The innovation of a self-cleaning transparent IR insulation glass coating by Dr Lin Lu of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) has been honoured with a certificate of merit in the 2017 Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards (HKGIA). Organized by the Environmental Campaign Committee, the presentation ceremony was held on 4 May 2018 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Officiating guests were the Chief Executive, the Honourable Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the Secretary for the Environment, the Honourable Wong Kam-sing.

The HKGIA aims to encourage local organisations to tackle environmental challenges using new ideas that will benefit the environment. The three assessment criteria are level of innovation, environmental achievements and cost-effectiveness, and practicability and contribution to society.

A proposal to improve and export Hong Kong industrialized construction services under the Belt and Road initiative was awarded $547,000 from the government’s Professional Services Advancement Support Scheme. Led by Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Interim Vice President (Student Affairs) and Chair Professor of Construction Management in the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), the project includes Dr Justina Yung of PolyU’s Belt and Road Liaison Unit and is supported by the Hong Kong Construction Association Ltd.

At the inaugural meeting of the Solar Energy Society of Hong Kong on 4 May 2018, Prof. Hongxing Yang and Dr Lin Lu of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) have been respectively appointed as its first President and one of its Vice Presidents. Prof. Meng Ni of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) is a council member of the Society. The aims of the Society are to popularize and promote solar energy technologies, maintain an effective platform for sharing solar energy knowledge and generate innovation on solar energy applications in Hong Kong.

At the inaugural meeting

The Croucher Foundation has awarded a grant of HK$100,000 to Prof. John Shi, Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), in support of the 2nd International Conference on Urban Informatics to be held at PolyU from 10 to 12 December 2018. About 100 participants are expected to attend the conference.

On 24 May 2018, a sharing session was held by the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) to acquaint its new academic staff with the upcoming major review of their performance in teaching, research, and services. All newly appointed assistant professors will be eventually evaluated in a major review that includes external assessment and applies to promotion/ conversion to regular terms of appointment. 36 FCE academics attended the event, the majority of whom were assistant professors and research assistant professors. They were welcomed by Prof. You-Lin Xu, Dean of FCE, who was pleased that the session provided an opportunity for colleagues from different FCE departments to mingle and learn more about the achievements of one another. Sharing their successful experiences of the major review were 4 assistant professors, namely Dr Henry Lee and Dr Leng Zhen of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), as well as Dr Wallace Lai and Dr Charles Wong of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI). In attendance were the 3 Associate Deans, Prof. Michael Yam (Teaching), Prof. Xiangdong Li (Research), Prof. Xiaoli Ding (Partnership), and 2 departmental heads, Prof. Albert Chan (BRE) and Prof. William Lam (CEE). The expectations of PolyU and the Faculty were fully conveyed in an interactive discussion towards the end of the session. It was an inspiring session for all who attended.

At the sharing session		Participants of the session		At the tea break

The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) and its 4 departments jointly provided a consultation session and an info seminar on 19 May 2018 for prospective applicants to PolyU via the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS). Besides learning about admissions strategies and essential interview skills, they also had the opportunity to interact with professors from their preferred programmes. The FCE info seminar drew a full house, attracting over 120 secondary school students and parents. Prof. Michael Yam, Acting Associate Dean (Teaching), represented FCE to introduce the Broad Discipline of Construction and Environment, while Dr Daniel Chan of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Dr W.L. Lee of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), Ir C.L. Kwan of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), and Dr Wallace Lai of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) introduced the departments respectively. There was also a separate seminar organized by CEE on the BSc programme in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development. It was a great way for prospective students to learn more about entrance requirements and the curricula for their programmes of interest.

FCE consultation session		FCE info seminar

A group of 12 students from the University of Applied Science in Stuttgart, Germany, visited the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) on 9 May 2018 as part of their study tour. Led by Prof. Sabine Rein of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Building Physics and Economics, the students were welcomed by Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Interim Vice President (Student Affairs), and Dean of FCE Prof. You-Lin Xu, who introduced the Faculty and gave the students a lecture on structural health monitoring of Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong. Prof. Shen’s PhD student, Mr Shell Xiao Li, also gave a presentation entitled “Construction Industrialization: Back to the Future.” It was a great learning experience for all concerned.

The visitors and Prof. Xu (seated second from left)