Welcome to the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies at HKUST! Since our inception in 2008 as the Interdisciplinary Programs Office (IPO), we have grown rapidly into an education center nurturing crossdisciplinary professionals, an incubator for new interdisciplinary programs, and an interdisciplinary research powerhouse. The renaming to the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS) in 2023 reflects our school-level scale, the evolved functions in interdisciplinary education and research, as well as the new role as a special academic zone to carry out missions with flexibility and agility. AIS has introduced pioneering initiatives in interdisciplinary education, including offering the Individualized Interdisciplinary Programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels – the first of their kind in Greater China, that allow students the academic freedom to create their custom majors; launching the first Division of Arts and Machine Creativity in Hong Kong to nurture Art Tech talents who can leverage cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in art creation process. Offering over 10 interdisciplinary postgraduate programs, AIS provides a dynamic academic environment supported by our worldclass faculty. Our faculty members are clustered into five academically significant and socially impactful divisions, namely Environment and Sustainability, Public Policy, Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas, Integrative Systems and Design, and Arts and Machine Creativity. One-third of our faculty members have joint appointments with other departments such as Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Economics, Civil Engineering, and Social Science. Our diverse portfolio exemplifies our dedication to interdisciplinary innovation, driving breakthroughs through multi-disciplinary collaborations across a wide range of research areas, including air and health, climate adaptation and resilience, green finance and net zero solutions, science, technology, and innovation policy, environment policy, sustainability, social changes, robotics and AI, IoT for integrative systems, art management and machine creativity, and other emerging areas. In today’s rapidly evolving world, grand challenges require solutions beyond individual disciplines. AIS will explore new pedagogies to cultivate students’ competencies in fusing knowledge and knowhow from different fields for positive changes. New interdisciplinary research clusters will be established at AIS to tackle today’s challenging and multi-faceted issues. AIS also plays an important role in supporting the strategic plan of HKUST, including HKUST (GZ). As the Dean of AIS, I encourage you to join us in transcending traditional academic boundaries and broadening our reach through partnerships within the community, industry, academia in Hong Kong and beyond. Prof. QU Huamin Dean, Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies Welcome faculty members from 18 nationalities 120+ 37% regular faculty with interdisciplinary joint appointments 103 faculty members 885 Postgraduate students from 24 nationalities 25% regular faculty with interdisciplinary joint appointments to establish an interdisciplinary academic unit among universities in Hong Kong 1st 5 Divisions Division of Arts and Machine Creativity Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas Division of Environment and Sustainability Division of Integrative Systems and Design Division of Public Policy 880+ Postgraduate students from 24 nationalities ACADEMY OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES (AIS) 3 2
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDk5Njg=