HKMU is proud to be generating research that brings direct benefits to society, through knowledge transfer initiatives and collaborations with industry and other academic institutions. This has been another rich year of research activity, boosted by Government, philanthropic and internal funding that is helping to stimulate a vibrant research culture on campus.
HKMU's history of success in acquiring external funding continued unabated this year. In the 2024–25 round of funding offered by the Research Grants Council (RGC) for the local self-financing degree sector, the University received substantial funds of HK$34.5 million for a total of 41 research projects. This represents 40% of the total allocated funding, confirming HKMU's position as the largest research player among all local self-financing institutions.
This was also the first year in which HKMU was awarded an Institutional Development Scheme Collaborative Research Grant, for the development of a device for detecting and degrading antibiotics in wastewater. Our success is the result of a focused strategy of encouraging research work in selective areas of strength.
HKMU's research output is also being extended through strategic collaborations with other institutions. In November 2023, we joined Shenzhen Virtual University Park, a platform where member institutions can collaborate on innovative research, making us the first self-financing tertiary institution to do so. One of our initiatives under this platform is to set up a Shenzhen Research Institute containing three research and development centres in environmental science, digital health and smart city. By the end of the reporting year, 5,000 square feet of laboratory space had been leased in the city, and a Task Force had been set up to steer its development.
Further afield, we have been forging a series of strong connections with institutions across the Greater Bay Area that share similar research interests. Some of our collaborations to date include work with the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Guangdong Laboratory and with Shantou University on materials science. Collaborative work in the fields of engineering, materials science and environmental science is also underway with the Zhongshan Institute of the Changchun University of Science and Technology, exploring the possibility of setting up a joint laboratory in Zhongshan to further this and other research initiatives.
This year represented a major step forward for knowledge transfer. Since December 2023, we have been awarded a range of patents based on HKMU's research outcomes. This means that HKMU Intellectual Property (IP) will be available for licensing to industry and business for further development into innovative, technological products and solutions that will contribute to our economic and societal development. The patents arising from HKMU research have been very diverse, covering areas such as VR driver training, diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases, estimation of lithium-ion battery charge states, and even fish-feed composition and manufacture.
In February 2024, the University launched a new HK$50 million HKMU Startup Fund to foster entrepreneurship within its community, encouraging students, alumni and researchers to turn innovative concepts into viable commercial solutions and establish their ventures. A structured three-tiered entrepreneurship platform was introduced to provide progressive financial and business development support across the stages of formulation, implementation and acceleration. The formulation stage includes a prototyping grant of HK$5,000, as well as training and workshops, that helps develop minimum viable products and business strategies. At the implementation stage, the Fund offers up to HK$250,000 and a comprehensive one-year support programme encompassing business growth, professional services and marketing, facilitated through partnerships with startup incubation organisations. The acceleration stage involves potential investments of up to HK$1 million in promising startups.
Meanwhile, our self-owned company HKMU Research Development and Consultancy Limited is actively seeking external funding sources while fostering innovation through activities such as ideation chats, innovation consultations and catalyst conversations with staff, students and entrepreneurs.
The University's recent research development endeavours have also been underpinned by strenuous and successful efforts to attract and nurture leading research-active staff members from around the world.
* Based on an analysis complied by a research team from Standford University
March 2024 saw the unveiling of HKMU's latest research establishment: the Ina Ho Cantonese Opera Research Centre, a research locus that is also committed to the celebration and showcasing of Cantonese opera as a unique local art form. Funded by a generous donation from its namesake, Dr Ina Ho, the Research Centre represents a much-needed centralised resource in support of the study, preservation and promotion of this unique example of Hong Kong's Intangible Cultural Heritage. Members of the Research Centre have been quick to get their work underway, with initiatives that include translations of Cantonese opera libretti, online courses and Cantonese opera performances.
With food waste a growing problem both in Hong Kong and globally, research by Dr Chen Jianlin, Assistant Professor in the School of Science and Technology, is providing essential practical solutions for managing and enhancing the breakdown of food waste. Dr Chen has developed a microfluidic real-time monitoring device that can be used to monitor and assess the effectiveness of different microorganisms in breaking down food waste and sewage sludge through anaerobic digestion, a process that produces biogas, which can be used to generate electricity. The tiny analytical device responds to the microbial activity of droplets generated by the waste materials, enabling researchers to assess the efficacy of the microorganisms and work out the best balance of food waste and sludge for conversion to biogas.
Dr Emily Ge Haoyan, Assistant Professor in the School of Education and Languages, recently completed a study on bilingualism among autistic children, aimed at better understanding the impact of bilingual (Cantonese–English) education on both comprehension and expression among this group. Addressing concerns about whether bilingual education might compromise the learning development of autistic children, her research found that in the context of typologically distinct languages, bilingual autistic children performed on a par with their monolingual peers in language tests, and in some situations actually performed better. The findings will help in developing more effective intervention and rehabilitation programmes for autistic children in bilingual environments.
A research team from the School of Science and Technology, led by Head of the Department of Construction and Quality Management Dr Tony Lee Chi-chung together with Assistant Professor Dr Crystal Han Jie, has developed a new Sensor-based Tower Crane Safety Monitoring and Management System, which earned the team a Silver Medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. Utilising sophisticated technology that integrates the Internet of Things, sensors, embedded systems, data collection and storage, and database technology, the management system incorporates a host of new safety features that look set to change the norms for managing safety for tower cranes.
A research team led by Dr Livia Pan Min, Senior Lecturer in the School of Science and Technology, has come up with a unique “3-in-1 Soil” formulation that improves soil quality for crops. Just as importantly, the formulation reduces the bioavailability of antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) in the soil, addressing a major problem of soil contamination arising from the antibiotics released into the environment through animal waste and sewage. Combining sewage sludge, Chinese medicinal herbal residue and biochar, the three-part combination has proved to be an ideal formula for increasing the soil nutrient content while significantly reducing the amount of antibiotics and ARGs in the soil.
Worldwide, patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are traditionally prescribed oral corticosteroids to manage sudden deteriorations in their condition. Prof. Gary Tse, Associate Dean (Innovations and Research) of the School of Nursing and Health Studies*, worked with researchers from AstraZeneca UK, King's College London, the University of Ferrara, and the University of Aberdeen on a major study on the long-term effects of oral corticosteroids on these patients, which revealed that the drugs pose significant health risks and can potentially lead to 17 other diseases or adverse health outcomes. This research into a little-understood area looks set to encourage the exploration of alternative treatments for managing COPD.
Prof. Jack Tang Wai-ho, Head of Health Sciences of the School of Nursing and Health Studies, has been grappling with the life-threatening issue of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), a condition in which the main blood vessel in the abdomen weakens and expands dangerously. He and his team approached this serious medical condition by exploring the role of a protein called activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), which is known to be a key regulator of cardiovascular diseases. This research has shed new light on the role of ATF3, showing that it has the potential to be used to develop new therapies for treating AAA and to act as a marker predicting the progression and outcomes of the condition.
* The School of Nursing and Health Studies was renamed the School of Nursing and Health Sciences on 1 September 2024.
