The University is making steady progress towards its aim of contributing knowledge and solutions to grand global challenges such as climate change and better healthcare. In 2023–24, world-leading academics continued to be recruited, new facilities built, networks expanded, and new centres launched to promote dialogue and collaboration. The quality of our efforts is evident in our continued funding success and strong ranking in international tables.

The list of achievements includes HKU again securing the most General Research Fund grants and leading locally in funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China; 53 HKU scholars being named in Clarivate’s prestigious 2024 Highly Cited Researchers list – our highest number ever; and the new Shanghai Institute for Science of Science (SISS) identifying HKU as first in China and sixth in the world in terms of disruptive research. Our research output was a major factor in HKU’s rise to 17th overall best university in the world, our highest position to date, in the 2025 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.

The foundation of our research success is the excellence of our scholars, which is increasing every year as we recruit more and more leaders in their fields. In 2024 alone (up to November 1), we welcomed 124 top and rising scholars from leading institutions such as Stanford University, ETH Zurich and University College London. Having top minds on campus opens doors and opportunities for experienced and young scholars alike.

We are also nurturing new talent through our Graduate School by enriching research postgraduate (RPG) education. All RPG students will be required to complete new courses on artificial intelligence and data technology offered by the Graduate School and individual faculties. Feedback is also being enhanced through a new PhD advisory committee, in which dissertation supervisors work with two or three other professors to provide detailed responses. And the Graduate School has also launched its Future-Ready Series to promote all-round development, including mental wellness.

All this talent needs to be supported by world-class research infrastructure. Here, too, HKU is making strong inroads. The Tech Landmark, housing 10 interdisciplinary institutes when completed, will soon open its first phase. The Jockey Club STEM Lab programme announced in spring 2024 that five new laboratories would be established at HKU to promote interdisciplinary research and collaboration. Our five State Key Laboratories (SKL) also underwent evaluation at the national level and ranked highly, and a sixth SKL is planned. To make the most effective use of our resources, we are also preparing to centralise management of major equipment and introduce a sharing mechanism.

Apart from raising the bar in terms of people and facilities, HKU is advancing our research agenda by promoting collaborations across disciplines, institutions and boundaries. Several new research centres were established in 2023–24, including the Materials Innovation Institute for Life Sciences and Energy located in the Hetao Co-operation Zone. Our deepening engagement with Mainland China will undoubtedly be a springboard for expanding our research capacity in the coming years.

GLOBAL LEADERS IN THE FIELD

TALENT MAGNET

PROFESSOR LI CHENG

Professor
Department of Politics and Public Administration

Director
Centre on Contemporary China and the World

Professor Li is an internationally renowned political scientist and think tank scholar, who previously served as Director and Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center. He is currently a director of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He came to HKU in 2023 as a professor of political science, attracted by its proximity to his cultural roots and, most importantly, its position as a bridge between East and West and North and South. Since arriving, he has established the Centre on Contemporary China and the World to promote scholarly exchanges and international and interdisciplinary research on China and the world.

HKU’s strategic location offers an unparalleled opportunity to study China in a vibrant, dynamic environment. I have been deeply impressed by the tremendous support I have received here and appreciate the University’s commitment to foster a collaborative and inclusive environment, which has been crucial in advancing my goals.

PROFESSOR UTA SCHÖNBERG

Chair Professor of Economics
HKU Business School

Professor Schönberg joined HKU as Chair Professor of Economics from University College London in 2023. She has a strong reputation in labour economics, with a particular interest in the effects of business and payroll taxation on firms and workers, and firm-provided family-friendly policies. Most of her work to date has centred in Europe, so she was attracted to HKU by the opportunity to explore Asia and turn her research focus to the region. She hopes to explore the very low fertility rates in this part of the world compared to the US and most European countries, and investigate the root causes and societal impact of this.

I have had a very positive initial experience at the HKU Business School. A notable observation is the minimal boundaries between different disciplines, such as economics, management and strategy, finance and marketing, which has allowed me to engage with colleagues across diverse yet interconnected fields. I am particularly impressed by the new HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute.

