The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the University of Waterloo, Canada’s leading innovation university, will introduce dual doctoral degrees in engineering that will allow select students to simultaneously earn a PhD from each institution.
Prof Tony F Chan, President of HKUST, and Prof Feridun Hamdullahpur, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waterloo, signed a memorandum of understanding establishing the new program at Waterloo on 7 October. The partnership, that will begin next year, forges a powerful academic alliance between leading universities in Asia and North America.
“I am extremely proud to combine our innovation power to train the next generation of scholars and innovators,” said Prof Hamdullahpur. “This PhD education partnership will allow doctoral candidates from top notch Engineering Faculties to build a foundation on which to establish further academic and research collaborations.”
Prof Chan said, “HKUST is one of the fastest rising universities in the world and University of Waterloo has one of the top engineering schools in North America — in many areas it is the global leader. This PhD partnership is great for future students who can benefit from both our highly ranked school of engineering and from their engineering faculty, and they will also benefit from the special culture and entrepreneurial environment at the two institutions.”
Beginning in January 2016, students will have the opportunity to study under the guidance of engineering doctoral supervisors from both universities, spending approximately equal amounts of time at each campus.
“Waterloo Engineering is preparing PhD candidates for the future of research and development careers. Leading research intensive institutions and global industry labs want PhD graduates to have exposure to different cultures, the ability to adapt to global lab environments and practical experience on how research results could be implemented for the benefit of society,” said Prof Pearl Sullivan, Dean of the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering. “This is one of Waterloo Engineering’s initiatives for evolving doctoral education to include translational skills that can expand career possibilities for graduates.”
Students are expected to meet all the requirements at both institutions, but are only required to prepare one doctoral thesis and perform one thesis defense. Upon successful completion from the program, students will receive a degree from each institution indicating it was performed in cotutelle – a French term for PhD programs offered jointly by two institutions.
About Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a world-class research university excelling in science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. Internationally renowned for its academic rigor and accomplishments, the University promotes interdisciplinary studies and provides holistic education, nurturing well-rounded graduates with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, innovative thinking and relevant skills to thrive in a knowledge economy. As an international university with strong ties to global thought leaders, HKUST has wide-ranging connections with Mainland China while aspiring to be a global premier knowledge hub and a center of research breakthroughs. HKUST attained the highest proportion of internationally excellent research work in the University Grants Committee (UGC)’s Research Assessment Exercise 2014, it was also ranked 16th worldwide and top in Greater China in a global survey on employability of graduates in 2014. HKUST was ranked No 1 in Hong Kong and 28th worldwide in QS World University Rankings 2015-16, the Times Higher Education also branded it as one of the seven fastest-rising young universities worldwide in 2015.
About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. A globally focused institution, celebrated as Canada’s most innovative university for 23 consecutive years, Waterloo is home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit uwaterloo.ca.
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