HKUST Confers Honorary Fellowships on Five Distinguished Individuals | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Five distinguished individuals, Prof. Peter K. BOL, Mrs. Helen KAN, Prof. KO Ping-Keung, Mr. Vincent NG Wing-Shun and Dr. Samuel YUNG Wing-Ki (in alphabetical order of surnames) were conferred Honorary Fellowships by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) today. Officiating at the ceremony were Prof. Harry SHUM, Chairman of the HKUST Council, and Prof. Nancy IP, President of the HKUST.

HKUST Council Chairman Prof. Shum applauded the five awardees for their remarkable achievements and significant contributions to society. “This year’s Honorary Fellows have done far more than scaling heights in their career. They have devoted significant efforts to ensuring their achievements would advance the lives of others. In doing so, they have not only blazed a trail for students at HKUST, but also for inquisitive minds across Hong Kong, Asia, and the world,” he said.

President Prof. Ip also extended her congratulations and gratitude to these esteemed individuals. She said, “Our five honorees are all truly well-rounded individuals, regardless of the paths their intellectual curiosity has led them on. While extraordinarily focused on their personal goals, each possesses the rare ability to look beyond themselves and advocate for our society’s betterment. They epitomize our 1-HKUST vision by ensuring the impact of their achievements exceeds the sum of their parts.”

Prof. Peter K. Bol is Harvard University’s Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. As one of the world’s foremost authorities on China’s history and cultural elites from seventh century to 17th century, he began his longstanding relationship with Harvard after graduating from Princeton University with a PhD in Chinese History in 1982. His passion for the emerging field of “Digital Humanities” dates back to a collaboration on the China Historical Geographic Information System (CHGIS) project with Fudan University, which was a breakthrough in the presentation of Chinese history. In recognition of Prof. Bol’s pivotal role in driving geospatial analytical support for historians, he was appointed as the founding director of Harvard University's Center for Geographic Analysis in 2005. There he helped bridge intellectual divides with his involvement in the freely accessible China Biographical Database, which contains the lives and careers of 535,181 key figures from Chinese history as of this February. Having forged strong bonds with his academic peers at many world-leading universities, Prof. Bol has been collaborating on research projects on Chinese history with colleagues at HKUST for more than a decade.

Mrs. Helen Kan has long been one of Hong Kong’s most respected bankers. Currently, she is the Executive Director and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of China CITIC Bank International Limited. With 40 years of experience in the banking and finance industry, she has spawned numerous firsts, including pioneering the insurance banking model and working with regulators for virtual banking account opening, which propelled breakthrough in legislative changes, among a whole raft of fintech transformation that have altered our collective perception of banking. As the President of the Hong Kong Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Association (HKWPEA), Mrs. Kan has been helping underprivileged teenagers build confidence through leadership training programs and mentorship schemes for more than a decade. Mrs. Kan’s warm disposition ignites passion in young minds through the diverse roles at HKUST that she has undertaken since 2017. She is currently Court Member, and Member of the University's Institutional Advancement & Outreach Committee and Strategic Board member of the CEMS program of the Business School. She is also among the first group of mentors supporting HKUST’s pioneering Redbird Staff Mentoring Program.

Prof. Ko Ping-Keung is a globally respected expert in electrical engineering and a visionary venture capitalist. Prof. Ko earned both master’s degree and PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of California for his research in metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor device modelling. From 1984 to 1993, he served as Director of the Berkeley Microfabrication Laboratory, and as Vice Chairman of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, helping to engineer the microchips that established the Berkeley Short-Channel IGFET Model as the industry standard. His groundbreaking efforts earn him the prestigious IEEE Solid-State Circuits Award in 2002. Upon returning to Hong Kong, he served as HKUST’s Dean of Engineering from 1995 to 2000, revitalizing the electrical engineering curriculum and spearheading the establishment of the University’s Automation Technology Center and Hong Kong’s first university-wide semiconductor fabrication line. He then shifted his focus to serve as an “angel investor”, championing creativity for over 20 emerging enterprises, such as DJI, Silicon Federation International, and Celestry. Currently Professor Emeritus in HKUST’s Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Prof. Ko remains engaged with the University's latest academic advancements and developments. His ongoing involvement in HKUST’s entrepreneurship programs demonstrates his unwavering commitment to supporting and inspiring future innovators.

Mr. Vincent Ng Wing-Shun is an award-winning architect and urban designer renowned for redefining the panoramic splendors of our city’s waterfront. In the mid-1990s, Mr. Ng catapulted to early fame when he took home the Young Architect Award from The Hong Kong Institute of Architects, which enabled him to study harbor planning in the United States, paving the way for his mesmerizing transformation of Hong Kong’s own harborfront. He took the helm of the Harborfront Commission as Chairman from 2018 to 2024, making significant contributions to streamlining and connecting the waterfront which extends a total of 73 kilometers on both sides of the Victoria Harbor. In addition to harborfront development, his prominent roles in the development of the first edition of the Avenue of Stars and the revitalization of Central Market, have helped him earn a notable place in the collective memory of Hong Kong. In recognition of his unwavering contributions in the public arena, Mr. Ng was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2014 and was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star in 2022. He was also named in the Ten Outstanding Designers Awards held by the Hong Kong Communication Art Centre in 2013.

Dr. Samuel Yung Wing-Ki is a pioneering leader in Hong Kong’s insurance sector. Over the last four decades, he has earned industry-wide respect for his commitment to driving the robust development of Hong Kong’s insurance sector – through industry regulation, the launch of the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, and certification of insurance intermediaries’ academic qualifications. Furthermore, his significant contributions have also empowered him to win several top industry honors in Mainland China. In 2008, he was appointed as a Member of the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and he has also been serving as Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Committee of CPPCC since 2018. Dr. Yung believes knowledge begets success. In 2006, he obtained an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) from HKUST and subsequently served as President of the University’s EMBA Alumni Liaison Committee between 2018 and 2023. Formerly a HKUST Council Member, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of HKUST’s Institutional Advancement and Outreach Committee, Dr. Yung currently serves on the University Court as member. His positive impact on the insurance and education sectors is highly acclaimed by the HKSAR Government, which presented to him the great honor of a Gold Bauhinia Star this year.

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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 university that excels in driving innovative education, research excellence, and impactful knowledge transfer. With a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy approach, HKUST was ranked 3rd in the Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2024, while 12 of its subjects were ranked among the world’s top 50 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, with "Data Science and Artificial Intelligence" being ranked first in Hong Kong and 10th in the world. Our graduates are highly competitive, consistently ranking among the world’s top 30 most sought-after employees. In terms of research and entrepreneurship, over 80% of our work was rated “internationally excellent” or “world leading” in the latest Research Assessment Exercise 2020 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee. As of June 2024, HKUST members have founded 1,747 active start-ups, including 10 Unicorns and 14 exits (IPO or M&A).