Prof. Harry SHUM Appointed HKUST Council Chairman | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) welcomes the appointment of Prof. Harry SHUM Heung-Yeung as the next Chairman of the University Council for a term of three years starting from March 6, 2023. Three new Council members have also been appointed. 
 
Prof. Shum will succeed incumbent Council Chairman the Hon Mr. Andrew LIAO Cheung-Sing.  Mr. Liao is appointed Chairman of the HKUST Court - the supreme advisory body of the University, replacing Dr. John CHAN Cho-Chak, who will become the Pro-Chancellor of the HKUST.
 
Prof. Shum is a renowned computer scientist and science and technology leader. He was the Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence and Research Group, responsible for driving the company’s overall AI strategy and forward-looking research and development efforts spanning infrastructure, services, apps and agents. He oversaw AI-focused product groups including Bing. He also led Microsoft Research, one of the world’s premier computer science research organizations, and its integration with the engineering teams across the company.

Prof. Shum has been widely recognized for his pioneering research in the computer science field. He is Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). He has also been elected to the National Academy of Engineering of the US (NAE) as a Foreign Member and the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK (RAE) as an International Fellow. 
 
Prof. Shum’s ties with HKUST go back more than two decades. He served as an adjunct faculty at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering from December 2000, was conferred an honorary fellowship by HKUST in 2011, and was HKUST Jockey Club IAS Professor-at-Large. 
 
Prof. Shum expressed his honor to be appointed the next Council Chairman of HKUST. “I have deep affection for this wonderful university, which has risen to become one of the world’s best universities in just a little over three decades. I will do my best to work hand in hand with my fellow Council Members, President Nancy Ip, the University Court, HKUST faculty, staff, students and alumni, and all our other stakeholders to deploy HKUST’s strengths to steer Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology hub and contribute to the Greater Bay Area by nurturing future leaders."

HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP also welcomed the appointment of Prof. Shum while expressing gratitude to Dr. Chan and Mr. Liao for their significant contributions to the University. “Prof. Shum is a renowned scientist, and an accomplished leader. I look forward to working with him to move the University forward according to our strategic direction. I also take this opportunity to express deep appreciation to Dr. John Chan and Mr. Andrew Liao for their sterling leadership and dedicated service. Chairman Liao’s foresight to establish HKUST(GZ) and spearhead the development of the “Unified HKUST, Complementary Campuses” framework has placed HKUST in an enviable position and secured continued future growth.” 
 
“I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to the profound contributions of Dr. John Chan, for his leadership and guidance in the planning and formation of the University’s development plans spanning two decades.  I am delighted to see Dr. Chan and Mr. Liao in their new roles and look forward to working with them as we set to embark on our transformative HKUST 3.0 journey,” she added. 

Mr. Liao, who will step down from his role as the Council Chairman after eight years, said he felt privileged to drive some of the most important developments of HKUST during his tenure. “With the support of the government, patrons, and the dedicated members of Council and the HKUST community, we have established a strong foundation for the University’s onward development. In particular, the opening of the Shaw Auditorium in 2021 and our new Guangzhou campus last year have launched a new era for HKUST. I congratulate Prof. Shum on his new appointment, and look forward to taking the University forward together with him and the President.” 

The other three newly appointed Council members are Ms. Kitty CHOI Kit-Yu, Ms. LO Po-Man, and Mr. Sebastian MAN Shiu-Wai. They will succeed current members Wilson FUNG Ying-Wai upon expiry of his term on March 31, 2023, and Mrs. Helen KAN and Dr. Samuel YUNG Wing-Ki respectively upon expiry of their terms on July 31, 2023.  President Ip thanks them for their contributions to the University’s governance in the areas of auditing, institutional advancement and outreach as well as the establishment of HKUST(GZ). 

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 3rd in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2022, 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 2022, HKUST members have founded 1,645 active start-ups, including 9 Unicorns and 8 IPO companies, 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.