CityU established the School of Data Science and the Hong Kong Institute for Data Science in 2018 to directly respond to the increased demand for data scientists and engineers who will support future societal and economic developments, while the interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Data Science programme was offered from 2019/20.

CityU’s College of Science and Engineering was restructured in 2018/19 into the College of Science and the College of Engineering to enable both colleges to move forward in their respective fields with a clear focus through targeted and strategic allocation of resources. Also in 2018/19, for the same reasons, the Department of Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering was restructured into two departments. To better reflect their strengths, the Department of Biology and Chemistry and the Department of Physics and Materials Science were retitled in 2017 as the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics respectively.

CityU established two new departments under the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences. The Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health was set up in 2017 to train veterinary professionals and to undertake state-of-the-art research on public health and animal health-related issues. The Department of Neuroscience commenced operations in 2019 to create a modern neuroscience curriculum, to attract innovative scientists in this field and to encourage interdisciplinary research endeavours that draw on the existing strengths of CityU in biological sciences, veterinary medicine, engineering and computational science.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering was established in 2017 to develop internationally competitive and leading-edge research and provide a professional education curriculum that can contribute to Hong Kong, Greater China, and the whole world in materials science, engineering and related sectors.

CityU, in collaboration with Cornell University, offered the first six-year bachelor of veterinary medicine programme in 2017/18 to promote One Health and sustainable development, and to expand educational choice and career paths for our youth. Since 2019/20, the programme has been UGC-funded.

CityU set up CityU-Learning, a university-wide real-time online learning system, within a few days during the coronavirus epidemic in early 2020 for over 1,000 academic staff and all local and non-local students by customising and integrating various tools. It was record-breaking when the initiative went online on 7 February 2020 with more than 2,000 students attending online classes at the same time at each session on that day.

CityU launched a set of distinctive massive open online courses (MOOCs) in 2015/16, highlighting the University's expertise in entrepreneurship, Chinese culture, and media art. These MOOCs have been broadcast on several international platforms, including Futurelearn in the UK and CNMOOC in China.

CityU sports teams extended their dominance in inter-varsity sports competitions by winning a record-breaking 9th Grand Slam in the 2016/17 annual sports competitions, organised by The University Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China.

In 2015, CityU established the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study, an international centre of excellence for the advancement of technology and innovation, bringing together an interdisciplinary team of world-renowned scholars and researchers, including Nobel laureates and academicians, to contribute to solutions for pressing real-world problems.

CityU established the Hong Kong Branch of National Precious Metals Material Engineering Research Center in 2015 to promote research and applications of precious metal elements and nanomaterial engineering technology, professional training and academic exchange, as approved by Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China.

On top of having two state key laboratories on campus, with the approval of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, CityU established the Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center in 2015.

CityU acquired the Peace Avenue Veterinary Clinic (now named CityU Veterinary Medical Centre), a leading companion animal clinic in Hong Kong, in 2016 as a strategic investment for the University and for veterinary medicine and animal welfare in Hong Kong.

CityU established the CityU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in 2017, a subsidiary to provide the most comprehensive and advanced veterinary diagnostic laboratory services in Asia, and to identify, track and address emerging animal diseases and public health issues.

CityU established partnerships with world-renowned universities, including Columbia University, National Taiwan University and Leuphana University, to offer a variety of joint bachelor's degree programmes in the 2015–2020 period.

CityU launched the “Diversity Grant” in 2016/17 to increase the diversity of the non-local student population and successfully recruited international students from 71 countries in 2019/20.

CityU ranked 63rd among the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted US Utility Patents in 2018 and was top in Hong Kong in the period 2016–2018 for receiving the highest number of US utility patents.

CityU launched the CLP Low Carbon Energy Education Centre in 2017, the first of its kind, to bring together professional bodies, green groups, government departments and businesses to promote public education on climate change and to develop innovative solutions through cross-sectoral collaboration.

CityU signed an agreement with the Dongguan government in 2020 to develop a multilateral and interdisciplinary platform to strengthen collaborations in education, research, technology transfer and innovation.

