Five distinguished individuals conferred honorary doctorates
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PolyU held its 29th Congregation on campus in November 2023. Honorary Doctorates were conferred upon five distinguished individuals: The Hon Mrs Laura Cha Shih May-lung, GBM, GBS, JP; Professor Gong Qihuang; Mr Xiaojia Charles Li, SBS; Professor Xu Ningsheng and Professor Zhong Nanshan. The University also conferred academic awards on a total of 10,304 students this year, including 375 Doctor of Philosophy degree graduates, 120 professional doctoral degree graduates, 50 Master of Philosophy degree graduates, 5,153 taught master’s degree graduates, 4,244
Honorary Doctorate recipients (in alphabetical order)
The Hon Mrs Laura Cha Shih May-lung, GBM, GBS, JP
Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa
Mrs Cha is Chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd and a member of the Hong Kong-United States Business Council. She is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of Ant Group Co. Ltd., a Senior International Advisor of Foundation Assets Management Sweden AB and a member of Sotheby’s International Advisory Board. Besides, she is also Vice Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and a Director of the World Federation of Exchanges. She was the first, and to-date, the only person outside Mainland China to join the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China at the vice-ministerial rank when she served as Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission from 2001 to 2004. She has made impactful contributions to the development of the financial services sector in both Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Professor Gong Qihuang
Doctor of Science honoris causa
Professor Gong is President of Peking University. He is also a distinguished optic expert who has long been engaged in cutting-edge research on nonlinear optics and spatiotemporal small-scale optics. Professor Gong was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a member of the World Academy of Sciences. He was elected as a fellow of the Institute of Physics, United Kingdom, Optical Society of America, and International Society for Optics and Photonics. He has received awards such as the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award, the First Prize of the Beijing Science and Technology Award and the First Prize of the Ministry of Education Science and Technology Progress Award. His research results have been selected three times as being among the “Top 10 Scientific and Technological Advances in Chinese Universities”.
Mr Xiaojia Charles Li, SBS
Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa
Mr Li is the Founder and Chairman of Micro Connect and the Chairman of Micro Connect Macao Financial Assets Exchange. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) from January 2010 to December 2020. Under his visionary leadership, HKEX accomplished many significant milestones in its history, notably the acquisition of the London Metal Exchange in 2012, the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect cross-border trading scheme in 2014, Shenzhen- Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2016, Bond Connect in 2017, and the Listing Reforms in 2018. These strategic initiatives were pivotal in strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a prominent international financial hub and an initial public offering centre.
Professor Xu Ningsheng
Doctor of Science honoris causa
Professor Xu is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, having graduated from Sun Yat-sen University in 1982 and later received his PhD degree from the University of Aston. He was a professor at his alma mater, Sun Yat-sen University in 1996 and promoted to the position of President in 2010. In 2014, he moved to Fudan University, Shanghai, where he assumed the position of President until his retirement in 2021. An internationally renowned researcher, he has been involved in vacuum nanoelectronics for a long time and was the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies. He has received numerous awards including the esteemed Second- Class State Natural Science Awards.
Professor Zhong Nanshan
Doctor of Science honoris causa
Professor Zhong is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, having graduated from the Peking University Health Science Center in 1960 and went to the University of Edinburgh and the University of London for further studies and research. He is now a Professor of Internal Medicine at Guangzhou Medical University, Director of the Guangzhou Laboratory, Director of the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, Head of the Senior Expert Group of the National Health Commission, and a member of the World Health Organization's Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Preparedness and Response. He spearheaded the battle against the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including The Medal of the Republic, the highest national honour, in 2020.
