Honorary University Fellows

Ir Professor Paul Poon Wai Yin is a distinguished engineer, a respected leader with over 50 years’ experience in the power and electrical engineering industry, a former Vice-Chancellor of CLP Power Academy, and currently the Managing Director of Poon’s Engineering Limited.

Ir Professor Poon holds a BSc (Eng) degree from the University of Hong Kong and has worked for the power utilities and engineering consultancy and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as a professional power and electrical engineer.

He joined CLP in 1981 and after decades of exemplary contributions was appointed Managing Director of CLP Power and Chairman of CLP Engineering in 2013. In 2017, he established CLP Power Academy and assumed the role of Vice-Chancellor. In his current role as Managing Director of Poon’s Engineering Limited, his focus is on the provision of energy and environmental consultancy to NGOs and professional institutions.

At HKU, Ir Professor Poon is currently an Honorary Professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and has served as its Advisory Committee Member (when it was the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering). He is also currently a Member of the HKU Foundation, and has served as a Board Member of HKU SPACE and President of the HKU Engineering Alumni Association.

In the engineering profession, Ir Professor Poon is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Institution of Engineers Australia, the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering and the Hong Kong Management Association and is a Professoriate Senior Engineer in China.

He has served as the Deputy Chairman of Council and Court of the Hong Kong Baptist University, the Supervisor & Chairman of the Incorporated Management Committee of The Hong Kong Management Association K S Lo College, Council Member of the Hong Kong Management Association, the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers as well as Advisor of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency Finance Committee and Our Hong Kong Foundation, and the Deputy Chairman of the Fellowship Committee of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. Outside Hong Kong, he has also served as a Board Member of major energy companies in the Chinese Mainland and Luxembourg.

Ir Professor Poon was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Vocational Training Council in 2014, and the Medal of Honour from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2023.

Citation delivered by Professor David Srolovitz, Dean of Engineering

Engineer Professor Paul Poon Wai Yin is a distinguished engineer, a respected leader with over 50 years’ experience in the power and electrical engineering industry, and a former Vice-Chancellor of CLP Power Academy. He is currently the Managing Director of Poon’s Engineering Limited, with a focus on the provision of energy and environmental consultancy to NGOs and professional institutions.

Professor Poon holds a BSc (Eng) degree from the University of Hong Kong and has worked for power utilities, engineering consultancies and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as a professional power and electrical engineer.

He joined CLP in 1981 and served in a range of substantial management positions, including Power Systems Director and Chief Operating officer, leading up to his appointment as Managing Director of CLP Power and Chairman of CLP Engineering in 2013.

Looking back at his decades of exemplary contributions, Professor Poon has been one of the key figures responsible for the industry’s ability to both provide the power needed to meet Hong Kong’s demands and fulfil the environmental requirements that accompanied the growth of Hong Kong. He has made major contributions to improving CLP’s power supply reliability and safety performance by over 90%, both exceeding world-class standards, while simultaneously keeping its tariffs at a reasonable level. These conflicting requirements, known as the energy trilemma, could only be accomplished through effective teamwork and shared vision by the staff Professor Poon led at CLP.

Anticipating the continued growth of the city and the numerous accompanying large-scale infrastructure developments, Professor Poon understood that more Electrical and Mechanical (E&M) professionals must be trained up to ensure that a safe and reliable power supply would be available to help realise these projects. It was in response to this vision that he established the CLP Power Academy and assumed the role of Vice-Chancellor in 2017, overseeing the provision of a range of accredited professional programmes for young people and working adults to progress in careers in the energy and E&M engineering industries. His programme was an instant success, with over 170 applicants vying for 40 available places of a vocational and professional programme in the first year, and a doubling of the number of places available by the second year.

It was here that Professor Poon discovered his real calling. He cares deeply about talent development, and in particular, helping young people with no formal tertiary education qualifications or any relevant working experience find a productive and rewarding career path in the engineering industry. He says, and I quote: “This passion drives me to not only share my knowledge and experience with young people but also to continuously learn and update myself with new knowledge, so that I can achieve my aims and ambitions more effectively.” End quote.

His experience as an HKUer also left a deep impression on Professor Poon. He relates that when he was a final year student at HKU, the University invited CLP to give a career talk to the soon-to-be-graduates. One of the expatriate representatives quietly mentioned that if we wanted to work at CLP, we would have to have the internal mindset of serving the community wholeheartedly, and not just think about how to be successful in our careers.

For Professor Poon, that subtle remark was transformative, showing him the difference between ‘working for a living’ and ‘living for work’. That sense of purpose was the driving force that motivated many of his endeavours – such as his willingness to work under extreme weather conditions to restore power supply to customers; to help generations of school leavers with no clear academic opportunities become professionals; and to spend time sharing his real-life industry experience and expertise with university students and young graduates, just to name a few.

At HKU, Professor Poon is currently an Honorary Professor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and has served as its Advisory Committee Member. He is also currently a Member of the HKU Foundation, and has served as a Board Member of HKU SPACE and President of the HKU Engineering Alumni Association.

Within our engineering profession, Professor Poon is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Institution of Engineers Australia, the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering and the Hong Kong Management Association and is a Professoriate Senior Engineer in China.

He has served as the Deputy Chairman of Council and Court of the Hong Kong Baptist University, Supervisor & Chairman of the Incorporated Management Committee of The Hong Kong Management Association K S Lo College, and a Council Member of the Hong Kong Management Association, the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

He has been an Advisor of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency Finance Committee and Our Hong Kong Foundation, and Deputy Chairman of the Fellowship Committee of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

Beyond Hong Kong, he has also served as a Board Member of major energy companies in the Chinese mainland and Luxembourg.

Professor Poon was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Vocational Training Council in 2014, and the Medal of Honour from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2023.

Given his lifetime of experience in empowering people to live better and brighter lives – one might say literally as well as figuratively – Professor Poon sees multiple, interacting challenges for the world that threaten its long-term survival. These include climate change, nuclear proliferation, technological misalignment with human goals, and most importantly humanity itself which is the origin of these major challenges.

But, as always, Professor Poon directs our focus to the power of the light at the end of the tunnel. His greatest hope for humanity is its resilience, proven capabilities, and adaptability in overcoming major challenges and securing a long-term, sustainable future with growth – believing that common sense will prevail in major decisions affecting the world.

Therefore, Mr Pro-Chancellor, it is my great pleasure to present Engineer Professor Paul Poon Wai Yin for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of his contributions to humanity, Hong Kong and academia.