CityU was ranked 49th in the world in QS World University Rankings 2018 and ranked 1st in Hong Kong among the indicators of citations per faculty and international faculty.

CityU Exhibition Gallery, renamed as the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery in 2019, was set up and held its first exhibition in 2015 to support the University’s vision of excelling in research and professional education through artistic, innovative, technology-rich and cross-disciplinary exhibitions that engage with the community.

In 2016, the CityU community chose the Brazil Bougainvillea as the University Flower, expressing the dynamic, colourful and resilient CityU spirit.

CityU received a HK$500M donation from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust in 2017 to help build a high quality facility for One Health in Hong Kong.

In 2019, CityU launched the Broad Band Structure for Non-academic Staff to simplify the old structure from over 50 staff grades to seven. The new structure integrates housing benefits into a total package for easy administration, allows a broad latitude on pay enhancing flexibility to attract talented staff, and supports pay adjustment for performance management.

Also in 2019, CityU launched its redesigned website, adopting a modern, vibrant and easy-to-use navigation interface to deliver a dynamic and coherent branding message, one that encourages content discovery and enhances the user experience. In addition, the corporate identity manual on the visual identity of CityU was released to help build a more effective, unifying and recognisable brand for all parts of the University and all the activities the University undertakes.

A CityU team received the 2017 Team Award for Teaching Excellence from the University Grants Committee (UGC) for our groundbreaking Discovery-enriched Curriculum.

CityU students' urban media artworks were exhibited on the 77,000-square-metre façade of the International Commerce Centre, the largest urban display screen in the world, in 2015.

CityU students, along with students from another local university, were awarded a cash prize of HK$100,000 from a panel of respected banking and technology experts in the Student Category of the HSBC Safeguard App Competition 2017 for their proposal for an easy-to-navigate interface for users to monitor and maintain their account security.

A CityU PhD student in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, competing with roughly 130 contestants from 12 countries and regions, was awarded First Prize in the International Bionic Innovation Competition 2017 by the International Society of Bionic Engineering.

In 2018, a CityU student team won the First Prize in the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition — Hong Kong, beating 15 other teams from universities in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific Region, including countries along the Belt & Road.

In 2018, CityU PhD students from the Department of Media and Communication and Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences were awarded the Fulbright-RGC Hong Kong Research Scholar Award Programme funded by the US government.

In 2019, a CityU student team outperformed more than 150 other teams in the KPMG Business Administration Paper organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Business Students to win the championship for their system that helps property management companies control energy consumption in order to create a better and smarter society.

CityU student teams from the “Jockey Club Enhancing Youth Empathy Project through Immersive Visualisation” won the prestigious Hong Kong ICT Awards 2019 for innovative projects that aim to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. One team beat 400 other student teams to win the Student Innovation Grand Award and the Student Innovation (Post-Secondary and Undergraduate) Gold Award. The other team won the Student Innovation (Post-Secondary and Undergraduate) Silver Award.

A CityU alumnus won the Best New Director award at the 53rd Taipei Golden Horse Awards and the Best Director at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards in 2016 for his first feature film.

Another CityU alumnus was a member of an animation team that won an Oscar in 2018 for Best Animated Feature.

Six outstanding local CityU undergraduate students were awarded HSBC Overseas Scholarships in 2016–2020 to study at universities abroad for one semester or more to maximise their exposure and equip them with real-world experience.

In 2020, a CityU-led research team developed a new form of a droplet-based electricity generator with a drop of water lighting up 100 small LED bulbs. It features a field-effect transistor (FET)-like structure that allows for high energy-conversion efficiency, and its instantaneous power density is increased by thousands of times compared to its counterparts without FET-like structure. This groundbreaking achievement can help to advance scientific research into water energy generation and tackle the energy crisis.

