News & Stories
2019
News
Let's Not Bottle It with Plastic Recycling
By Prof. Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) of Business and Management, HKUST
Distilled water manufacturer Watsons Water announced in January that it is installing 400 reverse water bottle recycling vending machines in town.
People who put used bottles into the machines will receive coupons or gift redemptions.
The purpose is to educate the public about reducing plastic waste, backed by greater financial incentives.
Given Hong Kong's rapidly filling landfills, I am surprised people don't recycle more regularly.
There is probably a mix of reasons for this, including a lack of awareness of the scope of the problem, the relatively low visibility of other people recycling, and, most importantly, the fact that it is still very inconvenient for most to recycle.
News
New MSc in FinTech equip students with inter-disciplinary skills
The innovations and rationalizations made possible by digital technology continue to transform the financial services industry. To help prepare skilled professionals and entrepreneurs who will shape a tech-driven future, three HKUST schools have combined their strengths to create a new master’s degree in Financial Technology (MSc in FinTech) Program.
News
2025 Ambition might not Fly for China
Prof. Rhea Liem, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The "Made in China 2025" initiative - first announced in 2015 to close the gap between the Chinese and Western technological prowess - was not mentioned at the opening session of the National People's Congress this month.
Critics say the omission was to appease Washington amid turbulent Sino-US trade negotiations.
Politics aside, as the 2025 timeframe is about halfway through, are the goals - with one key focus being making its jetliners to take up to 20 percent of the global market - still achievable?
A few months back, the C919 of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or Comac, landed safely in Shanghai, showcasing China's upgraded aircraft-manufacturing capabilities.
Expected to commercially operate in 2021, C919 is a narrow-body twinjet airliner that is the equivalent of the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737.
News
Go with the Flow to Fix Health Woes
Prof. Jin Qi, Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering & Decision Analytics
Freshly announced in the budget three weeks ago, a new HK$10 billion stabilization fund has been earmarked to soothe Hong Kong’s manpower-starved public medical sector.
While we welcome the initiative, we can’t help but wonder – if public hospitals are currently short-staffed and new blood requires training time – how we can cope with swamped outpatient clinics during future peak flu seasons?
Media reports last month indicated that every public ward exceeded capacity, with some patients queuing for over eight hours to see a doctor.
The inpatient bed occupancy rates of every hospital, aside from North Lantau and Tin Shui Wai hospitals, exceeded 100 percent almost on a daily basis.
Scarce resources require carefully planned policies to ensure optimal bed allocation and quality services.