Important message from The President and Vice-Chancellor

Dear Students, Colleagues, Alumni and Friends, 

2020: Build and Rebuild 

The miracle of Hong Kong is rooted in its dynamism and resilience. As a beacon of knowledge, our university has stood tall for more than a century. 2019 was tumultuous, but not once did we waver in our faith in our mission and in the city’s future. 

In the most difficult moments, we came together. I salute you and thank you for your courage, determination and commitment to our university. We value diverse opinions and even opposite ideas in a community that treasures inclusiveness and respect for others’ views.  We insist on civility on campus and rational debate that challenges one another. 

Our teachers and staff have been reaching out to students and as the new semester begins in late January 2020, we are planning more engagement opportunities in big and small groups, formal or informal.  We, as a university community, will build bridges together and search for solutions.

At the same time, colleagues have scaled new heights of scholarship and discovery that won accolades and acclaim, all converging to help make the world a better place. We launched six new interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, dual degree programmes with top-tier international partners and many other initiatives to meet the needs of a changing world and new generations.  Our Common Core and Experiential Learning won top awards, locally and worldwide. To enrich our own talent hub, we launched the Presidential Post-doctoral Fellowship and Presidential PhD Scholarship, and vigorously recruited young scholars with the Meeting of Minds and a new Outstanding Young Professorships scheme.  

Looking ahead, we will build five new student residences and in collaboration with the world’s best universities, we will embark on cutting edge research and transform lives with the InnoHK schemes to be launched soon. The Tech Landmark on the Main Campus with its new institutes, the expansion of the Medical Campus and the new Institute of Advanced Dentistry are all symbols of our ambitious vision.  

I invite all of you — students, colleagues, alumni and friends — to come together on our university’s unique journey of learning and discovery. It may not always be a smooth voyage, but we are here to innovate and to create knowledge to advance humanity.  

Merry Christmas and Happy 2020 to you and your families!  

Xiang Zhang
President and Vice-Chancellor