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HKUST Alumni News 2011
HKUST Alumni News 2015
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Foreword
Professor Tony F Chan
President
I extended my warmest
welcome to guests at
the London celebration dinner
for the University’s
25th anniversary.
Dear Alumni,
T
he year 2016 represents a
landmark for HKUST – I am sure
all of you are well aware by now
that it marks our 25th anniversary! Over the
past two-and-half decades, the University
has evolved and developed into the
internationally renowned tertiary institution it
is today, and we have plenty to celebrate.
The global anniversary celebrations
kicked off in London in November, and it
was heartwarming to witness the close
bonds that have been forged among
alumni overseas. A good number of
exchange-out and former exchange-in
students attended, and we were honored
to welcome Ambassador Liu Xiaoming,
Ambassador to the United Kingdom of the
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and
Ms Priscilla To, Director-General of Hong
Kong Economic and Trade Of ce, London, to the event, along with
guests from British universities and other institutions. A seminar
entitled "Science – Vision into the Future" was staged prior to the
dinner, and featured presentations by professors from the School
of Science who shared with the audience their insights into their
research disciplines.
Aside from London, I also got a rare opportunity to meet alumni
and students in Toronto and Shanghai during university trips. And I
encountered even more of you at the 10th-graduation anniversary
homecoming reunion for the Class of 2005, as well as at the annual
dinner of the HKUST Alumni Association in October.
Stay tuned for news on more 25th anniversary celebrations
ahead, including the Distinguished Speakers Series, the HKUST
team for the Hong Kong Marathon, global celebrations in San
Francisco, Beijing and Singapore, and the gala banquet, to name a
few. I look forward to welcoming you all to these special occasions!
In related news, I am extremely pleased to announce that Roger
King, HKUST’s most senior PhD alumnus, has taken the lead in
pledging to match the donations of alumni up to a total of HK$2.5
million to the Alumni Endowment Fund. The AEF currently stands
at HK$19 million and we have set ourselves the ambitious goal of
HK$25 million by 2017. So join with Roger in making a birthday gift
to your alma mater, and help us reach this goal.
If I could highlight just one signi cant change in the past 25
years, I would say it is in the growth of alumni “going it on their
own” as opposed to following the traditional corporate career
path. Advancements in digital and mobile technology are behind
many startups, and the cover story for this issue of
Alumni News
details the experiences of three alumni who are using crowdfunding
platforms to market their products and companies.
Perhaps their interesting stories will inspire some among
our fresh cohort of graduates from the Class of 2015 to pursue
something similar! I offer my congratulations to them all – whatever
path they follow. A total of 4,482 degrees were conferred, bringing
our alumni community to over 58,000.
It just remains for me to wish every one of you a happy, healthy
and prosperous 2016.
Best wishes,
