24 July 2024
As the second semester closed, it is time to celebrate our major achievements, which demonstrate the dedication, hard work and excellence of our entire HKBU community. These achievements underscore our global recognition and affirm our strategic direction towards becoming a leading university in the region.
The University undertakes organisational re-alignments that are conducive to a transdisciplinary environment. A significant step took place on 1 July, when the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences was established.
Combining the decades-long academic excellence of the then Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Social Sciences, the establishment of the new Faculty is a strategic move to promote transdisciplinarity with a more collaborative academic environment. It is part of the University’s plan to expand its transdisciplinary teaching and learning opportunities to enhance students’ knowledge and competitive edge. Scholars will also find increasing opportunities to engage in innovative, transdisciplinary collaborative research that extends the frontiers of knowledge. I look forward to the limitless opportunities created when the brightest minds meet under this inspiring setting, and make impactful contributions to humanities.
Earlier this academic year, we proceeded to the second phase of our Institutional Strategic Plan (2023-2028). A key focus of the refreshed strategic plan is the introduction of the new research cluster “Humanities and Cultures”, bringing together the strengths of disciplines such as philosophy, literature, social work, sociology, geography, history, political science, learning sciences and human development, communication and economics.
This addition complements our three existing research clusters of Creative Media/Practice, Health and Drug Discovery, as well as Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is a strategic move that marks our dedication to support Hong Kong’s positioning as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, and to foster transdisciplinarity in the academic domain.
Results of HKBU in several international ranking exercises released since May this year are delightful and offered us insights into how we are doing in different aspects. We have risen to the top 101-200th band in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2024 and ranked 2nd globally in “Quality Education”, a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, which underscores our commitment to providing inclusive and equitable education. In THE’s Asia University Rankings and Young University Rankings 2024, HKBU has increased from the 105th to 63rd place and from the 101-150th band to 46th place, respectively. Marking our best performance since 2013, HKBU has climbed 43 places to the 252nd position in the 2025 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.
These encouraging results are external recognition of our teaching, learning and research excellence, underpinned by colleagues’ ongoing dedication and hard work as well as the University’s academic strategies.
Another perhaps even more solid representation of universities’ performances is their social impact.
HKBU has been recognised for creating profound social impact, with two HKBU translational research projects having received funding in May from the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus (RAISe+) Scheme under the Innovation and Technology Commission. The projects include the Advanced Point-of-care Molecular Systems for Clinical and Non-Clinical Applications and the new Chinese herbal medicine for treating functional constipation in the elderly.
To spark in-depth discussions on the impact of AI on the humanities and society, HKBU organised the International Symposium on Humanities, Societies and Digital Futures on 21 to 22 March at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Harnessing cutting-edge art technology, we presented the HKBU Symphony Orchestra Annual Gala Concert on 19 and 20 April under the theme “East West Encounters”, offering audiences a unique immersive art experience. At the concert, the HKBU Symphony Orchestra performed Dance of the Yao People and featured AI-generated virtual Yao dancers who danced alongside the live orchestra.
On 28 and 29 May, we organised the inaugural FoodMed Conference themed “Integrating Food and Chinese Medicine: Exploring Science, Technology, and Holistic Approaches for Health”. It is a fruitful convergence of some 300 researchers, practitioners, industry innovators, investors, experts, and regulatory officials from the fields of food and Chinese medicine to explore food’s therapeutic potential.
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games are set to begin on 26 July and 28 August respectively. Four HKBU’s elite athletes, namely, Cheung Ka Long (Fencing – Foil), Lo Wai Fung (Taekwondo), Ma Kwan Ching (Windsurfing – iQFOiL) and Chan Ho Yuen (Badminton-WH2) will be representing Hong Kong, China to compete in these grand international sporting events. Let’s cheer for our HKBU athletes and Hong Kong athletes. Wishing them every success in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The University is committed to academic excellence with real-world sports science applications. To actively participate in the global sporting events, HKBU will host the “Journey to Excellence: HKBU in Paris” symposium in Paris on 28 and 29 July during Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The symposium will delve into two topics: “Enhancing Life Outside Sport for Olympians and Elite Athletes” and “Science, Technology, AI and Sport”. To promote HKBU’s academic advancements and sportsmanship to a wider community, the public can revisit the content of this symposium through videos on HKBU’s official social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Wechat Video Channel and Weibo).
These are just some recent examples which reflect our determination and actions to become a leading university that can make a difference in the academic world and society, a vision that is well-articulated in our strategic direction. I am sure they will inspire further confidence among all our stakeholders and serve as encouragement to the HKBU community for continuous enhancement of our teaching, learning, research and other endeavours in the future.