In 2019, a CityU biomedical research team developed a groundbreaking technology that can accurately perform early screening for cancer cells and effectively monitor disease status. With an accuracy rate of over 90%, the new technology can detect cancer cells with as little as 4 ml of blood in no more than five minutes, allowing a patient to know his or her risk of cancer as soon as possible. The new technology can also monitor the effectiveness of drugs used for medical treatment.

In 2019, a CityU-led research team, including members from Harvard University and renowned information technologies laboratory Nokia Bell Labs, has successfully fabricated a tiny on-chip lithium niobate modulator, an electro-optic modulator which is more efficient, with faster data transmission and lower costs for the 5G communication.

In 2019, CityU researchers developed technology that can optimise mobile network design and reduce the energy consumption of the base stations by a minimum of 4.5%.

In 2019, a CityU-led research team from the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Biomedical Sciences, with Harvard Medical School, found a shortcut to develop new drugs, speeding up the discovery process and saving costs.

In 2018, a CityU-led research team developed new super alloys that are extremely strong, yet ductile and flexible, paving the way for developing equipment that can operate at extremely low temperatures and in aerospace systems that operate at extremely high temperatures.

In 2018, a CityU-led research team discovered that diamonds can undergo ultra-large, fully reversible elastic deformation at nanoscale, paving the way for diamond’s practical applications in nano-mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, photonics, optoelectronics, and ultra-strength materials.

Ten CityU faculty members were named by Clarivate Analytics as Highly Cited Researchers for 2018, reflecting the high academic standard of our faculty and our excellent research performance.

CityU co-established the Joint Laboratory on Neutron Scattering, which was officially opened in 2019 with the Institute of High Energy Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, enhancing Hong Kong's role in developing science and technology in the Greater Bay Area.

Four CAS–CityU joint laboratories (of nanomaterials and nanomechanics, for robotics, for functional materials and devices, and on neutron scattering science and technology) were accredited by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in the evaluation conducted in 2018. Among them, the Joint Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanomechanics was ranked by CAS as an “Outstanding” joint laboratory; and the Joint Laboratory on Neutron Scattering Science and Technology was ranked 1st among five new joint laboratories. In addition, in 2019, CityU teams secured HK$12M from the Research Grants Council under the Joint Laboratory Funding Scheme to enhance the research infrastructure of the CAS–CityU joint laboratories in Hong Kong.

CityU research teams were awarded RMB66.2M in funding for research projects in 2016 through the CityU Shenzhen Research Institute, representing a jump of 66% compared to funding in the previous year.

A CityU research team was awarded more than HK$40M in funding in 2016 from the Research Grants Council to develop a platform of tools to improve safety and dependability of high speed rail and metro systems.

CityU research teams were awarded about HK$35M in funding in 2019 by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for three research projects to enhance the sustainability, health and production of local pig farms, poultry farms and fisheries.

A CityU-led international research team was awarded HK$28M in funding in 2016 by the Theme-based Research Scheme of the Research Grants Council for the design of a compact and affordable terahertz system that can be used to detect contaminants in food and drugs, and also cancerous cells and tumours.

CityU research teams were awarded HK$25M in funding under the Collaborative Research Fund Scheme of the Research Grants Council in the 2016/17 exercise to advance research into crucial tumour features, multidimensional big data analysis, threats to coral ecosystems and memory formation.

For the two state key laboratories and the Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center on campus, the annual funding support from the Innovation and Technology Commission for the laboratories was increased to HK$10M each from 2019 onwards.

A CityU faculty member won the Silver Medal Award from the Journal of International Business Studies, a leading publication in the international business field, for his substantive research contributions.

A company founded by CityU alumni, Vitargent (International) Biotechnology Limited, won the Grand Prix of the 43rd International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva in 2015 for its first-in-the-world “transgenic medaka” and “zebrafish fish” embryo toxicity testing technologies to enhance global product safety testing standards.

A CityU student project to promote internationalisation, with students from diverse backgrounds, was selected by the University Grants Committee in 2015 as the best sector-wide student-initiated project for encouraging multicultural integration.

CityU had 416 student exchange partners in 45 countries and regions in 2019.

