News & Stories

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will launch Hong Kong’s first undergraduate program in ocean science and technology this September, to nurture a young generation of new professionals with first-hand experience on the investigation, conservation and management of marine environment.

By Mow Wai-ho, Associate Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering, HKUST Compared with the mainland, Hong Kong seems to be lagging behind in adopting QR codes for financial transactions. However, innovators in Hong Kong are not standing still in developing the next generation of barcodes that can revolutionize the way we do business. For example, my research team is continuing to work on PiCode, a barcode variant that utilizes images instead of the black-and-white lines and blocks that comprise conventional barcodes and QR codes. We have spent almost five years researching picture- and video-embedded codes, and are now in the demonstration phase. Picture-embedded barcodes offer considerable potential in consumer marketing. Many people may find regular barcodes intrusive, and businesses have searched for ways to transmit data and information to consumers in a more pleasing format.

A joint research team of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and The South China Normal University (SCNU) has set a new record of photonic quantum memory efficiency, pushing quantum computation a step closer to reality. Like memories in computers, quantum memories are essential components for quantum computers – a new generation of data processors that obey quantum mechanics laws and can overcome the limitations of classical computers. They may push boundaries of fundamental science and help create new drugs, explain cosmological mysteries, or enhance accuracy of forecasts and optimization plans with their potent computational power. Quantum computers are expected to be much faster and more powerful than their traditional counterparts as information is calculated in qubits – which unlike the older units (bits) used in classical computers, can represent both 0 and 1 at the same time.  

Edith Lee has experienced serious heartbreaks when she narrowly missed out on qualifying for world-class archery competitions not only once, but twice. The computer science and engineering student, who is one of the city’s top recurve bow archers, is now taking her gap year before resuming her final year study in September, after her disqualification for the World University Championships and the Asian Games. Edith studied science subjects in secondary school but she admits she was never a top student, so had never dreamed of studying in a university. But in order to follow her idol Korean archer Ki Bo Bae’s path to compete in the World University Archery Championships, she studied extremely hard and was admitted to HKUST in 2015.

The Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA (EMBA) Program is ranked the top in the world in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Global EMBA Rankings 2019.For the third time, QS profiles the world’s top EMBA programs, including a separate chart for the best joint EMBA programs offered as partnerships across more than one school. The Kellogg-HKUST EMBA has not only ranked the best joint EMBA program for the second time in three years, but also scored a perfect 100 in two of the five indicators used to compile the ranking, namely “employer reputation” and “career outcomes”. Launched in 1998, the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA is the first joint EMBA program in Asia and has maintained its leading position for over two decades. In addition to the latest QS Rankings, the Program made a record-setting achievement last year by topping the Financial Times Global EMBA Rankings for the ninth time.

By Jason Chan, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, HKUST Science is hailed by modern society as an academic discipline of strict moral grounding and high integrity. Almost every one would place some degree of trust in scientific studies as they are deemed to represent knowledge derived from empirical evidence gathered through meticulous experiments. Given its high social status, there is no doubt that people would feel inclined to trust a product or service backed up by scientific studies or claims. Unlike medical products and services that are tightly regulated by civil authorities, commercial use of scientific claims is less severely vetted. This has created a grey area for pseudoscientists, who devise clever scams that have the appearance of science but are full of errors and lies. One can learn well from a few recent (and still ongoing) examples - the alkaline diet and alkaline water scam.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) celebrated today the groundbreaking of its multi-purpose auditorium – a new landmark of the University not only allows hosting of large events, but also adds much needed space for teaching and cultural activities that will enrich the lifestyle and learning experience of students, staff and alumni. The construction of the multi-purpose auditorium is made possible with a generous donation of HK$150 million from Shaw Foundation Hong Kong. Since the founding of HKUST, the lack of a venue for large-scale events such as the congregation or arts and music performances has caused inconvenience to our community.

By Prof. Mansun Chan, Chair Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering, HKUST As the modern-day workplace evolves, it is clear that science, technology, engineering and mathematics will play increasingly larger roles, prompting the government to provide incentives to increase STEM education at schools. A one-off grant of HK$100,000 was provided to each primary school to support STEM education and activities in 2016, and HK$200,000 to each secondary school in 2017. In his latest budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po allocated HK$500 million to implement an IT Innovation Lab program in the next three school years; each subsidized secondary school will be granted HK$1 million to help students build an IT foundation.