FCE Ug student awarded The Most Outstanding PolyU Student 2023/24

The Faculty is proud to announce that Ms Sze Lam WONG, a BSc (Hons) in Property Management student of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), has been selected The Most Outstanding PolyU Student 2023/24. She is also the recipient of the Outstanding Student Award of Faculty and the Outstanding Student Award of Department.

Apart from her outstanding academic achievement as evidenced by the prestigious scholarships she won, such as the President Emeritus Professor Poon Chung-kwong Scholarship 2022/23 and the Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2023, she also distinguished herself as a well-rounded young adult by her strong leadership ability, extensive involvement in extra-curricular activities, substantial community service experience and exposure, and commendable personal attributes.

During her past four years at PolyU, Ms Wong participated and took up leadership roles in various extra-curricular activities. For example, the ICAC Ambassador Programme 2020/21 and the Hang Lung Future Women Leaders Program 2022/23. She served her fellow students as the President of the PolyU English Club, volunteered for the Joint-University Social Service Organization and the Opportunities for the Elderly Project caring for the mental well-being of singleton elderly, and is currently a PolyU Student Ambassador helping to promote the University to prospective students.

Ms Wong received the honour from Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, PolyU President, at the award presentation ceremony held on 26 March 2024 and delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of all the outstanding students.

PolyU's Outstanding Students Award Scheme was established in the academic year 1998/99 to award full-time final-year students who excel in both academic and non-academic pursuits during their studies, the awards offered under this scheme are conferred at departmental, faculty and university levels.

One more engineering-related Ug programme obtains full HKIE Accreditation

The Faculty is pleased to announce that after obtaining provisional accreditation from The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) in June 2023, the BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering (Structural and Fire Safety Engineering)^ has been granted full HKIE accreditation in March 2024 for a period of five years for all intake classes up to and including the year 2027.

The other engineering-related bachelor’s degree programmes with full HKIE accreditation are the BEng (Hons) in Building Sciences and Engineering* (including the programme with the specialism of Building Services Engineering), the BSc (Hons) in Building Engineering and Management, the BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering, and the BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development.

Graduates of the accredited programmes will be qualified to apply for HKIE membership after gaining appropriate training.

*Retitled from BEng (Hons) in Building Services Engineering with effect from the 2022/23 cohort of intake
^Retitled from BEng (Hons) in Structural and Fire Safety Engineering with effect from the 2022/23 cohort of intake

FCE joins hands with Hexagon to advance spatial measurement technologies

In early March 2024, the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hexagon Leica Geosystems (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. (Hexagon) to establish a strategic framework partnership to foster R&D in surveying, geographic information mapping technology and equipment, and positioning and navigation systems.

Signed by Prof Wu CHEN, Head of LSGI, and Mr Deyong WANG, Chief Financial Officer (China Region) of Hexagon and Executive Director of Hexagon Leica Geosystems, the MoU sets the ground for collaboration opportunities such as the establishment of a joint lab, talent cultivation, technology transfer and commercialisation of spatial measurement technologies.

Hexagon is a renowned innovator in global spatial information technology and solutions. The partnership is one of the Faculty’s university-industry collaboration endeavours to create industrial and societal impact.

Counsellor Fly-in Programme 2024 to attract global prospective students

To connect with high school representatives and recruit outstanding students from overseas as well as international schools in Hong Kong, PolyU has been promoting an in-depth understanding of our dynamic academic and campus life via the “Counsellor Fly-In Programme”. Hosted by the Global Engagement Office (GEO), the 2024 programme welcomed around 50 counsellors from schools all over the world to visit PolyU in March 2024.

On 8 March 2024, FCE hosted a group of counsellors for a tour of the major laboratories and teaching facilities of our four departments. The tour began with a brief introduction of FCE’s research and education excellence by Prof. Linda XIAO, Associate Dean (Partnership) of Faculty. Counsellors then visited the Fire Engineering Laboratory, CARE Resource Centre, Structural Engineering Research Laboratory, and Laboratory for Smart City and Spatial Big Data Analytics. Representatives from the facilities showcased and demonstrated how teaching and research activities are conducted there.

Representatives from the departments also attended the Mini Recruitment Fair held later that afternoon to provide the counsellors with details of our top-notch academic programmes.

Joint Alumni FCE Spring Reunion 2024 strengthens bond between Faculty and alumni

To engage and connect FCE’s diverse alumni community, a Joint Alumni FCE Spring Reunion was organised by our five FCE Alumni Associations and was successfully held on 9 March 2024. We are excited to see the strong bond between around a hundred of guests, alumni, current Faculty members and students attending the gathering. The guests were led on a campus tour to revisit some familiar sites of their alma mater and learn about the latest developments and facilities on campus. They also joined the dinner gathering at Ju Yin House, enjoying the time networking and exchanging insights with each other.

FCE Public Lecture

The FCE Public Lecture is a platform for scholars around the world to introduce the latest trends in their fields and share their insights with our students, staff and alumni. The first lecture in 2024 was delivered by Prof. Jing MENG on 26 March 2024, with the topic “Charting the Path to Net Zero: Leveraging Technological Innovations and Demand-Side Strategies”.

Prof. Meng is a Professor at University College London and a fellow of Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance. As an expert in technology innovation and climate change mitigation policies, she introduced to the audience the current carbon emission trends and their main contributors. She then presented her strategic blueprint for achieving carbon neutrality, taking into consideration the practical technical and economic feasibility. Prof. Meng emphasised the importance of promoting demand-side emission reduction through behavioural change, as well as incorporating innovative technological solutions for long-term and effective pathways to net zero.

The lecture was attended by more than 60 participants, with a dynamic Q&A session after Prof. Meng’s sharing.

Welcome new staff to FCE

Dr Tao LIU joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) as an Assistant Professor in March 2024. He obtained his Bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Engineering and Economics from Tsinghua University in 2015, and received his PhD degree from the Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) at The University of Queensland (UQ) in 2020. After graduation, he worked as a Research Fellow at UQ, during which he secured the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC). The competitive DECRA Fellowship supports outstanding early-career researchers who have been awarded a PhD within the last 5 years, with demonstrated capacity for innovative research. Dr Liu’s research focuses on the development of innovative solutions for urban water and wastewater management, through the effective integration of fundamental science and applied engineering.

Dean’s informal meeting with newly recruited academics

On 7 March 2024, Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty, met with the newly recruited academics who joined FCE in the past six months. An informal meeting between the Dean and newly recruited academics is a part of FCE's new academic staff orientation to help the new joiners better understand the Faculty’s strategic foci and expectations of them.