News and Achievements

The Outstanding Student Awards Presentation Ceremony 2021

The Outstanding Student Awards Presentation Ceremony 2021 was held online on 21 April 2022. A total of 28 final-year students who excel in both academic and non-academic pursuits during their studies are selected as PolyU’s outstanding students at departmental, faculty/ School, and university levels. Congratulations to Miss Ho Hiu Man from the Faculty of Humanities, who has won The Most Outstanding PolyU Student of the Year. During the Ceremony, President Jin-Guang Teng delivered a welcoming remark to congratulate our awardees, addressing the appreciation for their excellent academic achievements and strong personal development. Prof. K.Y Wong, Vice President of Education, Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation), Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), Prof. Daniel Shek, Associate Vice President (Undergraduate Programme), Prof. Albert Chan, Dean of Students, and Deans of Faculty and School joined the Ceremony online in announcing the awardees. A group photo was taken to capture this precious moment. On behalf of all the awardees, our Most Outstanding PolyU Student 2021, Miss Ho Hiu Man, shared their gratitude to PolyU for making their university journey a fruitful and memorable one.  

Dean of Students Talk Series: Understanding the GBA through Understanding HKSAR and Mainland China

The Dean of Students Talk “Understanding the GBA through Understanding HKSAR and Mainland China” was held online on 23 February 2022, attended by over 200 PolyU students and staff. Our honourable speaker, Mr David Lee, presented numerous informative data on the Greater Bay Area, and shared his own valuable and unique experience in working at the GBA and Mainland China. After Mr Lee’s sharing, a Q&A session was conducted with Professor Albert Chan, Dean of Students, as the facilitator. During the session, Mr Lee provided the participants with further insights, such as how to seize the opportunities provided by the GBA and his view on the GBA’s future development. He also encouraged the audience that we all should learn to be at peace with what we are in order to develop further on our journey.  At the end of the talk, Professor Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), joined Mr Lee and Professor Chan for a group photo together with the online participants to commemorate this memorable moment.

President's Sharing Session with Students

As the new academic semester starts, President Teng with the Central Management Team (CMT) hosted a President’s Sharing Session with Students on 21 February 2022 via the online platform. The event was well-received by around 80 students who exchanged views with the CMT online. During the sharing session, President Teng updated students on the latest development of the University; Dr Miranda Lou, Executive Vice President introduced the programmes for entrepreneurship and the updates of the PolyU 85th Anniversary; Prof. Kwok-yin Wong, Vice President (Education) shared with students on the teaching & learning arrangements during the pandemic; and Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), introduced the services provided by the Student Affairs Office, the Global Engagement Office, and the Culture Promotion and Events Office. The major areas of concern raised by students include the arrangements of study, outbound exchange, career and pandemic support. The sharing session provided a good opportunity to foster communication and mutual understanding between our students and the University. 

GSAP Swearing-in Ceremony 2021/22

The annual signature event “Global Student Ambassador Programme: Swearing-in Ceremony 2021/22” was held online on 16 February 2022. Professor Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), delivered a speech to welcome the new ambassadors, indicating the appreciation on their commitment and the importance of their continuous learning in various aspects. In view of the local pandemic situation, the participants "travelled" to a virtual mini-metaverse where Professor Young and Professor Albert Chan, Dean of Students, kicked off the ceremony. The professors also served as the witnesses as over 85 ambassadors made their pledge to become a Global Student Ambassador. A group photo was taken to commemorate this memorable moment after the pledge. To conclude the ceremony in a fun and interactive way, an online game "How much do you know PolyU?", was prepared to test how well the ambassadors knew of the University, such as PolyU's latest achievements and historic events.

First-ever collaborative talk series with Chinese Mainland Students’ Association on scam

To step up combating actions against deception and enhance university students’ awareness of various kinds of deception and scams, SAO and the Chinese Mainland Students’ Association (中國內地學生協會) jointly initiated a collaborative talk series and co-organised the first talk at the beginning of Semester 2 on 14 January 2022. The talk was tailormade to motivate mainland students to learn more about telephone deception tricks and to raise the awareness of cultivating a caring network to safeguard the well-being of their peers who might fall prey to fraudulent crimes.  Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), Prof Ben Young, supported the initiative amid the surge of telephone deception cases in which more and more university students, in particular those from the Chinese Mainland, have been tricked by fraudsters into handing over personal bank information to scam callers who claim to be bank staff, mainland officials or law enforcers. The talk was delivered online by experienced speakers from the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC, 反詐騙協調中心) of Hong Kong Police Force and was well received by around 70 students at undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels. Anti-scam alert pamphlets and promotional gifts produced by ADCC were given out to equip students with additional tips for recognising and combating spam and scam calls.

