PolyU: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University welcomes 2022 Policy Address initiatives on innovation and technology, education, and talent development

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) welcomes the Chief Executive’s initiatives in the 2022 Policy Address that laid out a comprehensive strategy for strengthening Hong Kong’s innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem, enhancing the talent pool, improving people’s livelihood, and fostering the city’s participation in the Nation’s development.

The University is also encouraged by the distinctive role and enormous opportunities for Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” principle, as outlined in the Communist Party of China’s 20th National Congress report.

Dr LAM Tai-fai, Council Chairman of PolyU, welcomed and supported the maiden policy address of the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee. He said, “Hong Kong has achieved a major transition from chaos to order, and is now in a crucial stage of advancing from stability to prosperity. The governing beliefs, visions and policy initiatives outlined in the Policy Address will open a new chapter for Hong Kong and bring a better future for our citizens and new opportunities for the city’s development. PolyU will leverage its excellence in education and research to render our full support to the Administration in realising the goals set out in its I&T and talent policies. With the support of the Central Government and the stewardship of the Chief Executive and his new administration, I am confident that Hong Kong’s economy and our people’s livelihood will further improve, our community will be more cohesive and accommodating, and our citizens will enjoy a happier and safer environment. I have high hopes for Hong Kong to integrate more into the Nation’s development and play a role in the rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation. I firmly believe that the cause of ‘one country, two systems’ will flourish.”

Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU, said, “We are excited by the Government’s new measures which will drive better coordination of upstream, midstream and downstream I&T development; strengthen the leading position of local universities in world-class research; support local universities to accelerate the transformation and commercialisation of their research and development outcomes; attract top global talents and enable young people to reach their full potential. The Policy Address also sets out a further implementation strategy for the development of the Northern Metropolis which will provide enormous space for local universities and I&T enterprises to expand their footprint, supporting Hong Kong and GBA to become an international I&T hub. We are confident that the Policy Address will help Hong Kong capitalise on the enormous opportunity to develop its I&T industry and create more growth opportunities for young people. PolyU will continue to nurture more future talents who possess a strong sense of national identity and social responsibility as well as a global perspective, and will also further strengthen its research and knowledge transfer capabilities to contribute to the advancement of Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and the Nation.”

PolyU is pleased to learn that the Government will promulgate the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint within this year, and welcomes the launch of the “Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme” (RAISe+ Scheme) next year to support research teams in universities which have good potential to become start-ups. The PolyU Entrepreneurship Investment Fund, which was set up recently will also support the commercialization of licensed PolyU technologies and the high potential start-ups involving PolyU graduates and researchers, leveraging the resources and expertise of co-investors and partners. Meanwhile, the University has been promoting collaboration among research institutions, academia, and industry in other cities of the Greater Bay Area and beyond, pairing up PolyU’s world-class research with local industrial and market power.

PolyU also welcomes the Government initiatives to increase the number of the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded research postgraduate (RPg) places and to uplift the over-enrolment ceiling of RPg places, thus helping universities to cultivate more high-level research talents. PolyU will complement the Government’s policy on strengthening the talent pool, continue to refresh its curriculum, and attract more outstanding students along the Belt and Road to pursue their studies or career in Hong Kong.

In the 2022/23 academic year, PolyU has launched a brand-new programme under the Special Talents Admission and Recognition Scheme (STARS) to provide students who have demonstrated remarkable achievements in sports, arts and culture; social services and leadership; and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with quality tertiary education. Ranked the No.1 University in the “Best Universities for Blockchain 2022” list by CoinDesk, PolyU will launch the first BBA (Hons) in Digital Finance and Investment to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness in nurturing fintech talents. PolyU is also actively expanding its campus to provide more teaching and research facilities to nurture healthcare talents, satisfying the growing demand in the community.

The Policy Address recommends the relaxation of the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates by extending the limit of stay from one year to two years to facilitate their staying in or coming to Hong Kong for work; and a living allowance will be provided for research talents with a doctoral degree. PolyU welcomes the new policy and believes that it would help retain talents educated in local institutions.

In addition, since the launch of the Global STEM Professorship Scheme, almost a quarter of successful nominations have come from PolyU. The University will benefit from the array of new measures to attract non-local talents in the Policy Address, and will continue to recruit top-notch scholars from around the world.

The Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology (PReCIT), recently founded by PolyU, made a submission to the Government earlier on recommendations about developing Hong Kong’s I&T sector, fostering a carbon-neutral city, and attracting talents. PReCIT will continue to promote interdisciplinary policy research and provide strategic recommendations for the development of I&T in the Greater Bay Area and carbon-neutral cities.

The next five years will be critical to start building our Nation into a great modern country. The Communist Party of China’s 20th National Congress report stated that science and technology is the primary productive force, talent is the primary resource, while innovation is the primary driver of growth. The report also proposed to improve the scientific and technological innovation system and accelerate the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, and facilitate implementation of the workforce development strategy with measures to quickly build a world class hub for talent and innovation development.

PolyU will leverage its research institutes including the State Key Laboratories; the Chinese National Engineering Research Centres (Hong Kong Branches); and the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), the largest research platform of its kind in the Greater Bay Area, to support the Nation’s drive in new industrialisation and Digital China, its development into a leading player in aerospace and transportation, acceleration of the planning and construction of a new energy system, as well as advancing the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality.