News & Stories

In today’s workplace where many employers favor technical know-how over emotional aptitude, soft skills seem to be less desirable but for Professor Kellee TSAI, Dean of HKUST’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS), creativity is deemed to be an essential skill for the future of work. The world is moving toward automation at speed, today’s cutting edge technology and patents may become obsolete within years, while skills like critical thinking and creativity on the other hand, do not. At a time when AI and other forms of advanced machine learning are gaining prominence, it would be unwise for humans to only focus on mastering abilities that can be easily outsourced to computers, warns Prof. Tsai.

Three School of Engineering faculty members were honored in the Ministry of Education’s 2018 Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology). These significant national awards recognize leading contributions to scientific discovery and technological innovation carried out in tertiary institutions across China.

Researchers of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Science recently identified that an enzyme called atlastin (ATL) is used to regulate the transportation of proteins within cells. This novel finding offers new insights into the pathology of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia – a rare inherited disorder with symptoms of lower limb spasticity accompanied by possible neurological deficiencies. 

When I was in secondary school, my physics teacher, who was among HKUST's first batch of graduates, always encouraged me and my classmates to explore scientific questions according to our interests, even though those questions are outside the syllabus. With his encouragement and guidance, we participated in science competitions in high school, paving the way for my continuation of scientific pursuits ever since. Many of us in the science stream then were lucky to be able to receive comprehensive scientific training and study subjects such as additional maths, biology, physics and chemistry in addition to Chinese, English and maths for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Exam. At the Advanced Level, we could focus on three science subjects in addition to English and Chinese. This gave us plenty of exposure to science subjects and room to explore the areas we liked most.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the China Banking Association, Shenzhen University, and the China Construction Bank University to co-develop a professional qualification for Fintech practitioners in China. This collaboration manifests a pioneering effort between Mainland China and Hong Kong to establish a nation-wide qualification framework and enhance professionalism for the fast-moving FinTech industry. As a major FinTech intellectual powerhouse in Asia, HKUST Business School is not only undertaking a major government-funded research project on FinTech, but also offering training programs to nurture talent for the industry. With unrivaled knowledge in the field, HKUST is the only institution from Hong Kong represented in this meaningful cross-border collaboration.

Rachel HUANG, a final year student of Global Business and Operations Management, remembers vividly how she was shocked and saddened to see people living in extreme poverty in a drought-hit village in India as she took part in volunteer work to take care of the homeless women and children there. The unforgettable experiences made Rachel, who grew up in Taiwan and has lived a comfortable city life, realize she should never take things for granted. Moreover, it planted the passion in her heart that she wanted to do something to help the needy. “The place we live in is far too safe and comfortable. We can hardly imagine what other people’s lives are like in other corners of the world that are unsecured and unstable,” she comments. “Only when you are in that place, you can feel strongly that there is a totally different way of life. Then you start to think about what I can do for them? And what role can I play in this world?”

The global race for fifth generation supremacy is under way, with countries competing to be the first to provide 5G mobile broadband services. The ultra-fast network will prompt inventions, of which today we cannot even dream. Countries around the world have devoted much resources to developing, manufacturing and deploying the new equipment necessary for 5G transmissions. China, for instance, has recently become highly influential in the field with its ability to develop infrastructure for 5G systems worldwide. In Asia, Hong Kong has been blamed for being slow to launch the new service in comparison with the mainland, South Korea and Japan. Actually, a delay is not necessarily a bad thing, as it allows Hong Kong to have a longer testing period to ensure a more reliable and decent 5G mobile service. Hong Kong's privately-owned telecom market is very competitive and cautious.

The HKUST Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Team was crowned the All-Around Champion and Engineering Presentation Champion in the MATE International ROV Competition 2019, which was held on June 20-22 in Kingsport, Tennessee, US. This marks the second time that the team receives all-around championship in this international competition since they first participated in 2011, after the first time in 2017. They are also the only Asian team so far that gained this top accolade in the 18-year history of this competition.