Leung Lok-yee

Graduate, College of Engineering
Participant, CityUHK X Sino Grand Challenges Scholars Programme

“My dream is to contribute to our community by restoring and improving urban infrastructure.”

A 3D print model of a public housing estate in Hong Kong.

During her exchange in Taiwan, Leung Lok-yee (left) made a cardboard chair from recycled materials.

CityUHK College of Engineering graduate Leung Lok-yee wanted to improve urban infrastructure in order to improve the quality of people’s lives. She believed engineering is an effective solution, so she decided to study Architecture and Civil Engineering at university.

She believes 3D printing represents the future for the construction industry: it is more efficient, less expensive, uses less material, and is more environmentally friendly and flexible in terms of design. Therefore, she joined the CityUHK X Sino Grand Challenges Scholars Programme in Year 2 and conducted a two-month research project on possible applications of 3D printing for building infrastructure in Hong Kong, using composite materials combined with modular integrated construction (MiC). She discovered that manually adding steel reinforcement, together with MiC to assemble the components, could help address local housing issues. Though her research findings are preliminary and need to be verified through further experiments, she has sharpened her research techniques, which will be beneficial in the long term.

To develop international perspectives, she joined an exchange programme to National Taiwan University for a semester, made new friends from various places, and improved her interpersonal and communication skills. During her studies, she made a robust cardboard chair for two from recycled materials. She said the process was highly rewarding, and the creation proved that by applying creativity with proper design, engineers can be highly adept at transforming waste into something useful.

She said her studies at CityUHK have enabled her to become a more confident, flexible person thanks to the research, global exposure, public service learning and entrepreneurship she has been exposed to. She is now ready for any challenges in the future.

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