HKUST Annual Report 2021-2022

We are also encouraging every member of our campus community to work toward meeting our ambitious medium-term water, energy, waste, and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Our Sustainable Smart Campus as a Living Lab (SSC) initiative (https://ssc. hkust.edu.hk ) is an excellent example of these efforts in action. Starting in 2018, SSC has been substantially funded out of the University budgets for 2019 to 2022. To date, SSC has funded some 30-plus HKUST projects that have enabled over 150 faculty and 400 students to test their solutions within the campus environment. FUTURE-PROOFING INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESOURCES A particular highlight of the University’s year-long 30th anniversary celebration came with the opening of the multi-purpose Shaw Auditorium in November 2021. Thanks to the generous support of the Shaw Foundation Hong Kong and many alumni and supporters, the new facility is a valuable addition to the local cultural scene and a magnet for arts, creativity and community-wide partnerships. Effectively a “classroom beyond the classroom”, its ultimate aim is to further enrich HKUST’s humanistic development. Other major capital works developments include the Martin Ka Shing Lee Innovation Building and another new research block where the Li Ka Shing Institute of Synthetic Biology will be housed. Set to commence operations in a few years’ time, both hubs will add capacity for research and knowledge transfer in emerging areas and expand our current 44,000-sqm lab space by more than 30%. We have also reconfigured a further 3,400 sqm of non-academic related space use for research and other academic purposes. Specific examples include our remodelling of the Lo Ka Chung University Centre for the relocating of our institutes of robotics and big data, and the launch of a new 254-seat Research Postgraduate Hub, etc. Significant financial resources will be required to support and sustain these many initiatives and projects. In addition to the recurring support of the University Grants Committee (UGC), we have been able to secure additional funding via multiple sources, including the Hong Kong Research Matching Grant Scheme, donation pledges, technology transfer income, and additional government financial support for infrastructure development. As of June 30, 2022, the University maintained a healthy reserve of HK$12bn to ensure its continued ability to keep pace with the rapid development. In consecutive rounds, HKUST has won UGC’s favourable reviews and increased student numbers for the triennium block grant applications. Combining new and expanded academic programs, both disciplinary and cross-disciplinary, expanded faculty size and depth, modernized research facilities, fusion of science, technology with social studies and human creativity, and highly visible escalation of knowledge transfer including entrepreneurship and industrial collaboration, our HKUST 2.0 vision remains very much on track. I will conclude my Presidency of HKUST in mid-October. As a member of the University since 2010, I bid a fond farewell to my many colleagues, students, alumni and friends for your collaboration, support and partnership. In closing, I would also like you to join with me in wishing my successor, Prof. Nancy Y. IP, and her administrative team every success as HKUST begins the next chapter in its journey. President Prof. Wei SHYY JP On student residential life, the Jockey Club Global Graduate Tower, which comes with pioneering green and sustainable amenities, opened last year to accommodate 500 plus students . Our forthcoming 1,551-bed Jockey Club i-Village was also recognized with a prestigious industry award that reflected HKUST’s commitment to creating a truly eco-friendly smart green campus while also fulfilling its pledge to allow all undergraduate students to enjoy at least one year of on-campus living experience. 6