HKUST Annual Report 2024-2025

13 P R E S I D E N T ’ S R E P O R T engagement, we advanced key partnerships with major mainland enterprises. These included delivering an executive training program for the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) in collaboration with HKUST(GZ) and the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy, and fortifying a research and talent development alliance with China Telecom Group. Internationally, I was appointed to the Steering Committee of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) for 2025–27, while HKUST served as the elected Chair of the Association of East Asian Research Universities (AEARU) for 2024–25. Further elevating our global profile, we co-hosted the prestigious Molecular Frontiers Symposium 2024 with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences—marking the first time this symposium was held in Greater China. The flagship event brought four Nobel laureates to our campus and engaged over 1,500 participants. VITALIZING SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE ACTION I am gratified that HKUST’s commitment to sustainability on our campus and beyond continues to gain global recognition, as reflected in our top 20 position in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (No. 19). These rankings assess universities’ contributions to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and 2,500 institutions were evaluated in 2025. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, PARTNERSHIPS, AND INTERNATIONAL THOUGHT LEADERSHIP HKUST’s broader impact was felt across multiple additional domains—from social responsibility initiatives and partnerships with mainland universities to leadership in international academic networks and participation in major global forums. Over the past year, our long-established Hong Kong Connect initiative organized 70 service programs and multiple service- learning trips to the Chinese Mainland and overseas. We signed Memoranda of Understanding with over 40 leading international , mainland, and local universities and hospitals to extend our medical network and conducted our first short course for 25 senior healthcare executives under “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Medical and Health Scholarship-cum-Fellowship for Top Talent in the Mainland.” To deepen strategic industry