The University achieved exceptional success over the past year, attracting top academics and students, expanding our footprint and impact, and preparing ourselves for the fast-changing landscape of higher education. As our internal efforts to deepen capacity and raise the bar are hitting their mark, even amid rapid technological advances and geopolitical challenges, we are progressing well towards our vision – to be a world-class university with the capabilities to transform humanity’s future.

ATTRACTING TOP TALENT

Over the past seven years, we have attracted some of the most outstanding academic minds in the world, including Professor Ferenc Krausz, 2023 Nobel Laureate in Physics, who joined us in November 2025. Having brilliant scholars on board has a multiplier effect because it helps attract other first-rate scholars and students to the University. Over the past year, we have recruited about 100 top scholars. Their presence has refreshed and strengthened our academic environment, which has led to more scholarly exchanges, even higher quality students joining us and groundbreaking research.

While HKU remains the top choice for local students, there is fierce competition from students around the world to gain entry to the University. Our curriculum contains rich experiences to equip students with both rigorous disciplinary learning and opportunities for personal enrichment and growth, as befit future leaders. We have also been enhancing co-curricular activities to foster students’ sense of belonging – so they feel they are not only enjoying a first-rate education but joining a community of the brightest.

STAYING AHEAD IN THE ‘AI TSUNAMI’

Artificial intelligence (AI) is often likened to a tsunami because it is creating rapid shifts in every corner of society – productivity, healthcare, well-being and of course, education. At the University, we are working to incorporate AI in all aspects of our work, based on models we develop for best practices, while also addressing some of the risks that it poses. This fall, we introduced mandatory AI-related courses for new undergraduate students, who must take micro-credentials on the effective and ethical use of AI and a Common Core course on its broader societal implications. We have also launched a one-year AI training programme open to all staff.

INNOVATING FOR SOCIAL GOOD

The University’s emphasis on innovation comes from our determination to translate our research into social benefits. HKU has a growing ecosystem on campus to co-ordinate innovation activities and a broad series of programmes to provide seed funding and training to young entrepreneurs. We also established the Techno-Entrepreneurship Academy in Shenzhen, which provides much needed space for new start-ups and training activities. All of this, together with our significant body of patents and scientific findings, have enabled HKU to make important contributions to the success of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area as an innovation hub.

GROWING OUR FOOTPRINT

The expansion of our programmes and staff and student sizes necessitates expansion of our physical space. HKU is actively seeking to grow our footprint. At our Main Campus in Pokfulam, we will soon open the first phase of the new Tech Landmark which, when fully commissioned by the end of next year, will house numerous interdisciplinary institutes aiming at scientific breakthroughs. We also have several ongoing projects in the Pokfulam area to provide more student and staff accommodation, as well as classrooms and amenities.

HKU is also developing a physical presence outside of Hong Kong. We are setting up teaching, research and other functional space in Shanghai, including an alumni and event centre in a historic building on the Bund. We are also exploring the possibility of establishing more centres overseas to host conferences, meetings, student exchanges and the like, similar to our centres in Beijing, Shenzhen and Vietnam. These overseas centres will also strengthen HKU’s brand and presence globally, as well as contribute to Hong Kong’s role as a ‘super connector’ between East and West.

HKU is proud to celebrate its enduring legacy with the establishment of the HKU History Gallery.

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

2025 being a very busy year has not distracted us from contemplating our ambitions and how to achieve them. In October, we unveiled our blueprint for the next decade, Vision for 2026–2035: Leadership for Impact, which builds on the achievements I have described here and provides a framework for advancing our aim of being a world-leading university that can help transform humanity’s future. We have some distinct advantages, including our deep experience bridging East and West, our commitment to excellence in everything we do, and of course our people.

It has been very satisfying over these past seven years to put into place the elements that help HKU attract top students and academic talent from around the world. I am assisted by an ever-stronger senior management team, including several key positions confirmed over the past year. Our sights are set high. We are now ranked 11th in the world and first in Asia in 2025 by QS. Such recognitions have reminded and encouraged us to continue building on our strong legacy and committing ourselves wholeheartedly to making ever more new discoveries, developing new innovations and educating new thinkers and leaders for Hong Kong, our Nation and the world. Our newly opened HKU History Gallery highlights our achievements over the past 115 years, with space for more to come. As I look ahead, I am confident that the prospects for HKU’s future as one of the world’s finest education hubs have never looked rosier.