Honorary doctoral degrees were awarded to (from left) Mr Yeung Kin-man, JP; Professor Ada Yonath; and Professor Frederick Ma Si-hang, GBS, JP, in recognition of their significant contributions to education and the well-being of society. The awards ceremony was held in October. Dr Chung Shui-ming, University Pro-Chancellor, presided over the ceremony. Mr Herman Hu Shao-ming, Council Chairman, and Professor Way Kuo, President, also attended.

The annual dinner for the City University of Hong Kong Foundation (CityU Foundation) in November under the theme “Fly with CityU” raised over HK$10 million for overseas exchange and internship programmes, breaking the records of similar events. The dinner kicked off with the Chinese song Descendants of the Dragon performed by eight non-local CityU students. Members of the organising committee added some flavour to the evening by dressing up in unique and colourful costumes.

The Covered Terrace on the fourth floor of the Amenities Building was named “Wong’s International Terrace” in appreciation of the generous support of Wong’s International Holdings Limited. The donation will be used to help outstanding students with financial needs to participate in non-local exchange programmes.

Brazil bougainvillea was chosen as the new floral symbol for CityU. The plant’s tough nature, highly resilient personality and regular blossom are thought to reflect CityU’s characteristics.

Professor Yan Hong, Chair Professor of Computer Engineering and Dean of the College of Science and Engineering, won the 2016 Norbert Wiener Award. The award signals international acclaim for Professor Yan’s contributions to pattern recognition, image processing, genomic data analysis and biomolecular modelling techniques, all of which are important in the fields of information technology and medical treatment.

The multi-purpose lobby of the Run Run Shaw Library was named “Wofoo Foundation Gallery” in appreciation of the support and generous donations to the University made by Dr Joseph Lee Chung-tak, President of Wofoo Social Enterprises and Chairman of Wofoo Plastics and Chemicals Group.

CityU is a co-creator of a HK$216 million project to promote computational thinking and coding skills in primary schools, driving CityU’s community outreach activities to new heights. CoolThink@JC aims to equip upper primary students with basic coding capabilities that will strengthen their computational thinking (CT) as well as helping teachers to master the necessary professional skills. The four-year programme will train 100 teachers at 32 pilot schools for the benefit of 16,500 primary four to six students. It targets to establish CT as part of Hong Kong’s curriculum in the long run.

Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, the new Provost of CityU, takes up his new position aiming to improve CityU’s international reputation and recognition, enhance the professional education on offer, and seek fresh ways to ensure that CityU is meeting the needs of society.

A graduate of the School of Creative Media won the Best New Director award at the 53rd Taipei Golden Horse Awards for his first feature film Mad World. Mr Wong Chun’s movie is about a person suffering from a mental disorder and his relationship with his family. He beat 84 submissions to win the award.

Transboundary animal diseases that impact trade in animals and animal products worldwide were the focus of a course organised by the School of Veterinary Medicine in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture. The occasion marked the first time that the International Transboundary Animal Disease course was held in Hong Kong and the surrounding region. Over 30 veterinarians from 14 Asian countries participated in the event held in September.

Li Jing, a PhD student from CityU, received the 2016 Materials Research Society (MRS) Graduate Student Gold Award for her pioneering work on the development of next-generation thermal materials. This is a prestigious international award for graduate students in the area of materials science and Li Jing is the first MRS Gold Medal winner from Hong Kong.

A research project has been granted more than HK$11 million from the National Science and Technology Major Project funded by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for ultralight, small antennas developed by the Department of Electronic Engineering and State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves at CityU. The new antenna’s weight and size are reduced by as much as 50% and will bring about a brand new user experience for the forthcoming 5th generation (5G) mobile networks and beyond.

The two-day Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) Symposium on Chemistry of Complex Matter kicked off with a Nobel Laureate’s distinguished lecture in November. The symposium invited scholars and renowned chemists from Europe and China to share their academic discoveries through a series of lectures delivered during the event. 

More than 30,000 students and parents explored professional education opportunities during Information Day held under the theme “Professional･Creative ･For the World” in October. A series of exhibition booths, admission talks and workshops were held by the College of Business, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, School of Creative Media, School of Energy and Environment, School of Law, and School of Veterinary Medicine. 

The annual arts festival kicked off with performances by the CityU Philharmonic Orchestra and the CityU Chinese Orchestra at the opening ceremony in October. One of the highlights of the ceremony was a performance of the Yellow River Piano Concerto by the CityU Philharmonic Orchestra and the well-known pianist Mr Zhang Peng.

Professor Way Kuo, President, spoke at the invitation of the Education Bureau (EDB) in October on creativity and innovation at a meeting of 100 EDB administrative staff, school principals from primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, including some CityU alumni. 

The 11th meeting of the Court in December was the first to be chaired by the new Pro-Chancellor, Dr Chung Shui-ming. He is a former Council Chairman, Treasurer, a Council member, a Court member and an Honorary Graduate of CityU. At the meeting, Court members were informed about the latest developments of CityU and the work of the Council, including news about world university rankings, research, student achievements, and the overall development of the School of Veterinary Medicine. 

Professor Way Kuo discussed recent CityU developments at “A Dialogue with the President” co-hosted by the Alumni Relations Office and the Convocation in November at the Eminence Galaxy – Alumni Function Room. He briefed alumni on recent achievements in rankings, the development of the School of Veterinary Medicine, and the University’s strategic plan at an interactive discussion facilitated by alumnus Mr Clovis Lau Koong-yep, Convocation Chairman and Council member. 

CityU has become the first university in Hong Kong to receive the QS 5-Star Plus Award from the QS Asia-Pacific Professional Leaders in Education conference. The award recognises CityU as an elite destination for the very best students and faculty worldwide, and acknowledges our research excellence, quality in teaching, globalisation experience for students, and capacity for nurturing student talent. 

Around 1,000 Council members, faculty, staff, students and alumni filling over 80 tables on campus enjoyed a delightful banquet themed “Dinner Gathering at Joyous City” in October. After being suspended for one year, the 20-year-long CityU Banquet resumed its tradition this year thanks to coordination by the Students’ Union. 

This book is a comprehensive examination of emerging media evolution and concurrent social interaction. It provides an understanding of media use in the expanding digital age and fills the void in the existing literature in exploring emerging new media use as a dynamic communication process in cyberspace. The book addresses issues arising with the use of emerging media during the second decade of online communication, the Web 2.0 era, in which digital media and the internet provide users with interactive communication. With a series of empirical studies on media use and online communication, the book offers a systematic analysis of the communication processes and behaviours in the networked digital world along the lines of media evolution. The studies test existing media theories within the context of emerging media, offering new perspectives and theoretical contributions to the field of media and communication.

This book focuses on the transformation from colonial to global: the formation, mechanism, events, works and people related to urban architecture. It reveals the hardships that the city encountered in the 1950s and the glamour enjoyed in the 1980s. It depicts public and private developments, and especially public housing, which has sheltered millions of residents. The author identifies the architects practising in the formative years and the representatives of a rising generation after 1970. In spite of land shortage and a dense environment, the urban development of Hong Kong has in the past 70 years met the changing demands of fluctuating economic activities and a rising population. Architecture in Hong Kong has been shaped by social demands, the economy and technology. The buildings have been forged by the government, clients, planners, architects, many contractors and end-users.