong as part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as well as the development of the nation and the world.

PolyU welcomes 2021 Policy Address initiatives on education, innovation and technology

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) welcomes the Chief Executive’s initiatives in the 2021 Policy Address that charted a roadmap to build a brighter future for Hong Kong in collaboration with all sectors of the community. The initiatives outlined in the Policy Address will enable Hong Kong to turn a new chapter by leveraging on the central government’s favourable policies and the city’s unique advantages. PolyU is grateful towards the current administration’s staunch support in nurturing talents and promoting innovation and technology, particularly its investments of more than HK$130 billion in innovation and technology over the past four years, as well as the development of a more comprehensive innovation and technology ecosystem. These have made innovation and technology a new impetus for the city’s economy. Dr LAM Tai-fai, Chairman of Council of PolyU, said: “This year’s Policy Address deserves our praise. It is forward-looking, comprehensive, visionary and underscores the Government’s astuteness. Despite the headwinds and grave challenges in the past four years, Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam has displayed her resolve in correcting any shortcomings, and her efforts have been approved and supported by the central government.” Dr Lam said this Policy Address demonstrated that the Chief Executive has seized the tremendous opportunities presented by the Nation’s 14th Five-year Plan and the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), at a time when the “One Country, Two Systems” principle is being restored in the wake of the enactment of the national security law and changes to the electoral system in Hong Kong. Dr Lam added that: “with the comprehensive and correct implementation of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle, I believe the Chief Executive will lead Hong Kong in embarking on a new venture through this Policy Address, seizing new opportunities and taking the city forward. I am sure the Policy Address initivatives will also bring about long term prosperity and stability, and help solve deep-rooted social problems.” He thanked the Chief Executive for recognising PolyU’s contribution to the Nation’s space programmes in the Policy Address, and is particularly grateful to the Government for supporting the University in exploring the new use of its Hung Hom Bay Campus for academic and research development. In the Policy Address, the Government set out initiatives including the provision of additional land for innovation and technology use, the setting up of an InnoLife Healthtech Hub, and other measures to promote the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong. The Government also announced initiatives to encourage young people to pursue careers in research and innovation, and to support them in participating in the Nation’s development. Professor Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU, said: “PolyU is encouraged by the Government’s commitment in promoting the development of innovation and technology, which will enable local universities to give full play to Hong Kong’s edge in scientific research.” Besides the two state key laboratories, PolyU has set up a number of inter-disciplinary research institutes in areas including advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, smart cities, smart energy, as well as land and space. Its new Research Centre for Chinese Medicine Innovation will be dedicated to the advancement of the GBA’s basic, applied and translational research on Traditional Chinese Medicine. Meanwhile, PolyU is actively supporting several research clusters of the Government’s flagship InnoHK project. The University is pleased about the Government’s continuous increase in local healthcare training places. The new PolyU teaching facility under construction at Ho Man Tin is expected to be completed by 2026, which will enable the University to nurture more future healthcare professionals for Hong Kong. PolyU also welcomes the Government initiatives to invite the University Grants Committee to assess the supply of and demand for UGC-funded research postgraduate places, as well as the relaxation of the over-enrolment ceiling for these places. PolyU believes these will help the University in nurturing more high-calibre research talents. Regarding the Global STEM Professorship scheme introduced in last year’s Policy Address, PolyU has been very supportive and has actively participated in the scheme, resulting in a number of scholars being hired. The University will continue to strengthen its efforts in attracting global talents in innovation and technology to work in the GBA. In conclusion, Professor Teng said: “In the next academic year, we will reform our undergraduate programme to strengthen education in artificial intelligence, data analytics, innovation and entrepreneurship, while enhancing our support to students’ entrepreneurial endeavours in the GBA. We believe these efforts will promote technological innovation and nurture young research talents for the region. Furthermore, PolyU has been committed to offering holistic education, and has been emphasising both integrity and professional excellence as our educational objective, with integrity coming first. We strive to nurture more future talents that are socially responsible, dedicated to Hong Kong and the Nation, and with a global outlook. Looking forward, PolyU will make greater contributions to Hong Kong, the GBA and the Nation, through supporting the Government’s efforts in developing the GBA and promoting innovation and technology; and advancing our initiatives in education, research collaboration and knowledge transfer in the GBA.”   ***End***

PolyU holds flag-raising ceremony to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today held a flag-raising ceremony on campus in celebration of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.