29 30 STUDENT HUB STUDENT HUB Student Activities Master of Public Policy Analysis Exercise 2025-2026: Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through Policy Innovation and Collaboration The Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) is an eight-month capstone practicum of the two-year Master of Public Policy (MPP) programme offered by the Division of Public Policy (PPOL) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Centered on the theme of “Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) through Policy Innovation and Collaboration”, the 2025/26 PAE embodies the programme’s core mission of nurturing future policy leaders who are capable of translating global sustainable development frameworks into concrete, actionable local solutions. In this academic year, MPP students presented their group project outcomes across two parallel sessions during the full-day conference, demonstrating rigorous policy analysis skills and collaborative problem-solving capabilities. Dr. Marie N. BERNAL from the Division of Public Policy delivered the opening remarks. She introduced the background and positioning of the PAE programme and acknowledged the collective efforts of all academic supervisors, client consultants, partner organisations and participating students. Prof. Kira MATUS of the MPP programme encouraged students to derive practical and implementable insights from their PAE experience. She highlighted that the wide-ranging research topics explored by student teams, including urban climate resilience and urban biodiversity conservation, faithfully mirror the inherent complexity of real-world policy-making and public governance. The 2025/26 PAE projects were fully supported by an experienced academic supervision team, consisting of Prof. Kira Matus, Prof. Raul P. Lejano, Prof. Masaru Yarime, Prof. Alex He, Prof. James Wong, Prof. Xiaofan Zhao, Dr. Fangxin Francine Yi, and Dr. Michael Tyrala. Under the joint mentorship of academic instructors and professional client advisors from industry and government sectors, MPP students conducted group-based specialised policy research. Their studies primarily explore how policy innovation and cross-sectoral collaboration can facilitate the local implementation and advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Hong Kong and neighbouring regions. Addressing pressing sustainable development challenges, the projects cover key areas including climate governance and urban resilience building, urban biodiversity preservation, food waste mitigation among small and medium-sized enterprises, and sustainable population development, systematically identifying both opportunities and practical constraints in the delivery of local sustainable development initiatives. The annual PAE conference serves as a professional platform for practical achievement demonstration and academic exchange. It enables students to apply public policy theories and analytical frameworks acquired from coursework to real-world public governance scenarios, accumulate front-line industry experience, and build professional networks with industry practitioners and potential partners. During the conference, each student group presented their research ndings. Closely aligned with the UN SDGs, their studies focus on cutting-edge policy challenges in urban governance, ecological conservation, livelihood improvement, and industrial green transition, featuring diverse analytical perspectives and strong practical relevance. Following each presentation, academic supervisors and client consultants provided professional comments and targeted feedback, offering detailed optimisation suggestions on research frameworks, policy design and implementation feasibility to help students re ne and strengthen their project outcomes. The 2025/26 PAE programme received robust support from senior client consultants across diverse industries in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. Serving as senior management personnel, department heads and core executives in their respective elds, these consultants provided students with valuable industry insights and localized governance experience. The MPP programme has long fostered in-depth industry-academia collaboration with industrial institutions and government bodies. By delivering practical training based on authentic policy issues, the programme empowers students to tackle real-world public governance challenges, contribute evidence-based policy research to regional sustainable development, and effectively advance the localized implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDk5Njg=