Dear faculty, staff, students and alumni,

On the second anniversary of my presidency, I would like to share with you some of our key developments and achievements of the year.

First and foremost, we implemented our new HKUST Strategic Plan 2031 in March this year. Building on the foundations laid by the strategies and objectives of the HKUST 3.0 Vision Plan, this future-focused roadmap will guide us towards the next level of excellence.

Talent recruitment remains our high priority, and I am pleased to report that since the start of my term, we have added over 100 faculty members from around the globe in key areas such as biomedical science, artificial intelligence, microelectronics, innovation in business management, sustainability and green technology, arts technology, as well as humanities and social sciences.

In student recruitment, we continued to attract top-tier local and global talent. We hosted the University Information Day 2024 to provide prospective undergraduates with comprehensive information and course offerings. The event drew an overwhelming response, with over 55,000 participants converging on campus in a single day. Among our non-local undergraduate students, about 50% are from overseas, positioning us as the top university in Hong Kong in relation to the proportion of international students.

Our success in student recruitment reflects our university’s growing reputation, which is further evidenced by our remarkable achievements in research funding. Three research projects led by HKUST received a total of HK$212.5 million through the RGC Areas of Excellence Scheme and the Theme-based Research Scheme 2024/25. Not only was this the highest funding amount among all local universities, but it was also a record high for our university. We also achieved excellent performance in the RGC Senior Research Fellow and Research Fellow Schemes. Six faculty members were named RGC Senior Research and Research Fellows, achieving the highest number of awardees and research grant amounts among all universities in 2024/25, and setting a new university record. Additionally, 16 HKUST scientists secured funding from three major National Natural Science Foundation of China Talent Program projects. This achievement marks HKUST’s best performance ever. It also highlights the pioneering nature of our faculty's research. To ensure that our faculty continue to have access to the most advanced research facilities, a series of exciting initiatives were implemented this year. Most notably, a powerful AI computing facility was established on campus – one of the best among Asian universities, to empower our community to blaze new trails. 

In our quest to keep our students in tune with evolving societal needs, the University launched new programs across diverse fields spanning AI, biomedical and health sciences, technology innovation and entrepreneurship, and information and cyber security management. We also established the first Division of Arts and Machine Creativity in Hong Kong, with the goal of bringing together technology, art, and the humanities. The Division will introduce postgraduate programs comparable to renowned institutions, such as MIT’s famous Media Lab, to nurture talent for creative industries. We are also partnering with the Alibaba Group to establish the “HKUST-Alibaba Joint Laboratory on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence” to foster forward-looking research in emerging technologies including generative AI and big data. With these and many other forthcoming initiatives including HKUST InnoBay, HKUST is poised to break new ground in these fields.

Recognizing AI as the new frontier and embracing our role as a hub for thought leadership, we were honored to host Dr. Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA for a fireside chat alongside the University Council Chairman, Professor Harry Shum, during the University Congregation on 23 November 2024. The event, titled “Technology, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship”, drew an enthusiastic audience of guests, faculty and students.  Dr. Huang, who was also our Honorary Doctorate, lauded HKUST as a leading institution in AI and data science. He highlighted the University’s significant contributions to open science research in China and described HKUST as the “MIT of Asia”. The congregation also witnessed the conferment of Honorary Doctorates upon the award-winning Hong Kong actor Mr. Tony Leung, Nobel Laureate Prof. Michael Levitt, and Fields Medalist Prof. David Mumford.

HKUST continues to be a leading force in entrepreneurship and innovation development in Hong Kong. As of 2024, our members have founded more than 1,800 active start-ups, which include 10 unicorns and 16 successful exits with 11 IPOs. Our efforts to nurture DeepTech unicorns have also been recognized, earning us the second rank in China. Building upon this achievement, we launched the HKUST Redbird Innovation Fund earlier this year. This HK$500 million initiative, valued at HK$2 billion in collaboration with investment partners, aims to establish Venture Investment Funds for high-potential DeepTech start-ups. 

We have been working hard to establish the HKUST Medical School. Our vision is to cultivate future-ready clinicians to enhance local healthcare services and drive biomedical innovation. I am grateful for the support and expertise of the Council Advisory Group in preparing for this significant new initiative. As part of the efforts to drive this forward, we have forged partnerships with Mainland hospitals such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Beijing Tiantan Hospital to cultivate innovative medical talents.

Our efforts to broaden our presence in the Mainland have gained significant momentum. The launch of HKUST(Guangzhou) in 2022 was an exciting milestone for HKUST. In June 2024, HKUST and HKUST(Guangzhou) jointly launched the “Redbird Cross Campus Study Program”. The program is a pioneering cross-border and cross-campus study initiative to promote resource sharing and synergy between the two campuses under the “Unified HKUST, Complementary Campuses” framework. On 30 November 2024, HKUST(Guangzhou) held its inaugural graduation ceremony which marks a significant milestone for both of our campuses on the path to becoming a center of innovation education in the Greater Bay Area.

An area where I significantly focused my personal effort over the past year is regional and global engagement, which is strategically important for enhancing our education and research mission. Elected as Chair of the Association of East Asian Research Universities for 2024-25, I am committed to championing the development of higher education in Asia. In January 2024, I attended the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. I was the only University President from Hong Kong at this prestigious event where global leaders gather to share insights on various critical international issues, including aging populations and climate change. In April 2024, I led a delegation to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to establish strategic partnerships with prominent institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in education, research, and innovation. This marked the first engagement trip to the UAE led by a president from a Hong Kong university.

Funding is vital to ensure that the University remains at the forefront of teaching, research, and societal impact. I am thrilled to announce that HKUST secured significant donations over the year from both the private and public sectors. We also reactivated the HKUST Foundation to expand our ability to identify and solicit support from potential donors.

HKUST further raised its global stature this year. The University ranks 11th in the QS Asian University Rankings 2025 and 47th in the QS World University Rankings 2025, and excels in 12 specific fields, particularly in AI leadership (No. 10 globally and No. 1 in Greater China for Data Science and AI). For the ninth consecutive year, HKUST placed among the top three in the Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings. Our graduates continue to shine, as we ranked 24th at the Times Higher Education Global Employability University Rankings 2024, maintaining a position among the top 30 for 12 years in a row. We also gained recognition for our efforts to become a global sustainability leader. HKUST was ranked 19th in the world, and the first in Hong Kong and Mainland China, in its debut appearance in the Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings. Moreover, I am delighted to share that HKUST marked an exciting milestone this year. Our alumni community, spread across all corners of the world, crossed the 100,000 mark.

I am incredibly proud of our accomplishments this year. Our extraordinary progress would not have been possible without the unwavering commitment and support of our Council and Court members, faculty, staff, students, our alumni, and our community supporters. Thank you for your dedication and service. I look forward to continuing to work closely with all of you to realize our shared aspirations and drive the University forward.

Happy holidays and wishing you all the best in the coming year!

Nancy Ip

President