Over 50% of CityU undergraduates had international experience in 2019 lasting from one to several months, providing multicultural exposure for our students.

CityU‘s non-local students constituted about one-third of the total student population in 2019 with students coming from Europe, Central and South America and Africa, as well as Asia.

CityU was a co-creator in a HK$216M project funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust in 2016 to promote computational thinking and coding skills in primary schools.

CityU received over HK$15M funding from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust in 2017 to promote youth empathy through immersive visualisation.

CityU achieved an invention commercialisation rate of 20.1% in 2017/18 with a well-established administrative framework and policy protecting the intellectual property generated from research activities.

CityU had over 1,500 partnerships in 2018 with companies, NGOs and government organisations on various knowledge transfer activities and collaborations.

CityU's groundbreaking wireless charging technology contributed to society and, in 2018, attracted the highest-ever license fee revenues received by the University for an invention.

In 2019, the CityU-led “Jockey Club Enhancing Youth Empathy Project through Immersive Visualisation” co-organised, with the Hong Kong Science Museum, the first-ever cetacean-themed exhibition in Hong Kong titled “CSI of the Cetaceans: Hope of Solutions”.

CityU received a HK$200M donation from Dr Yeung Kin-man in 2015 to support the veterinary medicine school, students’ overseas exchanges, and the strategic development of the University.

CityU received a donation of HK$100M from BOCHK Charitable Foundation in 2017 to support development of veterinary medicine and students' overseas exchanges and internships.

CityU received HK$100M from Dr and Mrs Li Dak-sum in 2015 to support development of veterinary medicine.

CityU received a donation of HK$120M from Dr The Honourable Lee Shau-kee, GBM in 2018 to support the long-term development of the University and to provide funding for the setting up of named chair professorships and student scholarships to promote academic advancement and student awards.

CityU celebrated the 20th anniversary in 2016 of the annual programme series “Wellness March”, which plays an important role in promoting a healthy campus for the CityU community through a series of competitions, exhibitions, workshops, talks and physical activities.

In 2016, CityU Students' Union resumed its 20-year-long tradition of running the CityU Banquet, attended by about 1,000 Council members, faculty, staff, students and alumni.

CityU was awarded Hong Kong’s FuturArc Green Leadership Award 2015, recognising its leadership in promoting sustainable architecture in the Lau Ming Wai Academic Building.

CityU received the Distinguished Family-Friendly Employers Award, the Family-Friendly Employers Award, and the Award for Breastfeeding Support from the Home Affairs Bureau and the Family Council in 2016, for our commitment to promoting a healthy and productive campus with a sound work-life balance and family-friendly policies.

CityU won FoodEver Award Diamond Class in 2016/17 and WasteWi$e certificate Excellence Level for 17 years consecutively since 2002 for taking a lead to influence our community to reduce food waste.

CityU was awarded second place in the Best Career Services Satisfaction Award and third place in the Best University Brand Perception Award, among more than 2,000 universities worldwide, in the Universum Talent 2018 Survey.

CityU has formed teams participating in the Hong Kong Marathon since 2008. The number of participants rose from 260 in 2008 to 1,100 in 2019 including students, alumni, staff and family members, along with students and teachers of special needs schools.

CityU was recognised with the “Silver Level Campus” award in both 2017 and 2019 and then the highest award "Gold Level Campus" in early 2020 from the American College of Sports Medicine for campus involvement and engagement in physical activity, aligning with the “Exercise is Medicine” principles and goals.

CityU won in the category “Onsite Digital Experience” at the Alliance of American Museums Convention in 2019 for the “ANiMAL: Art Science Nature Society” exhibition that combined the strengths of the School of Creative Media at CityU and the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

CityU established the Center for Business Analytics in 2015 with IBM to support the University’s curriculum and talent development, and build a healthy eco-system between the University and the industry in big data and analytics.

CityU hosted its first Employers’ Luncheon in 2015 to strengthen connections with global and local businesses, and showcase exceptional student achievements to prospective employers.

