Architecture students talking to village elders as part of
a data collection exercise on rural villages in China.

Knowledge exchange (KE) has become entrenched at the University. It is closely entwined with our academic endeavours and is part of our value system. KE is incorporated into our strategic development planning, it is recognised in the performance review process of academic staff, and it is a factor in the internal resource allocation for Faculties. Outstanding KE achievements are also celebrated at HKU. This foundation of support has evolved over the past five years, and in 2013-14 attention began to turn to the next stage of our KE development: enhancing our impact in the community.

If KE is the process, impact is the outcome. It is the way in which we demonstrate the value an success of our efforts to bring social, economic, environmental and cultural benefits to the community. The quality of KE projects is getting higher every year and the University is focusing more on this question of impact, both for external and internal reasons.

Externally, impact beyond academia has recently become a factor in the research assessment exercise in Britain. While it is not yet known whether Hong Kong will follow suit, the University considers the UK experience useful in helping different disciplines look at their KE initiatives and devise their future KE plans in the context of impact. During 2013-14, we invited four scholars from Leeds University's Arts Engaged programme to conduct impact workshops and share their experiences in preparing impact case studies, both with our scholars and those at other universities in Hong Kong. We will also hold a joint conference with Leeds in 2014-15 to further explore the complexities of shaping an impact agenda in higher education.

Impact Evaluation

Internally, the key element underpinning the University's KE strategy in this triennium (2012-15) is the emphasis on communicating and evaluating the impact of HKU's excellent research. We continue to make use of the University Grants Council's earmarked funding for KE to support staff members and students in undertaking meaningful projects that have the potential to create an impact in society. Our Competitive Impact Project Funding Scheme supported 42 proposals in 2013-14, while the Student Knowledge Exchange Project Grant Scheme funded 28 projects.

We also organise the Knowledge Exchange Awards Scheme each year to recognise outstanding examples of KE, and in 2014 we further promoted KE projects by initiating the production of KE videos. The University has also established the HKU Scholars Hub to make our scholars and their research more accessible to potential partners and users in the community; in 2013-14 its view count increased to more than 1.5 million, up nearly 50 per cent over the previous year.

Products and Applications

One major way of achieving impact is by working with industry and by being entrepreneurial about translating our research findings into products and applications. The Technology Transfer Office (TTO) helps industry access our discoveries, and academics further their research collaborations with industry. In 2013-14 the TTO underwent a major re-organisation to connect it more firmly to the University's structure. Most staff members of Versitech Ltd, the wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of HKU, are now staff of the TTO, reflecting the importance of technology transfer in the University's mission. The TTO also runs the eight-week Entrepreneurship Academy, which provides workshops and networking opportunities for research staff and research postgraduate (RPG) students. In 2013-14, full attendance started being recorded in the transcripts of RPG students to reflect their skill development in this area.

Community engagement through KE and impact will receive increasing attention in the coming years. This is a direction that not only keeps the University at the forefront of international developments, but also aligns with our mission to contribute to the advancement of society in Hong Kong, the region and the world.

Budding Entrepreneur Gets Motivated

Ivan Law Hoi-wang

Ivan Law Hoi-wang participated in the Entrepreneurship Academy twice before graduating with an MSc in
E-Commerce and Internet Computing in 2014. He received not only training in the basics, such as accounting and marketing, but something more: inspiration. "I had joined other programmes for entrepreneurs but this one was the best. They brought in guest speakers who shared both their successes and failures, and they were really motivating. For me, the Entrepreneurship Academy was life-changing," he said. In fact, it spurred Ivan to set up a start-up with a classmate from his MSc to develop software that attempts to solve non-profit organisations' logistical issues.

Venus Debuts at HKU Botticelli's painting of the goddess Venus came to HKU in the autumn of 2013 for an exhibition at the University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG). It proved to be not only a feast for the eyes, but a wonderful launch pad for KE activities. Guided tours and special texts were arranged on everything from Renaissance workshop culture to iconographic values. About 30,000 people visited the exhibition, including 38 school groups. This was the first time the Museum staged an event of this kind and in autumn 2014 it organised a second major exhibition featuring Picasso's ceramics. Venus at UMAG (left) and a Picasso ceramic