Dean of Students Talk Series: Bionic Human and the Quest for Transcendence

Over 130 participants joined the  Dean of Students Talk on “Bionic Human and the Quest for Transcendence” held on 26 November 2021 in hybrid mode. Prof. Arthur Fuk-Tat Mak, Adjunct Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, shared his knowledge and views on the development of bionic technology, the reference of bionic human in mass media, and the human quest for transcendence. A Q&A session, facilitated by the Dean of Students Prof. Albert Chan, was conducted after Prof. Mak’s insightful sharing. Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and International Affairs), presented a souvenir to Prof. Mak as a token of thanks at the end of the talk.

Annual Gathering of INSPIRE Mentorship Programme

The Annual Gathering of “INSPIRE” Mentorship Programme was held at Jockey Club Auditorium on 27 October 2021. This occasion provided an opportunity for PolyU to express our wholehearted gratitude to all the 109 highly-esteemed Mentors, who facilitated the holistic education experience of the 349 student Mentees through heart-to-heart communication and positive role modelling, and promoted their all-round development in Academic Year 2020/21. The event was kicked off by President Jin-Guang Teng, who delivered a welcome address, and followed by Prof. Haitian Lu, Chairman of Task Force on “INSPIRE” Mentorship Programme, who shared updates on “INSPIRE”. A video prepared by Mentees was played, where they shared their takeaways from the Programme and expressed their heartfelt gratitude to their Mentors. After group photo-taking of PolyU representatives and Mentors, a sharing session between Mentors and Mentees was conducted. Dr Charles Lam, Managing Director, Real Estate of Baring Private Equity Asia, and Mr Stephen Au, Managing Director of MTECH Engineering Co. Ltd., along with 4 of their Mentees, came onto the stage and talked about their experience of the Programme. As a token of appreciation to Dr Lam and Mr Au, Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and International Affairs) and Prof. Albert Chan, Dean of Students presented a souvenir to them respectively at the end of the sharing session to wrap up the event.

Dean of Students Talk Series: Reborn as an Astropreneur

Dr Gregg Li, aka Dr G, the executive chairman of The Orion Astropreneur Space Academy (Hong Kong), delivered a Dean of Students Talk titled “Reborn as an Astropreneur” on 22 October 2021. Dr G shared why space entrepreneurship is the new frontier, its importance, and how can one take the first step to become an astropreneur. Facilitated by Prof. Albert Chan, Dean of Students, a Q&A session was conducted after Dr G’s interesting sharing. To express our appreciation, Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Student and International Affairs) presented a souvenir to Dr G as a conclusion of the talk.

Grand Opening Ceremony of the Global Student Hub

The Grand Opening Ceremony of the Global Student Hub was successfully held on 18 October 2021 (Monday).  The official ceremony was graced by the presence of the Deputy President and Provost Prof. Wing-tak Wong, together with the Central Management Team and over 70 staff members and students. Addressing the ceremony, Prof. Wing-tak Wong said, “The Global Student Hub is a new on-campus facility.  It is a key step towards further promoting student development, integration and internationalisation. The University is not just providing a new physical space for student activities, it is providing a place to help develop our local and non-local students’ ability to connect with peers from diverse backgrounds and to become more open-minded in embracing cultural differences  – an invaluable quality in our inter-connected world.”  Student performers from the Hall Dance Team and the Indonesian Student Association, non-local students and orchestra members added colours to the occasion with their cultural performances.

PolyU Blood Donation Campaign 2021

Riding on the success of the PolyU Blood Donation Campaign held since 2018, PolyU’s Student Affairs Office and Global Engagement Office, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service (BTS), organised the Blood Donation Campaign from 5 – 7 Oct (Mobile blood drive) & 25 – 28 October (Promotion vehicle to drive collection to PolyU Donor Centre). Over 550 students and staff members participated in the blood donation campaign, with 414 units of blood collected successfully. Among these successful blood donation cases, 72% or 299 of them were first-time donors. In recognition of PolyU’s continued support in driving blood donation on campus and promoting a positive message to the public, Dr C K Lee, Chief Executive and Medical Director of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, presented the “Elite Partnership Award 2021” to Prof. Ben Young, Vice President (Students and International Affairs). Newly launched in 2021, the award recognises some very enthusiastic partners in the commercial and community sectors that contribute to blood donation in Hong Kong.