In this issue, Prof. Michael Geoffrey Somekh, new Chair Professor of Biophotonics and Head of the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, shared his vision in nurturing the next generation of engineering professionals and leading the development of the Department.

What are your plans in leading and steering the development of the Department, both in teaching and research?

We aim to develop not only local students but also international students from other countries and cultures. While accepting our commitment to training local talent, we see the need to work across borders. Hong Kong because of its unique position has a great opportunity to capitalize on globalization. We must not miss this opportunity by failing to encourage collaboration with both the Chinese mainland and also other countries.

In all activities, it is important to match individual talent to their roles. In academia, this is even more important since our obligations in teaching and research are diverse. It is therefore important to develop a system that allows and values people who make contributions to different aspects in the institution.

How can “interdisciplinarity” be realized?

“Interdisciplinarity” refers to the combination of two or more disciplines in the creation and application of new knowledge in addressing a challenge. My own research interest is in biophotonics which has a multidisciplinary nature involving optics, electronics, biology and chemistry. There are, of course, many other interdisciplinary research areas even within engineering. In the future, the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering will make a substantial interdisciplinary contribution, by developing courses and research programmes that link information and electronic engineering to life sciences, physical sciences and even social sciences and business.

The world is becoming more interconnected, not simply in the obvious sense of the internet and social media. Knowledge itself does not reside in a single discipline but cuts across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Electronics and Information Engineering is at the core of nearly all technologies without which systems would simply be impossible to operate, so we are well placed to influence many areas of knowledge.

What are your expectations for students and researchers?

Students have to learn how Electronic and Information Engineering is a core discipline with great impact in most areas of modern life. We will help them to develop their core skills and integrate them into diverse areas of application. Similarly in research, our researchers can make substantial intellectual and imaginative contributions in collaborative endeavours in many different fields.

A core value we need to impart on our students and staff is self-confidence so that they can compete with the best and be prepared to identify and tackle some of the world’s big problems. PolyU’s tradition of practical application and growing reputation in innovative research attest to this capability.

Our education process will help develop students’ self-confidence in expressing their personal or technical views and opinions. This is crucial but needs, of course, to be tempered with a degree of realism and humility.

What do you think are the important aspects of nurturing leaders of tomorrow?

Our future leaders must have dreams and aspirations. It is important that growing knowledge does not stifle these dreams but helps turn them into reality.