CityU launched the Golden Key Club in 2015 to strengthen the competitiveness of graduates in their career development. It provides a platform for scholarship recipients, past and present, to share information and experience.

CityU has been organising the CityU Arts Festival since 2015 to connect CityU students with professional artists. Partnerships with performers from music departments of Mainland and overseas institutions (e.g. from Poland) enable our students to acquire professional music and stage performance experience.

CityU launched the Executive Mentorship Program in 2016 to enhance students’ understanding of the real-world environment, help them build social networks and obtain advice for career and personal development through professional coaching and interaction with successful business executives.

CityU sent more than 80 students to participate in 2016 summer overseas internships, lasting between 8 and 12 weeks, in six international cities through the Global Work Attachment Programme.

CityU launched the CityU Scholarships for Hong Kong Talents in 2016 to attract high-performing local students to apply for CityU’s UGC-funded undergraduate programmes.

CityU launched the Servant Leadership Training Programme in 2016 to develop a positive attitude and a service-driven mindset in students.

CityU launched CRESDA, a unique mobile-friendly platform to keep track of students’ activities, skills development and awards, and to promote students' self-development and enhance their career planning and employability, in 2016.

CityU launched a series of SPECIAL Hall Night Talks in student residences in 2016 by engaging distinguished speakers, company directors and celebrities to share their stories on “Serve the world”, “Passion”, “Entrepreneurship”, “Coding”, “Aspiration” and “Life & care” with student residents.

CityU commenced the development of the Jockey Club One Health Tower in 2017 to provide new space for strategic initiatives such as the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, a new auditorium to host international conferences and an enhanced sports centre.

CityU organised the CityU Career Festival 2017, participated in by 87 reputable companies, to help students prepare for their future careers and provide them with a valuable opportunity to connect with employers and industry practitioners.

CityU has provided support services for students with special educational needs (SEN) since 2017 and has strengthened its networks with industry, NGOs and government to expand SEN students’ opportunities for work-related experience and foster knowledge transfer activities.

CityU received a HK$3M donation from Tin Ka Ping Foundation in 2018 to fund three programmes to promote Chinese culture - “Teaching & Learning Development Programmes and Historical and Cultural Study Tours”, the “City•Cultural Space” programme, and the “Tracing the Roots of Hakka Culture and Exploring the Origins of the One Belt, One Road Initiative” programme.

CityU developed a pilot scheme for University-reserved off-campus accommodation options in 2019 for full-time government-funded undergraduate students and year-long inbound exchange students who need housing.

CityU launched the Community Engagement Programme in 2019 to provide a platform to link CityU students with the community, engaging them in a variety of extra-curricular service-learning experiences.

CityU provided real-time, interactive career counselling sessions and career training workshops to both undergraduate and postgraduate students in order to deliver the much-needed career service during the coronavirus epidemic in 2020.

CityU acquired a site in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po to build a teaching farm in 2018 to benefit the students and researchers working in the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, and to enhance our vision for One Health and food safety in Hong Kong and beyond.

CityU opened the Research Centre for Sustainable Hong Kong in 2017 for the analysis and development of solutions to critical sustainability issues in Hong Kong.

CityU launched a Yoga Day in student residences, engaging the Indian Consulate and Indian community in Hong Kong for three consecutive years since 2015.

CityU, in collaboration with the National Palace Museum in Taipei, presented “Rebuilding the Tong-an Ships New Media Art Exhibition” in 2015, a new media art exhibition that brought ancient ships and seafaring culture to life.

CityU, in collaboration with the National Palace Museum in Taipei, presented the “Giuseppe Castiglione — Lang Shining New Media Art Exhibition” in 2016, using 4G mobile technology to enable a virtual and physical presentation of the artwork of Castiglione, an artist at the imperial court of three Qing emperors.

CityU launched the Non-Local Student Athletes Admission Scheme in 2017 to attract high-performing international athletes to CityU and further enhance the performance of our sports teams.

CityU has held the Dialogue Series with Consuls General since 2017 to provide opportunities for CityU students and faculty members to communicate with diplomats.

