HKUST Welcomes LegCo’s Passage of HKUST (Amendment) Bill 2023 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) welcomes the passage of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Amendment) Bill 2023 (the Amendment Bill) by the Legislative Council (LegCo) today (July 13, 2023), which marks a significant milestone to enhance HKUST’s capability to support Hong Kong’s development into a global innovation and technology (I&T) hub and maximize opportunities arising from relevant I&T policies.

The Amendment Bill removed the restriction on the maximum number of Vice-Presidents at HKUST, allowing the University greater flexibility in its strategic manpower planning. 

HKUST Council Chairman, Prof. Harry SHUM, also expressed gratitude to LegCo for passing the bill. He said, “With the timely passage of the Amendment Bill, HKUST is better positioned to seize the opportunities arising from the national and local policies aimed at developing Hong Kong into an international I&T hub anchored in the Greater Bay Area. The removal of the restriction enables us to recruit additional Vice-President(s) who would help HKUST to develop strategic areas in support of innovation, knowledge transfer and humanities, enhance our competitiveness, and facilitate our talent recruitment and retention on all fronts.”

HKUST President, Prof. Nancy IP, added, “A university’s greatness is shaped by its people. With more high-caliber leaders joining the senior management team, HKUST shall drive new education and research initiatives, find new resources, and build a wider platform through collaboration with our Guangzhou campus. This will create plentiful opportunities for talented researchers and innovators to pursue their dreams, which will fuel the growth of a vibrant I&T ecosystem in Hong Kong, paving the way for HKUST to become the most innovative university in Asia as we begin our HKUST 3.0 journey.”

HKUST Court Chairman, the Hon. Andrew LIAO Cheung-Sing, said, “As HKUST is entering a new phase of development, there is an urgent need to strengthen its senior management structure to steer its new initiatives, including those for cultivating talents crucial for Hong Kong’s economic transformation, in support of Government’s policies aimed at developing the city into an international I&T hub under the Country’s 14th five-year plan. Since the establishment of HKUST(Guangzhou), we have deepened our collaborations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and other provinces and cities across the nation. We are very grateful for LegCo’s support and appreciate the valuable insights provided by esteemed Members. I am sure HKUST will continue to thrive and soar under the enhanced leadership.”

The Amendment Bill as passed will become effective upon gazettal. 

About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (https://hkust.edu.hk/) is a world-class research intensive university that focuses on science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. HKUST offers an international campus, and a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. Over 80% of our research work were rated “Internationally excellent” or “world leading” in the Research Assessment Exercise 2020 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee. We were ranked 2nd in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2023, and our graduates were ranked 30th worldwide and among the best from universities from Asia in Global Employability University Ranking and Survey 2022. As of early 2023, HKUST members have founded 1,645 active start-ups, including 9 Unicorns and 11 exits (IPO or M&A), generating economic impact worth over HK$400billion. InvestHK cited QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021 to demonstrate the performance of five world’s top 100 local universities in several innovation-centric areas, among which HKUST ranked top in four engineering and materials science subjects.