HKUST Annual Report 2023-2024

7 HKUST Annual Report 2023-2024 President’s Report Striding Ahead in Global Recognition Over the past year, the University’s capabilities and world-leading achievements were affirmed by various eminent rankings. HKUST is among the top 50 universities globally (QS World University Rankings 2025) and excels in 12 specific fields (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024), particularly AI leadership (No. 10 globally and No. 1 in Greater China for Data Science and AI). For the ninth consecutive year, HKUST placed among the top three in the Times Higher Education’s (THE) Young University Rankings. In addition, we took the city’s top spot in relation to our graduates’ employability in the workforce (THE Global Employability University Ranking and Survey 2023-24), and contributions to global sustainable development (THE Impact Rankings 2024). We are also among the top 20 globally in the latter ranking. Future-Ready Planning To have a global impact in today’s competitive and rapidly changing environment, we must be quick to adapt to new challenges and continuously strengthen our academic and research capabilities. The Strategic Plan 2031, building on the foundation laid by previous strategies and the objectives outlined in the HKUST Vision Plan 3.0, aims to elevate HKUST to new heights and achieve our aspirations to be: a university that nurtures talents; an international leader in education and research; a pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship; an exemplar of best-in-class sustainable and high quality practices; and a champion of diversity, inclusiveness, and openness. Fostering a Hub of Trailblazing Leaders The success of an institution hinges on its people, and I am pleased to report that we recruited many talented individuals over the past year. Notable new senior management members include Prof. TAM Kar-Yan ^ , a founding member of the Business School who joined HKUST in 1992 and now serves as Vice-President for Administration and Business, and Ir. John KWONG Ka- Sing*, an accomplished engineering professional and long-serving Hong Kong government administrator, who now serves as our inaugural Vice-President for Development. Our efforts to recruit top academic talent have also been successful. Since the start of my term, we have added over 70 # faculty members from around the globe. These accomplished scholars are pushing the boundaries of knowledge in key areas such as biomedical science and translational medicine, artificial intelligence, future computing, and electronics, while also enhancing our teaching efforts. ^ Effective on July 1, 2024 * Effective on September 26, 2024 # As of June 30, 2024