CityU, in collaboration with Le French May, presented “The Roofs of Paris Exhibition” and “The Cabinets of Curiosities. From the Natural Sciences to the Art of Nature. Collections from France and Hong Kong” at CityU Exhibition Gallery in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

CityU became a founding member of the Blockchain consortium in 2018 and developed Blockchain software in 2019 to share academic credentials in a safe and secure IT environment.

CityU, in collaboration with the General Consulate of France in Hong Kong and Macau, presented “Art Deco. The France–China Connection” at CityU Exhibition Gallery in 2019.

CityU, in collaboration with the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, presented “Leonardo da Vinci: Art & Science. Then & Now” in 2019 that featured for the first time in Hong Kong 12 original da Vinci drawings and showcased his machine models and a replica of one of his famous paintings.

CityU established a complete innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in 2015 to offer comprehensive support at all stages of an entrepreneurial pursuit, from skills enhancement and physical space for start-ups to financial support worth at least HK$6.5M in total per year, plus additional investment capital for mature enterprises.

An online collection of information related to entrepreneurship has been created and available for use from 2015, covering a wide range of topics from creativity to practical tips on business plan writing to fundraising from venture capital investors (http://libguides.library.cityu.edu.hk/entrep).

CityU Industrial and Business Leaders Circle was established in 2016 as a platform for strengthening communications with industry and business leaders and for sharing experiences and soliciting support for University advancement.

CityU Research Centre on One-Belt-One-Road signed an agreement in 2016 with Tsinghua University and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to establish the International PPP Specialist Centre of Excellence for Public Transport Logistics.

CityU inaugurated the CityU Chengdu Research Institute in May 2017, jointly developed with the Shuangliu District’s Government of Chengdu, to focus on applied research and industry service, targeting demand for societal development and industry advancement on the Mainland.

CityU partnered with Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) in 2017 to launch a joint university incubation programme. Student participants can enjoy the facilities and benefits of HKSTP’s own incubation programme at Science Park in Shatin and those of the CityU–HKSTP Incubator Scheme housed in InnoCentre, next to our campus.

CityU’s research and professional education establishment in Shenzhen, Innovation Commons (Shenzhen) (香港城市大學創新創業中心(深圳)) was set up in 2018 to serve as another incubator for the technology startups of our students, staff members and alumni.

CityU signed a collaborative agreement with Changsha Municipal People’s Government in 2019 to strengthen communication on collaboration between the two organisations, promote the establishment of the Changsha–Hong Kong–Macau Innovation Entrepreneurship Industrial Park, set up new research and technology organisations and enhance technology and knowledge transfer, while nurturing talent for innovation and entrepreneurship.

CityU installed Electric Vehicle Chargers on campus in 2016/17 in support of sustainability.

CityU Scholars, a research hub of excellence, was launched in 2017 to promote the awards of faculty members, facilitate reporting information to the government, enhance the efficiency of internal reporting, and eliminate duplication.

CityU launched the Staff Social Club in 2015, with over 9,000 hours of work-life balance and family-friendly activities conducted per annum.

Over 5,000 CityU alumni, students, staff and their families joined the “CityU Homecoming Gala cum Campus Run 2017”.

CityU cultivated a herb garden in the student residences and recycled usable household items at a mass donation to the needy in the vicinity via NGOs in 2017.

CityU implemented a one-off voluntary departure scheme, a new human resources model with some human resources operations delegated to academic units and a job rotation of eight senior administrative staff in 2018.

CityU has offered since 2018 a “Wellness For All” campaign, which plays an important role in promoting a healthy campus for the CityU community throughout the year with a series of competitions, exhibitions, workshops, talks and physical activities.

In 2018, CityU installed new Water Dispenser Systems to promote a no-bottled-water campus.

CityU has implemented a water conservation scheme since 2018 to recycle 2,176 cubic metres of grey water for irrigation per annum.

CityU launched the on-going “No Straw Campus @ CityU” campaign in 2019.