Welcome to the 66th edition of CUHK in Focus.
This year’s Dragon Boat Festival, which we just celebrated recently, marked not only the beginning of summer heat, but also an exciting milestone for the University — an early harvest in our partnerships with Shanghai. Over the years, we have been working closely together with our partners in Shanghai to build a strong talent pipeline for our country. Lately, our Faculty of Engineering, through its Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, launched a new undergraduate dual degree programme in Finance + Financial Technology with the Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Not only does this new programme equip students with an interdisciplinary mindset, but its cross-regional education model will enable students to gain valuable cultural experience in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. With the establishment of the new joint programme, CUHK and SJTU can harness their respective academic strengths to nurture future leaders who are able to tackle challenges of the rapidly evolving digital economy.
Following the announcement of this important collaboration, I led a CUHK delegation to Shanghai in late May to attend a series of important events showcasing our commitment to nurturing talent, fostering technological innovation, and knowledge transfer through cross-border partnerships.
With Shanghai being one of the favourite destinations for CUHK students seeking internships in the mainland, it gave me great pleasure to meet with government and industry representatives who have been providing valuable learning and professional development opportunities to our students in Shanghai at the Thanksgiving Reception for Internship Partners. I would like to thank our dedicated partners for their continued support, which has empowered CUHK students to gain diverse industry experiences as well as expand their career prospects.
The same day marked the launch of the Hong Kong Students Experiential Learning Programme 2025 at the Pudong International Talent Hub. The Programme allows CUHK students to gain deep insights into the innovative industries and first-hand exposure to the corporate environment and workplace culture in Shanghai. I look forward to seeing its transformative impact on our students’ career path as they return with broadened perspectives and an enriched skillset that will serve them for life.
Our six-day tour also featured engagements with government and academic partners, visits to research facilities and tech enterprises, as well as the launch meeting of the CUHK Shanghai Centre, which brought together delegates from the local government, academia and business community to witness CUHK’s latest strides in strengthening ties between Hong Kong and Shanghai in higher education and innovation. Since its establishment in 2023, the CUHK Shanghai Centre has been committed to promoting the collective work on talent cultivation, research and innovation between the two cities. Our partnership with the Yangpu District on establishing CUHK’s Innoport@Shanghai, now a major technology incubation hub in the city, has been highly successful, with the recent landing of six impactful knowledge transfer projects. We were also proud to have initiated the Joint Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme with the Shanghai Municipal Talent Work Bureau to support postdoctoral researchers in achieving scientific breakthroughs at CUHK. Moving forward, we shall continue to promote a deep integration of technology and industrial innovation, while fostering mutual advancement in talent cultivation with our mainland counterparts.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the CUHK Shanghai Alumni Association and the CUHK Business School Shanghai Alumni Association for hosting a welcome dinner for the CUHK delegation, which allowed me to gather with more than 200 alumni and guests from Hong Kong and different mainland cities. I was deeply touched by their warm hospitality and dedication to maintaining a strong connection with their alma mater. While alumni relations remain a key focus in the new five-year strategic plan of CUHK, I hope our alumni will render the University their generous support as always, so that our extensive global alumni network can continue to spread the impact of CUHK education to different corners of the world.
Striving for scientific progress
The past few weeks have also provided me with renewed inspirations as I participated in various occasions to build connections with the global scientific community. Upon the completion of my visit to Shanghai, I went to Beijing for a seminar in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Academic Divisions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASAD). I was honoured to deliver an address at the event, drawing on my own research and innovation experience to highlight the importance of scientific and technological (S&T) openness and international cooperation for enhancing national development and addressing global issues. Throughout the years, the CASAD has given full play to its role as a centre of academic leadership, uniting CAS academicians to advise on important S&T strategies for national development. At present, against the backdrop of an increasingly globalised world, S&T openness and cooperation are key to promoting innovation and facilitating the dissemination of advanced technologies to address global challenges. I believe it is the ultimate goal of all scientists in the world to see their research outcomes create greater value for humanity through extensive knowledge transfer.
The 33rd Annual Scientific Congress of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology on 7 June 2025, for which I had the pleasure to deliver an opening address, also gave me the opportunity to meet with esteemed experts from Hong Kong and overseas for a fruitful exchange of knowledge and experiences in different areas of cardiovascular medicine. Such meaningful gatherings of brilliant minds enable researchers and innovators from across the world to engage in thought-provoking discussions to share novel research findings and insights, driving us closer towards our common goal of building a brighter future for all.
I look forward to sharing more stories with you in our next edition.
Best wishes,
Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming
Vice-Chancellor and President
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
