HKUST Annual Report 2023-2024

8 President’s Report Reshaping the Boundaries of Knowledge Retaining and attracting top talent is critical. To enhance our talent development pipeline, several cutting-edge education and research initiatives were introduced over the past year. The Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS) was launched to expand research possibilities, and to nurture future leaders equipped with the skills to address critical challenges such as climate change and public health. A significant milestone was the establishment of Hong Kong’s first Division of Arts and Machine Creativity within AIS, to investigate how the convergence of technology, the arts, and the humanities can drive innovation—an essential focus of the Strategic Plan 2031. We also took major steps towards establishing a third medical school in Hong Kong. Our vision is to create innovative programs to cultivate tech-savvy clinicians with strong medicine knowledge, clinical skills and research capabilities to address the diverse healthcare needs of society. In support of these efforts, we signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Beijing Tiantan Hospital and Peking Union Medical College to jointly nurture innovative medical professionals. The University will host young medical doctors and medical students from Mainland China to enhance their research skills starting from September 2024. We also launched the International Hub of AI for Medicine program, which invites PhD students from around the world to engage in advanced medical technology research, including new drugs and vaccine development. In other groundbreaking AI initiatives over the period, HKUST educators actively investigated best practices in AI, digital education, and the metaverse realm, resulting in the development of Asia’s first AI lecturer. We also established a state-of-the-art AI high-performance computing facility, designed to explore AI applications across various disciplines, to enhance our research capabilities. Additionally, the fourth HKUST-led InnoHK Center was launched. This center focuses on generative AI research and development, and promises to further cement Hong Kong’s position as an international innovation and technology hub. We also solidified plans to set up a satellite campus in the Northern Metropolis to develop interdisciplinary education, medicine for the future, and innovation and technology. Funding Boost to Propel Our Research Forward The quality and relevance of our academic research continued to be recognized by prestigious funding bodies over the past year. Three HKUST-led projects were awarded a total of HK$167 million through the Hong Kong Government’s prestigious Areas of Excellence and Theme-based Research Schemes from 2023-24. HKUST also secured the greatest number of funded projects