FIVE JOCKEY CLUB STEM LABS With generous support of HK$48.51 million from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, five Jockey Club (JC) STEM Labs were established at HKU to nurture future leaders in STEM fields and facilitate interdisciplinary research and collaboration. The five JC STEM Labs will examine complex problems and solutions in areas ranging from health and food security to water usage and environmental preservation, with a focus on scientific and technological underpinnings. The five labs are: Advanced 3D Integrated Circuit Technology; Molecular Imaging; Multimedia and Machine Learning; Quantitative Remote Sensing; and Robotics for Soft Materials. SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS Researchers at HKU pursued collaboration and dialogue to move sustainability and climate change up the agenda in 2024. The HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute, led by the Faculty of Business and Economics, was launched to promote collaborative research on best practices and innovative solutions related to environmental, social and governance challenges in sustainability. Furthermore, the Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality organised the Hong Kong Climate Forum in March, bringing together experts, policymakers, business leaders and stakeholders from the United States and China, in particular the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Bay Area. The Institute aims to build a bridge for climate action and co-operation. It has also launched a new Master of Climate Governance and Risk Management programme. CENTRES OF COLLABORATION HKU welcomed several new initiatives in 2023–24 to formalise and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration in key areas and provide new solutions for the challenges of our times. Five JC STEM Labs were established at HKU to foster innovative and sustainable research for driving projects to examine complex problems and solutions. A visit to the JC STEM Lab of Robotics for Soft Materials. HKU hosted its inaugural Hong Kong Climate Forum in March, bringing together experts, policymakers, business leaders and stakeholders from both the United States and China to promote greater collaboration on climate change and clean energy. MATERIALS INNOVATION INSTITUTE FOR LIFE SCIENCES AND ENERGY CENTRE ON CONTEMPORARY CHINA AND THE WORLD The interdisciplinary Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) aims to foster a deeper understanding of China’s complex socio-political landscape and global governance amidst challenges such as economic turbulence, environmental degradation, technological transformation and geopolitical challenges. In its first year, it organised 22 public events, including its inaugural conference in December 2023, titled ‘A Renewed Hub and a New Horizon’, that brought together experts, policymakers and industry leaders to discuss China’s evolving role. The CCCW also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shanghai Sci-Tech Inno Center for Infection & Immunity led by internationally renowned medical doctor Zhang Wenhong, with which it also launched the Climate-Ocean-Health Study Interdisciplinary Observer Network (COHESION), and it established the ‘Leading Edge Academic Publications’ monograph series. So far, 27 HKUaffiliated fellows and 25 non-resident fellows have been recruited to the CCCW. The Materials Innovation Institute for Life Sciences and Energy (MILES) aims to produce highly disciplinary research in materials chemistry for life sciences and renewable energy. It was established in 2024 in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone with access to support on both sides of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border and 12,000 square metres of state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities such as a small animal centre and a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratory. MILES aspires to become one of the top institutes of its kind in the world and is seeking world-class faculty at both junior and senior levels to collaborate and conduct highrisk, high-reward and high-impact research. Already, more than 20 HKU professors from science, engineering and medicine have established a presence there. The Materials Innovation Institute for Life Sciences and Energy is an HKU institute established in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone. HKU’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shanghai Sci-Tech Inno Center for Infection & Immunity during the Pujiang Innovation Forum 2024. 32 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION 33 HKU ANNUAL REPORT 2024
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