Prof. Edwin Cheng, Dean of the PolyU Faculty of Business, has consolidated a force of innovation in his faculty thanks to his passionate belief in the value of research and his drive for efficiency and time management.

In all of life’s endeavours, it is important to manage one’s resources wisely. As Prof. Edwin Cheng knows, research is no exception to this rule. As both Dean and Chair Professor of Management, he has made resource management the cornerstone of his career.

Prof. Cheng has spent decades developing principles that help organizations make the best use of their resources. Following his graduation from the University of Hong Kong with Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Engineering, he continued his education in the UK, earning a Master of Science from the University of Birmingham as well as Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science from the University of Cambridge.

 

Prof. Cheng first took an interest in resource management while at Cambridge, eventually making it the subject of his doctoral thesis. He continued to focus on the area after graduation, and to date he has published over 600 papers in respected international journals, along with co-writing 11 books. He has also held teaching positions in Canada and Singapore and served as a consultant to many successful companies. In 2009, the International Journal of Production Economics named Prof. Cheng the world’s most productive production/operations management researcher of the past 50 years.

Many of Prof. Cheng’s contributions to the field have occurred since he joined the then Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1992. Appointed as Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies in 1995, his first major task was to develop a culture that was focused on research. Prof. Cheng encouraged his colleagues to devote more time to research, and to think of it as a way of life rather than an obligation. He now looks back at this time as one of the most challenging periods of his life.

Prof. Cheng has served as a positive example for the team, having won numerous awards for the quality of his research. Notably, in 2001 he became the first researcher at PolyU to be named as Croucher Senior Research Fellowship, the top award for research in Hong Kong. To date only three other academics at PolyU have earned this prestigious honour. Most recently, Prof. Cheng received the Education Leadership Award at the World Education Congress in Singapore this year.

Despite the success of the Faculty of Business, Prof. Cheng has no intention of relaxing his focus. He recently made it clear that the Faculty still has much room to grow. In particular, he aims to improve the number of international students and teachers, and expand PolyU’s collaboration with other institutions. Most of all, Prof. Cheng hopes to continue making an impact on the world through research, which he describes as his favourite activity both for the benefit to his own mind and the chance to improve the world at large.  ♦