News & Stories

A team of undergraduate students at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a wheelchair which is not only cheap, but is also safe and effective enough to be crowned silver in the powered wheelchair race of Cybathlon - the world’s first "Bionic Olympics", against competitors including Imperial College of London and ETH Zurich. Developed by a team of seven HKUST students in just eight months’ time, the wheelchair, driven by pilot Carol Ng Cho-yu from the Hong Kong Federation of Handicapped Youth, finished the race comprising six obstacles – which include stair climbing and crossing uneven surface, in 3 minutes 39 seconds, just five seconds behind the Champion. The team – supervised by Prof Robin Ma, Prof Michael Wang and Prof Christopher Chao from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is planning to refine and commercialize the product to make it Hong Kong’s most affordable stair-climbing wheelchair.

HKUST Information Day was held on 24 September 2016 to kick-start the student recruitment for 2017/18. Over 30,000 visitors including prospective students, parents and teachers joined the Information Day.

There is no better proof of the University’s high-profile research focus and dedication to education innovation than its Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). Through this program, students have the opportunity to engage in research projects under the guidance of world-class researchers at home and abroad, publish in leading international journals, and present at international conferences.Since its first launch in 2005, the program has helped myriad over 2,500 students to develop insightful perspectives in their chosen areas, for the demonstrable benefit of Hong Kong. 379 students and 142 professors participated in 292 projects in the 2015-16 academic year alone. And upon completion of the program, all students are eligible for entry into the annual UROP Awards.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)’s inaugural “HeadStart@HKUST Program” (HeadStart) aims to offer first and second year undergraduate students a “head-start” in the increasingly global and competitive society through an early workplace immersion and career development scheme. Initiated by HKUST Council Members Catherine Leung, Prof Jack Lau and Prof May-yi Shaw, Assistant Professor of Humanities Education of the Division of Humanities, the program was launched in February. Unlike common internship programs, HeadStart consists of three components – Internship, Mentorship, and Fellowship – that are designed to provide students with a holistic workplace training and career enrichment experience.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) concluded the hosting of the inaugural Times Higher Education Asia Universities Summit on 21 June and signed agreements at the Summit with four leading universities, namely the University of Glasgow, Jagiellonian University, the University of Warwick and University of Waterloo to foster international exchange opportunities for students. The two-day Asia Universities Summit was hosted by HKUST, featuring as speakers some 30 presidents, chancellors and rectors from fast-rising and top universities in 15 countries and cities around the globe, including Mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, the United States, and the United Kingdom, among others.  Some 260 delegates of higher education and other sectors from over 20 countries attended the Summit and shared their insights into nurturing creativity and innovation.

The undergraduate programs at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s School of Business and Management (HKUST Business School) have earned a reputation for winning top prizes in local business competitions. Several teams have been successful in major professional institute competitions organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), the Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts (HKSFA), and the Institute of Financial Planners of Hong Kong (IFPHK).

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is committed to nurturing students into innovative problem solvers with a sense of responsibilities towards the community. The Division of Biomedical Engineering under the Interdisciplinary Program Office has launched a new program that allows undergraduate students to transform their creativity into innovative solutions for health care problems around the world.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is the first local university to co-host the “National Challenge Cup”, a prestigious competition branded as the Olympiad of Science and Technology for university students. HKUST held the newly-introduced Theme-based Competition of the National Challenge Cup in which students from various countries showcased their creative ideas and innovation solutions of developing Smart Green Cities.