5 4 HKU ANNUAL REPORT 2023 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND VICE-CHANCELLOR OUR LEADERSHIP Recruiting top scholars also helps us recruit top students. HKU traditionally does quite well in this regard and this year is no exception. We welcomed dozens of top achievers from all six inhabited continents to our undergraduate programmes, despite fierce competition. But to remain competitive in the fight for both staff and students, we also need to offer them an environment that is conducive to achieving excellence. We need to provide better hardware in terms of state-of-the-art facilities where they can apply their knowledge and capabilities in the most effective and impactful ways. We are, therefore, also rapidly upgrading and expanding our footprint. Professor Xiang Zhang President and Vice-Chancellor December 2023 PROFESSOR XIANG ZHANG President and Vice-Chancellor PROFESSOR PAN WEI Acting Executive Vice-President (Administration and Finance) PROFESSOR IAN MICHAEL HOLLIDAY Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) MS ISABELLA WONG YEE SIN Chief of Staff PROFESSOR RICHARD WONG YUE CHIM Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor PROFESSOR GONG PENG Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) PROFESSOR MAX SHEN ZUOJUN Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) “ I BELIEVE HKU CAN PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN ADDRESSING PRESSING GLOBAL ISSUES THROUGH OUR RESEARCH AND OUR LEADERSHIP. WE CAN BE MORE THAN A GREAT UNIVERSITY OF ASIA. ” and innovation – of inspiring a sense of magic and wonder at what we can achieve. This cannot be pulled out of thin air. It requires systems to support and encourage achievers at all levels to feel appreciated and rewarded. While HKU has done well over its first 111 years, some aspects of its operations are no longer fit for purpose. My team and I have been assessing where we can make improvements to sustain and advance our excellence, particularly in the face of stiff competition and rapid technological change. It is important to note that HKU is not alone in doing this. The best universities all over Asia, Europe and North America have gone through similar processes. Our reforms to date have streamlined administration, hiring practices, salaries and merit awards such as Endowed Professorships, to ensure young as well as mature scholars can benefit. When combined with our success in recruitment and building, I am confident the changes will enable everyone in the University to perform at their best. And that brings me to my broader vision. Expansion and growth are the means to an end. And that end is to contribute solutions to the existential threats facing the world, such as climate change. These cannot be solved by single entities. They require collaboration and an ability to cross borders and cultures to find common ground. HKU and Hong Kong are uniquely positioned to do this given our recognised position at the crossroads of East and West. There has never been more urgency for such a perspective than there is today, especially amid rising geopolitical tensions. I believe HKU can play a major role in addressing pressing global issues through our research and our leadership. We can be more than a great university of Asia. We must strive to be a great university of the world, a new Harvard or Cambridge. Big ambitions like this are, of course, not easy. An important lesson for me over these five years has been the importance of patience and perseverance when pursuing change. People need time to adjust to new expectations, but I have no doubt that everyone will benefit as we push our ambitions forward. When the sea level rises, all the boats are lifted. This is a win-win situation for HKU, as well as Hong Kong and the wider world. We currently have nearly 20 buildings under construction or redevelopment that will provide top-grade facilities for our medical and business faculties, student and staff accommodation, and student amenities. This is just the beginning. We are actively planning for the Global Innovation Centre, a large-scale project on the piece of land earmarked for us by the Hong Kong Government. In the recent policy address, the Chief Executive has also announced plans for an education hub in the proposed Northern Metropolis, which we fully support. That is all in addition to our ongoing work in Mainland China to establish teaching and research facilities there. In the next five to 10 years, HKU will have a substantially bigger physical presence in the region. In addition to people and buildings, there is a third element to realising our ambitions, in many ways the most complex one, which is reform. I think of reform as the software for developing a culture of excitement and opportunity around intellectual inquiry
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