Exciting new initiatives that nurture student talent and create applicable knowledge for social and economic advancement were introduced to secondary school representatives at a luncheon seminar hosted by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) on 25 November.

Two of CityU’s flagship programmes were shared with seminar participants: HK Tech 300, the largest university-based entrepreneurship programme in Asia; and HK Tech Tiger, a tailored suite of programme options for high-performing students. These bold initiatives are helping students achieve their dreams of future leadership positions in our rapidly changing globalised world.

The seminar mentioned that, according to metrics compiled by Stanford University, over 170 CityU faculty members are listed among the top 2% of the world’s most highly cited scientists. Compared to faculty size, CityU’s percentage of the world’s top 2% most highly cited scientists is among the highest in Asia.

 

In his speech, President Way Kuo pointed out that those who, for example, go to Shaolin Monastery hope to learn from the best masters. “We hope CityU will develop into ‘Shaolin Monastery’ in the academic sector. More talented students will join us and learn from our world-class faculty,” said President Kuo. “Our professional education and pursuit of research excellence cultivate today’s much-needed creative minds.” 

In addition, CityU is committed to nurturing entrepreneurship and transferring research from the laboratory to the real world, according to Professor Christian Wagner, Provost, adding that the University is delivering a portfolio of innovative technology-enriched programmes that prepare students for their careers.   

Recent developments at CityU were featured at the seminar, including the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) on collaborative programmes in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. Selected HK Tech 300 start-up projects will receive funding from both CityU and HKSTP.

The discussions also touched on BOLD@CityU, which was launched in early 2020, leveraging the success of our innovative CityU–Learning platform. BOLD@CityU enables secondary school students to taste university studies through an online journey of discovery. Over 2,000 secondary school students have been contacted so far and urged to “Be Original, Leading Discovery” (i.e. BOLD) through an extensive range of outreach activities. 

Additionally, the seminar involved a discussion on how to cultivate future engineering talent and equip students with inter-disciplinary collaborative skills and global-local perspectives.

Also in attendance at the seminar were Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Vice-President (Research and Technology); Professor Julie Li Juan, Associate Provost (Academic Affairs); Professor Wang Jianping, Assistant Provost (Strategic Planning and Quality Assurance); Professor Henry Chung Shu-hung, Dean of Students and Chair Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering; and Professor Alfred Ho Tat-kei, Head of the Department of Public Policy.