HKU’S 111TH ANNIVERSARY

The University began its 111th Anniversary with a special light projection on the evening of the University’s Foundation Day, March 16 – which, this year, was a time when Hong Kong was just emerging from one of the darkest periods in its battle with the pandemic. The online programme showed the Main Building and other signature sites on campus being illuminated by beautiful light art projections.

In a message accompanying the lightshow, President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Xiang Zhang paid tribute to the people of Hong Kong, who have supported and shaped the University for over a century.

“Every year, we gather on Foundation Day, to honour the achievements of HKU, reflect on our history, and prepare for the future. Today, on our 111th Anniversary, I thank you for being an important part of this special journey,” he said.

“Throughout history, we have seen war, occupation and disease outbreaks. We survived them, we emerged stronger every time, and we embody the ‘Lion Rock Spirit’,” Professor Zhang said. “Tonight, our Main Building is being illuminated in an expression of hope. Hong Kong is going to be fine.”

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HKU 111UMINATE

An HKU ‘111uminate’ DJ party was held at the Centennial Garden on September 23 to premiere an art installation created to mark the University’s 111th Anniversary. The party was the first on-campus get-together for HKU students and staff since the resumption of face-to-face teaching.

President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Xiang Zhang officiated at the lighting ceremony to kick off the party and shared a fun-filled evening with over 100 HKU students and staff.

One student said: “I think it was really successful tonight, something like this is needed in the community because it brings every student from HKU together. I think it is really important because it makes me feel more connected to the University and to the community in general.”

Under a backdrop of light art projections, guest performers included Mosaic A Cappella, M. Danso, St John’s College Dancing Team and Band, Astréas, Hong Kong Institute of Rope Skipping, and DJ RYANSEE. To spice up the evening, all party-goers were gifted limited-edition NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

BREAKING GROUND AT TECH LANDMARK

The University held a 111th Anniversary Celebration-cum-Tech Landmark groundbreaking ceremony, officiated by Chief Executive of the HKSAR and HKU Chancellor Mr John Lee, on July 23.

The Tech Landmark, targeted to be completed in 2024, will host institutes dedicated to strategic research with a strong focus on interdisciplinary studies, such as artificial intelligence, big data, smart materials, quantum science and biomedical engineering. It is set to become a hub for innovative thinking, learning, teaching, research and entrepreneurship. The Tech Landmark is not only a new milestone for the development of HKU as the University enters its second century, but it is also a prelude to a series of ambitious projects combining humanities with world-class innovation and technology.

The Tech Landmark project is a strategic move for the University to respond to the national 14th Five-Year Plan, to promote the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong, and to establish Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology centre. HKU will contribute to the country’s scientific and technological development by providing excellence in education, research and talent cultivation.

HKU JABS FOR SOCIETY’S MOST VULNERABLE

During the Second World War, the Main Building’s Loke Yew Hall served as a hospital for soldiers and citizens. On February 23 this year, at the height of the fifth wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong, Loke Yew Hall was once again called into service, becoming a Community Vaccination Centre, with the ability of providing 2,000 BioNTech vaccine doses daily to citizens aged 12 or above, and priority was given to senior citizens. Reservations for vaccination could be made via the government’s COVID-19 vaccination booking system. The Centre was staffed by a team of volunteer doctors from HKU, and retired doctors and nurses, and operated until May 22.

MORE MILESTONES, MORE CELEBRATIONS

HKUMED 135TH ANNIVERSARY

Founded as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese in 1887, the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine now stands in the top 15 medical schools globally. As it reflects on its distinguished history of serving Hong Kong’s changing healthcare needs over the past 135 years, the Faculty is also launching ambitious goals for the future.

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DENTISTRY 40TH ANNIVERSARY

The Faculty of Dentistry was established in 1982 as the first and only dental school in Hong Kong. In less than four decades, it has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the premier dental institutions globally. It was ranked the number one dental school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject from 2016 to 2018 and remains ranked among the top 1% of dental schools in the world today.

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HKU LIBRARIES’ TWO ANNIVERSARIES

The HKU Libraries is celebrating the 110th anniversary of the Main Library and the 90th anniversary of the Fung Ping Shan Library with the theme ‘Engaging the Past, with the Future, for the Future, TOGETHER’. HKU’s original library facilities were first established in the Main Building in 1912, and the Fung Ping Shan Library was established in 1932 as the University’s Chinese library.

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