President e-letter, 9 September 2015

Abstract

 President E-letter

Dear Colleagues, Students and Alumni,

I am thrilled with joy and excitement to let all of you know that our University’s 25th anniversary celebration has begun!

When the University was founded in 1991, few expected that we would have risen in reputation and rankings in such a fast and rapid manner in a mere 25 years. 25 years is all but a fraction of history for many long-standing higher education institutions around the globe. For the HKUST community, it has been a lifetime. But what we have achieved would not have been possible without key contributions from every one of you.

To plan the celebration of our 25th anniversary, the University formed an Organizing Committee, with members coming from faculty, staff, alumni and students, to try to put together a series of events for all of you to join. From September onwards, we will organize a 25th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series, featuring prominent scholars, academics, scientists, and business leaders from around the globe to speak to the HKUST community. These speakers will enlighten us with thoughts and insights on their research and professional interests and accomplishments. It is a privilege indeed to have so many luminaries come to our University, and I would urge all of you to take the time and join these talks.

As an international university with a strong global presence and an ever-expanding alumni network, the University will organize a series of conferences for our alumni to join the celebrations in different parts of the world. These Global Alumni Conferences will be held in London (14 November, 2015), San Francisco (4 February, 2016), Beijing, and Singapore, and all overseas alumni will be invited to attend.

A 25th anniversary gala banquet, where the entire HKUST community comes together, will be held on 19 June, 2016 at the HKCEC. Many who have shaped — or have been shaped by— the University will be present at the occasion. I am sure it will be a memorable and energizing evening. Many other events will involve our students and alumni deeply, while others will reach out to the community.

With local commitment a core value of HKUST and serving the community a University emphasis, we also have a CSR component in our 25th anniversary events. For example, we have planned an initiative with HKUST Connect, which will encourage our students to volunteer 25 hours of community service in the coming year. A mentorship program, aiming to nurture young people’s passion and interest towards higher learning, is in planning. Faculty members will take part in many interacting sessions with number of high school students in 2015-16 to discuss frontier knowledge, new insights on learning, and how to be motivated to pursue a career of one’s dreams. We will encourage runners in the HKUST family to register for the Hong Kong Marathon, and we are in discussion with organizers on how those with HKUST affiliation can play a charity role.

To mark its 25th anniversary, the University has designed a slogan and logo. The slogan is “*敢·創·未來 Innovating Today, Imagining Tomorrow*”. At the heart of HKUST is our belief in the power of innovation and imagination. With a Can-Do attitude, we have come this far in such a short period of time. But we are by no means satisfied. We must aim higher, to make this University an even greater place for the world to see and recognize. To do that, innovation and imagination hold the keys to our future success.

Stay tuned to the many more events to come. We will have a 25th anniversary website, and the E-Board will be filled with announcements of events periodically. I urge you to participate in these events. Finally, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to our faculty, staff, alumni, and students who have helped build HKUST into the great institution we know today. Please join in and celebrate!

Yours sincerely,

Tony F Chan President, HKUST

9 September 2015

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