CUHK
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Innovation

In today’s society, young graduates are encouraged to utilise their entrepreneurial and innovative capabilities and start their own businesses in an economy disrupted by the ever-increasing pace of advances in technology. The Faculty of Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was set up in recognition of the changing pattern. Since 1991, the Faculty’s goals have been to create an institute of education where young minds can flourish exploring the science of engineering through research and development, to appoint the world’s top teaching professionals, and to encourage students to give back to society as well as to build fruitful and fulfilling careers by using what they learn. The Faculty has thus become known as the best Shao Lin Temple for business startups.

Entrepreneurship

This comes as no surprise, given the entrepreneurial success of many of the alumni over the years.

For example, of those graduating in the 1980s, Mr. Ricky Wong Wai-kay disrupted the monopolistic telecommunication industry by setting up City Telecom. Mr. Samson Tam Wai-ho pioneered electronic learning tools and founded the “instant-Dict” Chinese/English digital dictionary. Mr. Ringo Lam Wing-kwan founded Wisers Information Limited and opened up a new era of newspaper digitisation. Subsequently, Dr. Alan Lam Hiu-fung built his own business successfully by applying the ideas from his dissertation on virtual recognition technology to the video game industry. Mr. Martin Tsang Wai-wah recognised the global trend for renewable energy and seized the business opportunity by installing a network of electric vehicle charging stations in Hong Kong and mainland China.

In addition, Mr. Tab Tsang Ka-chun, currently studying in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, has been keeping on track with recent technological advancements and developed a mobile game company “C4Cat”. The first game, “Dynamix”, has already ranked second in the best seller list, so continuing in the Faculty’s visionary tradition (please see attached list).

Support

The Faculty of Engineering creates an open-minded learning environment to provide support for students generating innovative ideas and prepare them for being an entrepreneur. Students are encouraged to share ideas through special interest groups such as the 3D printing group, the Open Innovation Lab for software and others. Faculty professors are constantly on hand providing comprehensive resources, professional guidance and consultancy through workshops, seminars and more.

Expertise

To keep ahead of the science and technology curve, the Faculty recently launched bachelor’s degree courses including Energy and Environmental Engineering. It has also invited senior scholars and young professionals from around the world to open new horizons in international research and development. The Faculty itself has been expanding in its areas of expertise including Biomedical Engineering, Energy and Environmental Engineering, Network Security and Big Data Analysis, Robotics, Financial and Services, Nano Technologies, Design and High-Tech Production, encouraging students to participate in large-scale research projects and lay the foundation for innovative research and development.

International Acclaim

According to Reuters’ latest listing for “The Most Innovative University” in 2016, CUHK is ranked 21^st amongst the universities of 75 countries and ranked first among other universities in Hong Kong.  Of all local university faculties, the Faculty of Engineering receives the greatest amount of government funding for scientific research, affirming its leading role in scientific research and development.  Moreover, graduates’ achievements have proved that the Faculty of Engineering is an important base for the implementation of innovation. With the support for entrepreneurship from  the University and through respective government policies, CUHK engineering students will surely uphold the innovative culture and spirit of the Faculty and, in due course, build their own ground-breaking businesses for the good of the community.

Invitation

The Faculty of Engineering 25^th Anniversary Celebration will be held on Saturday, 8 October. All  alumni are cordially invited to attend the celebration. Programmes and activities include the Engineering Achievement Exhibition, the Lab Tour, the Alumni Fundraising Walkathon and the Faculty Alumni Association Celebration Banquet. Please visit http://www.erg.cuhk.edu.hk/erg/25Anniversary for more details.