News & Stories

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) hosted the first Asia Regional Jamboree of the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM), an undergraduate Synthetic Biology competition launched by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003. Over 40 teams from universities in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India and Australia have just gathered at HKUST and participated in the event. HKUST team has been selected as one of the 18 teams going to MIT for the final competition in November and has also won the Best Presentation Award in the Asia Regional Jamboree for its outstanding performance.

According to the just released (2011) prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings in Engineering and Technology, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has continued to shine and has landed the No. 1 spot in Greater China. The exceptional achievements and impacts of HKUST Engineering School have been very widely recognized by not only the respected THE Rankings but also all other prestigious worldwide university rankings, including QS and ARWU. HKUST Engineering has been consistently ranked within the top 30 in the world in Engineering. Ranked 28th globally in Engineering and Technology, HKUST is ahead of Tsinghua University (31st), University of California, Davis (32nd), University of Hong Kong (37th), Purdue University (39th) and McGill University (47th). The top 3 universities are California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University, respectively.

Dr Jim O'Neill delivering his first public lecture at HKUST (Left) Dr Jim O'Neill and Prof Tony F Chan analyzing the changing dynamics of the world with an enthusiastic response (From right) President Tony F Chan, Dr Jim O'Neill, and Ms Elena Morenko of UC RUSAL at the press conference The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) hosted the UC RUSAL President's Forum today (14 October) during which Dr Jim O'Neill, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and creator of the acronym 'BRICs', spoke on 'The Changing Dynamics of the World' with an enthusiastic audience.

Moscow, Hong Kong, 11 October 2011 – UC RUSAL (SEHK: 486, EuroNext: RUSAL/RUAL), the world’s largest aluminium producer, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) are honoured to invite Dr Jim O’Neill, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) – the renowned economist who coined the prominent BRIC concept – to conduct his very first public lecture in Hong Kong at the UC RUSAL President’s Forum on Friday, 14 October 2011. Dr O’Neill will present his views on the changing dynamics of the world and the rapid rise and importance of BRIC countries, as well as the current economic crisis.

A research team from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), led by Prof Guanghao Chen of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has invented a sewage treatment technology, known as the ‘Sulphate Reduction, Autotrophic Denitrification and Nitrification Integrated (SANI)’ Process. This novel technology successfully minimizes the adverse environmental impact of sewage treatment plants by eliminating 90% of sewage sludge production, minimizing energy consumption as well as odour and greenhouse-gas emission. Moreover, it largely reduces the sewage treatment cost and space requirement by 50%.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) boosts the highest percentage of non-local students in its undergraduate intake in academic year 2011/12 among other sister institutions reaching a record high of 18%, up from 16%. HKUST is fast approaching the 20% ceiling set by the Government for the intake of non-local students. Significantly, the University's non-local intake is also spread evenly between Mainland and International students, an almost 50-50 split. Prof Kar-yan Tam, Associate Provost and Dean of Students of HKUST, said that a special taskforce has been formed to forge strategic partnerships with overseas universities to secure more international exchange opportunities and broaden students with a global vision at large. HKUST currently has close to 200 overseas and mainland exchange partners.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) presented today (30 September) The Shaw Prize Lecture in Astronomy 2011 featuring the distinguished astronomer and recipient of this year's Shaw Prize in Astronomy, Dr Enrico Costa. Dr Costa spoke on "Gamma-ray Bursts: The Largest and Most Distant Explosions in the Universe". Since the phenomenon of gamma-ray bursts is among the greatest discoveries in astronomy of the past century, he discussed some of the properties of gamma-ray bursts, how these properties have provided the statistical evidence for a remote location, and how the bursts can be used as tools for examining some of the conditions at the earliest times after the Big Bang. The enlightening talk, which shed light on understandings about the origin of the universe, received enthusiastic response from the audience.

The four-day Global Business Conference 2011 led by undergraduate students from the HKUST Business School's BBA in Global Business program successfully concluded today (30 September) with a closing ceremony officiated by honorable guest Dr. William Fung Kwok Lun, Executive Deputy Chairman of Li & Fung Limited, who congratulated the students on the success of the Conference and shared with delegates his achievements and leadership insights as an internationally recognised entrepreneur. Echoing the Conference's theme of "Emerging Markets' Opportunities", Dr. Fung's keynote speech highlighted how young business leaders can best equip themselves for capturing opportunities in China and the emerging markets in a new era after the financial tsunami.