The Faculty of Dentistry has had an eventful year. It was named second best in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, the ninth time it has placed in the top three since 2015. It was also selected for incubation as the Global Hub for Future Dentistry by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, launched two world-first AI-powered initiatives to detect oral cancer and early-stage childhood caries, and adapted to new requirements for its graduates, among many other achievements. And in July, it welcomed the confirmation of Professor Lijian Jin, Modern Dental Laboratory Professor in Clinical Dental Science, as its Dean. Professor Jin faces a special challenge: how does one sustain such excellence under constant new demands, scientific and technological change and competition? “I’m very confident that as long as we uphold our spirits, with strong support from the government, our University, the dental profession in Hong Kong, alumni and our colleagues in the Chinese Mainland and around the world, then we will do well,” he said. His role, as he sees it, is to keep the door open for engagement and teamwork and give people the space and freedom to interact, test things out, enjoy their time and even argue. “As long as we agree on our goals, then we can work out any conflicts,” he said. “I look on the positive side. Even if a person or situation is 90 per cent negative and 10 per cent positive, I will focus on the 10 per cent.” An Enviable Challenge Well connected Within the Faculty, he also held several senior positions until he was tapped, in July 2024, to be the Acting Dean. Over the next year, he rose to the challenge, in particular, overseeing the response to amendments to Hong Kong’s Dentists Registration Ordinance that involve fresh graduates, and enhancing the Faculty’s role in continuing professional education. Graduates must now complete a one-year internship before they can be fully registered, on top of the six-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery. Professor Jin formed a new working group to refine the curriculum with this, and much more, in mind. “We are looking at how to further improve our curriculum and incorporate new elements such as AI, digital dentistry, precision dentistry, and even green dentistry,” he said. The Ordinance also introduces compulsory continuing professional development (CPD) for registration renewal, starting from 2026. As the only dental school in Hong Kong, the Faculty will meet that demand with courses, workshops and the like in collaboration with the government, the Dental Council of Hong Kong, College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Dental Association and Prince Philip Dental Hospital. This is in addition to taught postgraduate programmes to train up dental specialists. “I expect in the near future that we will launch more high-quality CPD programmes and serve dentists not only in Hong Kong but the Greater Bay Area, the whole of China and the wider world,” Professor Jin said. “We will also continue to further enhance teaching and learning, research and innovation, knowledge exchange and professional engagement for better serving the community.” And he is confident of a warm reception. During the IADR annual meeting in June in Barcelona, representatives from over 110 dental schools and organisations attended the Faculty’s reception there. “Our dental school is a global institute, and we are connected to the whole world,” he said. Service-minded He has built a career and a wide international network around such optimism. Born in Hangzhou to parents who both had scholarly backgrounds, he was exhorted from a young age to focus not on money but on service. “My father told me: ‘I don’t care if you have a billion dollars – do something you can be proud of and be of value to the community’,” he said. Professor Jin shone academically, earning a PhD at Beijing Medical University (now Peking University Health Science Center) before being invited to the Karolinska Institute in Sweden for further study in 1990. He was mentored there not only in dentistry, but also in the ways of Western culture. However, after four years, HKU beckoned with an offer. “I wanted to contribute to the nation, to the region and to the world, and also take care of my parents as the only son. So, I took the offer,” he said. The decision to join HKU proved fortuitous for both his career and his personal life since he met his wife here. Over the past three decades, Professor Jin has established himself as a world-renowned expert in gum disease, or periodontology, and held senior positions in the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) and the FDI World Dental Federation, where he led the task force of its Global Periodontal Health Project, launched in 2015. (Professor Jin is also a walking example of periodontal health, having no cavities, dental restorations or crowns). HKU’s Faculty of Dentistry is one of the best dental schools in the world, recently placing number two in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings by subject. Its new Dean, Professor Lijian Jin, will be carrying that legacy forward. HKU Bulletin | Nov 2025 People 46 47 Professor Lijian Jin I look on the positive side. Even if a person or situation is 90 per cent negative and 10 per cent positive, I will focus on the 10 per cent.
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