Ministry of Education Delegation visits PolyU and commends Unversity’s efforts on industry-academia integration

A delegation led by Dr WU Yan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, visited The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) yesterday. The delegation met with the PolyU management team and researchers to gain insights into the University’s latest developments, particularly its achievements in knowledge transfer related to artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare technology. Dr Wu commended the University’s innovative research and its effort in fostering industry-academia integration. He welcomed closer collaboration between PolyU and mainland cities, as well as national research institutes, to further translate technology into practical applications, contributing to technological development in both regions and benefiting the community.

The delegation representatives included Dr CHOI Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government; Mr CHEN Wei, Deputy Director of Bureau IV of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council; Dr YANG Dan, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges and Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Education; Dr ZHOU Tianhua, Director of the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education; Prof. WANG Weiming, Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR (LOCPG); and other representatives from the Ministry of Education, HKMAO of the State Council, and LOCPG.

Accompanied by PolyU Council Chairman Dr LAM Tai-fai, President Prof. Jin-Guang TENG and other management team members, the delegation visited the AIR Lab at the University’s Industrial Centre, where PolyU scholars introduced and demonstrated a number of innovation projects in healthcare and AI. These projects included an AI diabetic retinopathy screening system, a large medical model for cancers, myopic defocus technology for myopia control in children, a liver fibrosis and fatty liver screening system, a 3D ultrasound scoliosis assessment system, a virtual MRI contrast enhancement system for precise tumour detection and treatment, robots for post-stroke ankle-foot rehabilitation, a portable high-definition corneal topographer, an AI-based platform to enhance the discovery and development of novel drugs, and a project integrating genomics and biomedical technologies in the diagnosis, treatment, and etiology analysis of mental disorders. All these projects demonstrate the achievements of PolyU in translating research outcomes into real-world applications and drive the advancement of healthcare sector.

The delegation then met with the University’s management and researchers. Dr Wu Yan highlighted ongoing efforts to establish regional technology transfer centres across the Nation, followed by the development of a network in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to leverage Hong Kong’s strengths. Dr Wu also noted that PolyU’s achievements in industry-academia integration, particularly in medicine-engineering integration, have been widely recognised. These achievements are evident not only in the pursuit of innovation but also in the translation of technologies into practical real-world products in areas such as ophthalmology, drug development and rehabilitation robotics. He further stated that the nation is promoting “New Engineering, New Medicine, New Agriculture, and New Liberal Arts 2.0”, incorporating AI to transform traditional industries and develop new disciplines. PolyU has excelled in facilitating medicine-engineering integration and is well-placed to participate in the strategic work of the healthcare technology transfer centre in the GBA.

Dr Lam Tai-fai remarked that the visit from the Ministry of Education delegation provides significant encouragement to PolyU. The University is dedicated to nurturing socially responsible talents with a strong sense of national pride and a global perspective for societal benefits, supporting the goal of building China into a leading country in education. In addition to establishing the Research Centre for Chinese History and Culture, PolyU launched the Chinese Culture Festival last year to promote Chinese culture and has made courses on Chinese history and culture compulsory for undergraduate students. Dr Lam pointed out that PolyU’s limitation is its small campus capacity. The University has been seeking to expand its space and hopes to receive support from the HKSAR Government and various sectors to meet its future development needs.

Dr Choi Yuk-lin noted that PolyU is undergoing rapid development, with its global and subject rankings constantly rising, solidifying its position as a key player in the local education sector. Hong Kong must seize the opportunities presented by national development, particularly the technology transfer network established in the GBA. In addition to securing land in the Northern Metropolis for the education sector, the Education Bureau will also innovate and adapt its policies to address future challenges effectively.

Prof. Jin-Guang Teng emphasised that PolyU has over 40 years of extensive experience in healthcare education, having trained 52,000 graduates employed across various healthcare professions. The University offers a wide range of programmes, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiotherapy, optometry, medical laboratory science, speech therapy, and nursing. These programmes are supported by more than 1,300 healthcare-related teaching and research staff, as well as state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities. With these advantages, PolyU is well-positioned to establish a medical school. In training medical professionals, the University can harness the synergy among its diverse programmes to cultivate talent in a cost-effective manner.

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