City University of Hong Kong’s new president vows not to let space constraints stand in the way of raising institution’s international ranking
- CityU welcomes Professor Freddy Boey who takes over from Way Kuo who resigned after being in charge for 15 years
- Singaporean academic says he aims to bring hope to Hong Kong’s young people and focus more on learning than on teaching
The new president of the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has vowed to raise the varsity’s international ranking during his term, saying the issue of space in the city should not be a deterrent.
Singaporean academic Professor Freddy Boey also said he wanted to give Hong Kong’s young people hope, but stopped short of touching on the city’s social atmosphere in his installation speech as he assumed office on Thursday.
“CityU resides within probably one of the densest cities in the world,” said Boey, formerly deputy president for innovation and enterprise at the National University of Singapore (NUS), during his installation speech on Thursday morning.
“We will do what we can innovatively to mitigate this problem. But I can tell you that many top universities are facing as severe a space problem as ours.”
Boey was hired as president of CityU following an international, year-long search to replace Professor Way Kuo, who officially stepped down last Saturday after 15 years in the position.
A skilled inventor and prolific academic, Boey holds a PhD in Chemistry and Engineering from the National University of Singapore. He also won the city state’s top science accolade, the President’s Science and Technology Medal in 2013 for his bioengineering patents.
Boey pledged to move the university from a teaching-centric model to one focused on learning.