Professor Freddy Boey installed as new CityU President
By : Michael Gibb
Professor Freddy Boey Yin Chiang, an accomplished leader in higher education and an outstanding scholar, was installed on 18 May as the 5th President of City University of Hong Kong (CityU).
Dr Chung Shui-ming, University Pro-Chancellor, presided over the Installation Ceremony and Mr Lester Garson Huang, Council Chairman, together with Council members, the senior management team, Deans and Heads of academic and administrative units, joined the Ceremony as the platform party.
Mr Lester Garson Huang (right), Council Chairman, presented the University’s Seal to Professor Boey. “Professor Boey is joining CityU at a very exciting point in our development within the local, regional and international higher education sectors. We now have a new leader of great talent and vision, a pioneering inventor with a rich research, administration and teaching background,” said Mr Huang.
Professor Boey, who assumed office as President on 14 May, was formerly Deputy President (Innovation and Enterprise) at the National University of Singapore. He has led key research contributions using functional biomaterials for medical devices and he has founded several spin-off companies to commercialise his cardiovascular, ocular and surgical inventions. His customisable hernia mesh received USA FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval, while his recent COVID Swab design received the CE Mark approval.
In his address, Professor Boey took the opportunity to encourage faculty members and students to become more learning centric rather than teaching centric.
“Innovative Learning exposes students to exploring beyond academic boundaries and embracing inventions. You cannot lecture or set exams for these things, but you can empower students to experience them through internships. I have every intention to ensure CityU students learn effectively institutionally, inspirationally, interactively and innovatively,” he said.
Professor Boey also stressed the importance of connecting and engaging with the community. “Engagement with the local community should not be an option, but a core value, both to benefit the community around us, and for us to educate our students about their social responsibilities,” he said.
Over 600 guests, students, staff, and alumni joined the Ceremony to give President Boey a warm welcome to the CityU family.
Read the installation speech of Professor Freddy Boey
“To prepare our students for a sustainable, lifelong career, CityU must become more learning centric than teaching centric, going beyond traditional Institutional Learning by lectures and tutorials to Inspirational Learning, Interactive Learning and Innovative Learning.”
“Inspirational Learning sparks a passion that self-motivates students to learn, not to pass examinations but to satisfy their curiosity.”
“Innovative Learning exposes students to exploring beyond academic boundaries and embracing inventions. You cannot lecture or set examinations for these things, but you can empower students to experience them through internships. I have every intention to ensure CityU students learn effectively institutionally, inspirationally, interactively and innovatively.”
“Engagement with the local community should not be an option, but a core value, both to benefit the community around us, and for us to educate our students on their social responsibilities.”
One of Professor Boey’s long-time interests is scuba diving, which has also triggered his keen interest in sustainable aquaculture and marine science. “My vision is to encourage students to become global citizens rather than merely graduates from a top university and to create the right academic environment for them to reach their potential.”
“We want to become a global university with local relevance, one that Hong Kong people are proud of because of its global connection.”
“Learning by inspiration, interaction and innovation is the way forward for education today.”
“A small campus allows us to focus on the essentials. Owning space and more equipment does not necessarily lead to accomplished research.”
“We will hire good professors who will become better over time and eventually the best, which means we can hire even better people next time round. It’s a virtuous cycle.”
“The wrong model for bureaucracy is one that’s confrontational in which the one who bangs the loudest gets their way. In a university, we need sound policies, more collegiality and an administration system that works so efficiently you don’t even know it’s there.”
Professor Freddy Boey Yin Chiang was previously Deputy President (Innovation & Enterprise) at the National University of Singapore from January 2018 to December 2022, and Provost (January 2011 – December 2017) and Chair of the School of Materials Science and Engineering (January 2004 – December 2010) at the Nanyang Technological University.
As the School Chair of the new school which started in 2000, he transformed the school into a powerhouse of Materials Science in the world in research and education, ranking 6th in QS world subject ranking and 2nd in the US News & World Report world ranking in Materials Science by 2016, with an outstanding reputation for generating start-up technologies that can be commercialised. The school has continued to be ranked in the top three globally in Materials Science in recent years.
As Provost, he went on to propel the university from 74th in the 2011 QS World University Rankings to 11th and top in Asia by 2017.
As Deputy President, he transformed the university’s efforts in deep technology commercialisation, increasing the number of deep tech start-ups by 4X in the first three years, through the Graduate Research Innovation Program (GRIP), making it Singapore’s foremost deep tech start-up program.
He was conferred Singapore’s highest Scientific Award, the President’s Science & Technology Medal for lifetime achievement, and the prestigious Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine Fellow award, both in 2013, for his biomedical research achievements. His research team also won the 2014 Singapore President’s Technology Award for using nanostructures with a novel drug delivery approach to combat blindness from glaucoma. As Provost, he built Singapore’s second Undergraduate Medical School, partnering with Imperial College London, for which he received the 2016 Singapore National Day Public Administration Gold Medal. He has also been conferred an Honorary Doctorate from Loughborough University, and Honorary professorships from the University of Indonesia, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications and Nanjing Tech University.
