HKUST Annual Report 2022-2023

26 27 Adding to our existing array of institutes, centers and joint laboratories, seven further research units were approved for establishment over 2022-23 to drive innovative solutions in strategic research areas. Some resulted from Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with partners from different sectors, embodying the University’s commitment to knowledge transfer through academic-industry collaboration. • Greater Eurasia Research Center • Center for Smart Manufacturing • PIESAT Center for Remote Sensing Application Research • HKUST-HKSI Joint Center for Sports Science and Technology • HKUST-KF Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Technologies • HKUST-China Unicom Joint Laboratory on Smart Society • HKUST-China Resources Joint Center on Brain Science In a major development of campus infrastructure to support research, the University broke ground on the Martin Ka Shing Lee Innovation Building in November 2022. Adding state-of-the-art facilities in science and engineering, the project is expected to be completed at the end of 2025. Supported by a generous donation of HK$150 million from Dr. Martin LEE Ka-Shing, the eight-story building is constructed with green materials (Sustainable Horizons, P.50). Laboratories will cover robotics, AI, data science, sustainable living, and health science, among others. Further funding was approved for another research building to provide additional space for research and development in life and chemical sciences and technologies, with construction scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023 and completion expected by the third quarter of 2026. Design is underway for a third new research building. Upon the completion of all three buildings, the total research lab space of the University will be expanded by approximately 30%.