PROFESSOR MICHAEL HÄUSSER

Lee Man-Chiu Professor in Neuroscience

Director and Chair Professor of Neuroscience
School of Biomedical Sciences

Professor Häusser is a neuroscientist who has made important discoveries about the cellular mechanisms that underlie computation in the mammalian brain. He has helped develop and deploy powerful neuro-technologies, such as combining imaging and optogenetics, to study the function of neural circuits in the cerebellum and neocortex. He has also explored how single neurons and neural circuits drive behaviours and adapt during learning. Professor Häusser came to HKU in 2024 from University College London to become the new Director of the School of Biomedical Sciences and Chair Professor of Neuroscience, having been on the Scientific Advisory Board of the School since 2015.

I am very familiar with the School’s strengths and potential so the opportunity to join as its new Director and capitalise on this environment to build new strengths in neuroscience was particularly appealing to me. I am excited by the prospect of bridging basic and clinical neuroscience to make major advances in understanding, preventing and treating neurological and psychiatric disorders.

RISING STARS

PROFESSOR YANG YI

Assistant Professor
Department of Physics

Professor Yang of the Department of Physics, who is also Belinda Hung Outstanding Young Professor, has won multiple awards in recent years for his groundbreaking work in the field of nanophotonics and free-electron optics. This year, he was named the sole Hong Kong recipient of the Xplorer Prize 2024, which recognises outstanding young scientists under 45 who demonstrate exceptional quality and innovation in their fields of research, and he won the Croucher Tak Wah Mak Innovation Award. Previously, he was named a Physical Science Fellow in the inaugural Asian Young Scientist Fellowship in 2023 and one of the 2022 Innovators under 35 (China) by MIT Technology Review, among other honours. He joined HKU in 2022.

HKU is a prestigious institution with a strong academic reputation both locally and internationally. It provides access to a wide range of research opportunities and resources and a collaborative environment. Also, the students here are great, and we are having fun together! This year, we derived a fundamental upper limit to the quantum interaction strength between free electrons and photons, which provides a simple golden rule of selecting electron and photon energy given their interaction separation. In future, we hope to observe exotic phenomena in light-matter interaction and use that for applications.

PROFESSOR CHEN BIN

Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture

Professor Chen of the Division of Landscape Architecture was named one of the Top 50 Rising Stars by Geospatial World in 2024 in recognition of his work investigating the interaction loop between environmental change, human activities and public health. He uses geospatial big data and advanced interdisciplinary methods, and he has established the Future Urbanity & Sustainable Environment (FUSE) Lab at HKU to study how more sustainable and healthy cities can be achieved. Among his significant findings, he was the first to identify on a global scale the significant disparities in greenspace exposure between cities in the Global South and North.

HKU has been an excellent platform for both teaching and research, with opportunities for cross-faculty and cross-discipline collaboration. I engage and work closely with experts from social science, economics, computing, data science and engineering, which is fundamentally important to addressing complex systemic issues. I also work closely and learn from students and peers. The FUSE Lab has rapidly evolved into a vibrant research hub, and I enjoy working with students and postdocs to tackle pressing environmental challenges and nurturing the next generation of scientists and scholars in this field.

PROFESSOR CARMEN WONG CHAK LUI

Associate Professor
Department of Pathology

Professor Wong in the Department of Pathology in the Faculty of Medicine has made important contributions towards understanding the major metabolic reprogramming machinery and immune evasion of liver cancer. In 2024, she received two major grants from national and local bodies to advance her research further. The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of the National Natural Science Foundation of China awarded Professor Wong funds to explore the immune microenvironment of MASLD / MASH HCC – liver cancer involving metabolic dysfunctions, as opposed to viral triggers. She also received a Research Fellow Scheme grant from the Research Grants Council for work aimed at improving outcomes for patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a form of liver cancer with very poor treatment response, by focussing on the role played by mutations to the metabolic enzyme, IDH.

HKU is where I built my interest in liver cancer research. HKUMed, in particular, has given me a lot of opportunities to develop my career. Looking ahead, I hope that by understanding the pathogenesis of various types of liver cancer, our work can be potentially translated into new biomarkers and drugs that can be used clinically to achieve effective personalised treatment for liver cancer patients.

