The 2020/21 application results for the RGC General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) were announced on 30 June 2020. Due to their similar nature, the application results for these 2 schemes have been combined in some of the following analysis:

In terms of the number of grants, CEE led with 15 grants, followed by both BSE and LSGI with 5 each. As seen from Figure 1, the number of grants secured by individual departments, except CEE, has dropped this year, while the total funding secured by FCE departments has reached over $24 million (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Comparison of Number of Grants per Year between Departments over past 10 Years

Figure 2: Comparison of Total Grants Awarded per Year between Departments over past 10 Years

In terms of the average funding amount per academic staff member (only counting those who are eligible), the rankings of our 4 departments in descending order are CEE, LSGI, BSE and BRE. As shown in Figure 2, the average funding received by FCE academic staff has reached a high in the 2020/21 exercise.

Figure 3: Comparison of Amount of RGC Competitive Funding per Eligible Staff Member between Departments over past 10 Years

In the Civil Engineering, Surveying, Building and Construction (CESBC) disciplines of the Engineering Panel, PolyU has led local universities in the GRF/ECS exercises since 1994/95 in both the number of GRF/ECS projects supported and the total grant value awarded, consistently winning around 40% of all GRF/ECS grants allocated in these disciplines. The distribution of the amount of GRF/ECS funding in 2020/21 among local universities is shown in Figure 4. PolyU received 45% of the total available funding in the CESBC disciplines this year, with an average funding of HK$814K per project.

Figure 4: Distribution of GRF/ECS Funding in the CESBC Disciplines among Institutions in the 2020/21 Round

Of the 28 GRF/ECS grants awarded to the Faculty this year, 3 were awarded outside the CESBC disciplines. The Faculty won 25 grants (or 34.7%) totaling HK$20,961K out of 72 GRF/ECS grants awarded by RGC in the CESBC disciplines in the present round (i.e. 2020/21).

A team of researchers in the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) has received RMB519,100 from the Technology and Industry Development Centre of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China to conduct a 2-year feasibility study on applied hybrid wind-solar power storage systems in net-zero energy buildings. Led by Prof. Hongxing Yang, the project team includes his colleagues Dr Sunliang Cao, Dr Xi Chen, and Ms Jia Jia Liu, a PhD student in BSE. The research is a sub-project of a Key Research Project of China-USA Clean Energy Collaboration: Integrated demonstration and research in suitable technologies of net-zero energy consumption buildings.

3 academics from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) have been supported by the government’s Central Policy Unit. Following are the details:

On 26 August 2020, the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) held its annual forum via Zoom for some of its academics to share their successful experiences of writing proposals for external competitive research grants. More than 100 staff were in attendance. After opening remarks from the Faculty Dean, Prof. You-lin Xu, the following colleagues took turns to address the online forum:

In addition to highlighting the importance for staff to get external funding for their research, the forum also addressed the need for recruiting quality Hong Kong PhD Fellowship candidates to study at FCE and passing the major review exercise, a milestone for academic staff in their careers. Sharing their successful experiences in these areas respectively were Prof. Anthony Chen of CEE and Dr Minchen Wei of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE). Afterwards, Prof. Xiangdong Li, Associate Dean (Research), concluded with some encouraging words.

The departments of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) recently reached out to local secondary school students online in separate summer programmes designed to give them a preview of what to expect at PolyU and the career prospects for various disciplines. At the online programme of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) on 6 August 2020, about 50 students heard some welcome remarks from Prof. Albert Chan, Head of the Department, before watching a video about its programmes and a presentation by Mr Wai-kei Kong. This was followed by a talk from Prof. Eddie Hui on the housing prices in Hong Kong and a sharing from a student ambassador in BRE. Projects related to modular integrated construction (MiC) were shown in the MiC Display Centre, as well as some projects of the Smart Construction Laboratory. The BRE programme ended with a mock interview and some tips for students to prepare for the real thing.

(left to right) Mr Kong, Prof. Chan, and Prof. Hui at the BRE orientation		Preparing for the BSE orientation

The Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) held its summer programme on 19 August 2020, beginning with a video about the department introducing its BEng (Hons) and HD programmes. A virtual laboratory tour, was followed by a sharing from Mr Boris Tang, a current student, an introduction by Dr Hilda Cheung to a software application for professional lighting design, and several demonstrations. Students saw the making of an acoustic window by Prof. Shiu-keung Tang, a demonstration by Dr Xinyan Huang that facilitated an understanding of fire and the resilience of a smart city, and a smart wireless sensing module by Dr Horace Mui for indoor air quality monitoring under Covid-19.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) held its online summer programme on 7 August 2020 for over 140 secondary students. Introducing CEE was Dr Barbara Siu, which was followed by a short lecture from Prof. Songye Zhu on the role of structural and civil engineers in driving the sustainable growth of Hong Kong. Then there was an introduction to the water issue in Hong Kong, the world, and a possible solution by Dr Shao-Yuan Leu. Students subsequently saw a clean water demonstration by Dr Yi Jiang, a fire lab demonstration by Dr Xinyan Huang, and a shaking table demonstration by Prof. Songye Zhu. An admission talk was also given by Dr Tak Ming Chan. Before the end of the programme, students had a chance to win some prizes by completing a small challenge.

At the CEE online orientation

Over 100 students participated in the online summer programme of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) on 31 July 2020. They listened to Dr Matthew Pang talked about building the smart city of Hong Kong and storytelling with maps, then Dr Wai-yeung Yan talked about the history of Hong Kong’s land boundary system and the role of land surveyors in different disputes. Next up was Dr Wallace Lai, who took students on a virtual tour of LSGI’s Underground Utility Survey Lab, where they could see different technologies being used to conduct utility surveying underground. After providing some information on admissions and career prospects in LSGI, Dr Lai also interviewed a student representative, Mr Jeffrey Ma, who shared his experiences in an exchange programme to Canada and an internship with the government during his studies. Students had their questions answered and later demonstrated their knowledge of LSGI in a game on social media.

LSGI staff at its orientation

Incoming freshmen of undergraduate degree and Higher Diploma (HD) programmes of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) attended an online orientation held by their respective departments on 31 August 2020. Each orientation included a welcome address and an introduction of the department by its head. The Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) was introduced by Prof. Albert Chan, the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) by Prof. Asif Usmani, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) by Prof. Chi-Sun Poon, and the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) by Prof. John Shi. Students also met their programme leaders online to learn more about their study programmes.

In addition, students heard from representatives of the Student Affairs Office about student services. Other administrative and support units like the University Health Service, the Health, Safety and Environment Office, and the Global Engagement Office etc. also presented their services respectively in selected orientations.

An online orientation for more than 500 full-time and part-time new students of taught postgraduate (TPg) programmes in the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) was held on 29 August 2020. Welcoming and introducing them to FCE was Faculty Dean Prof. You-Lin Xu, after which the Postgraduate Scheme in Construction and Environment was introduced by Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Associate Dean (Teaching). Subsequently, the four departments of FCE were respectively introduced by Prof. Michael Yam, Associate Head (Teaching) of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Prof. Asif Usmani, Head of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), Prof. Jianguo Dai, Associate Head (Academic Development) of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), and Prof. John Shi, Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI). Students then met with their respective programme leader online in one of twelve parallel sessions before the end of the orientation.