Honorary University Fellows

Citation delivered by the Acting Dean of Architecture, Professor David Lung:

Professor Francis Lau Shiu Kwan is one of the leading figures in the real estate and construction profession in Hong Kong, and has contributed significantly to the development of both the profession and industry locally and in Mainland China. He established the first accredited Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Higher Diploma Course in 1967 at the then Hong Kong Technical College (now the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong).

Here at HKU, he has provided both vision and bedrock support for the development of teaching and research in the surveying discipline. Professor Lau assisted Professor Anthony Walker in the establishment of the Department of Surveying in 1984 (now renamed the Department of Real Estate and Construction). He served as a member of the Department’s Review Panel in 1997 and was appointed Honorary Professor in 1999.

In addition, he has generously provided the backing for research and scholarships, both in his own capacity and as Chairman of the Zhong Hua Real Estate and Construction Research and Development Foundation Limited.

Professor Lau was the President of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors from 1987 to 1988, and of the Hong Kong Institute of Real Estate Administrators from 1989 to 1998. He is currently the President of the Hong Kong Association for the Advancement of Real Estate and Construction Technology. Professor Lau has on a number of Government Advisory Committees in Hong Kong and was advisor to various Municipal Governments, the Ministry of Construction and the State Land Administration Bureau on land policies and practices in the Mainland.

Today, not too many people will remember that the first hammer donated by the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors used in the first land auction in Shenzhen on the 1st December, 1987, exactly 20 years ago, was arranged by Professor Lau. He then led a group of Hong Kong architects, surveyors and planners to witness this historical event that has completely transformed the urban land market in the Mainland ever since.

Professor Lau is an Honorary President of the HKU Foundation and was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2004.

It gives me great pleasure, Mr Pro-Chancellor, to present Professor Francis Lau Shiu Kwan for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of his contributions to Hong Kong and academia.