DR LYU DENGPING

PhD Graduate
Department of Chemistry

Dr Lyu, who recently completed her PhD in chemistry at HKU, was the first nominee from Hong Kong to be awarded the Schmidt Science Fellow, one of the most prestigious postdoctoral fellowships in the world. The fellowship allows her to be based in a top-ranking university – she has chosen the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – in a field that pivots from her PhD specialisation. Dr Lyu’s research has focussed on colloidal synthesis and self-assembly, where she has developed strategies for assembling anisotropic colloidal particles into hierarchical superstructures. Her findings hold exciting potential applications in optics, photonics, and cargo delivery. At MIT, she is based in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, researching soft materials and systems for advancing health and sustainability.

My experience at HKU was crucial in helping me achieve the fellowship. My advisor’s invaluable mentorship, the supportive lab environment, and opportunities to collaborate with distinguished researchers from HKU and abroad sharpened my research direction and provided new perspectives to tackle complex challenges. The funding opportunities and state-of-the-art facilities at HKU also supplied essential resources for my projects, enabling me to produce high-quality research.

CENTRES OF COLLABORATION

MATERIALS INNOVATION INSTITUTE FOR LIFE SCIENCES AND ENERGY

The Materials Innovation Institute for Life Sciences and Energy is an HKU institute established in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone.

The Materials Innovation Institute for Life Sciences and Energy (MILES) aims to produce highly disciplinary research in materials chemistry for life sciences and renewable energy. It was established in 2024 in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone with access to support on both sides of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border and 12,000 square metres of state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities such as a small animal centre and a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratory. MILES aspires to become one of the top institutes of its kind in the world and is seeking world-class faculty at both junior and senior levels to collaborate and conduct high- risk, high-reward and high-impact research. Already, more than 20 HKU professors from science, engineering and medicine have established a presence there.

CENTRE ON CONTEMPORARY CHINA AND THE WORLD

HKU’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shanghai Sci-Tech Inno Center for Infection & Immunity during the Pujiang Innovation Forum 2024.

The interdisciplinary Centre on Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) aims to foster a deeper understanding of China’s complex socio-political landscape and global governance amidst challenges such as economic turbulence, environmental degradation, technological transformation and geopolitical challenges. In its first year, it organised 22 public events, including its inaugural conference in December 2023, titled ‘A Renewed Hub and a New Horizon’, that brought together experts, policymakers and industry leaders to discuss China’s evolving role. The CCCW also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shanghai Sci-Tech Inno Center for Infection & Immunity led by internationally renowned medical doctor Zhang Wenhong, with which it also launched the Climate-Ocean-Health Study Interdisciplinary Observer Network (COHESION), and it established the ‘Leading Edge Academic Publications’ monograph series. So far, 27 HKU- affiliated fellows and 25 non-resident fellows have been recruited to the CCCW.

FIVE JOCKEY CLUB STEM LABS

A visit to the JC STEM Lab of Robotics for Soft Materials.

Five JC STEM Labs were established at HKU to foster innovative and sustainable research for driving projects to examine complex problems and solutions.

With generous support of HK$48.51 million from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, five Jockey Club (JC) STEM Labs were established at HKU to nurture future leaders in STEM fields and facilitate interdisciplinary research and collaboration. The five JC STEM Labs will examine complex problems and solutions in areas ranging from health and food security to water usage and environmental preservation, with a focus on scientific and technological underpinnings. The five labs are: Advanced 3D Integrated Circuit Technology; Molecular Imaging; Multimedia and Machine Learning; Quantitative Remote Sensing; and Robotics for Soft Materials.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS

HKU hosted its inaugural Hong Kong Climate Forum in March, bringing together experts, policymakers, business leaders and stakeholders from both the United States and China to promote greater collaboration on climate change and clean energy.

Researchers at HKU pursued collaboration and dialogue to move sustainability and climate change up the agenda in 2024. The HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute, led by the Faculty of Business and Economics, was launched to promote collaborative research on best practices and innovative solutions related to environmental, social and governance challenges in sustainability. Furthermore, the Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality organised the Hong Kong Climate Forum in March, bringing together experts, policymakers, business leaders and stakeholders from the United States and China, in particular the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Bay Area. The Institute aims to build a bridge for climate action and co-operation. It has also launched a new Master of Climate Governance and Risk Management programme.