https://www.scmp.com/rss/522990/feed Xiang Zhang is the current President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, appointed in July 2018. Zhang held distinguished roles at the University of California, Berkeley, including the Ernest S. Kuh Endowed Chair Professor and Director of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center. A world leader in nanophotonics and material physics, Zhang is renowned for inventing the first optical superlens and the optical "invisibility cloak," recognised by TIME magazine. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words The government’s new Action Plan on Weight Management aims to build a “healthier and more vibrant city” and its cross-sector approach is commendable. However, the citywide plan seems to be heavily anchored on a single Body Mass Index (BMI) data point. This risks sending a narrow... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3347711/hong-kongs-weight-management-plan-bmi-should-be-one-data-point-among-many?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3347711/hong-kongs-weight-management-plan-bmi-should-be-one-data-point-among-many?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 03:30:08 +0000 William Yiu William Yiu The head of Hong Kong’s oldest university has vowed to inject more resources into humanities programmes, praising them as a source of creativity and imagination, even as some institutions outside the city cut courses amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Professor Xiang Zhang, president of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), made the pledge on Wednesday as the head of the institution’s medical faculty revealed the school would ditch its target for 75 per cent of its intake to be... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3346266/hong-kong-university-president-vows-boost-humanities-amid-ai-push-elsewhere?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3346266/hong-kong-university-president-vows-boost-humanities-amid-ai-push-elsewhere?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:42:52 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Andre Geim, the 67-year-old Nobel Prize-winning physicist known in China as the “father of graphene”, will join the University of Hong Kong as a chair professor in April, according to the university. Geim, who led a team at the University of Manchester to isolate graphene – the world’s thinnest and strongest material, consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms – using adhesive tape in 2004, is set to leave Britain after spending more than two decades of his career there. Geim said he was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3344703/father-graphene-andre-geim-leaves-britain-chair-professorship-hku?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3344703/father-graphene-andre-geim-leaves-britain-chair-professorship-hku?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:31:17 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang Mathematician Ngo Bao Chau, who made history in 2010 as the first Vietnamese recipient of the prestigious Fields Medal, will join the science faculty at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as a chair professor in June. Ngo, 53, currently distinguished service professor and chair of the University of Chicago’s mathematics department, is a pre-eminent figure in Vietnamese mathematics. HKU announced his new appointment last Thursday. Born in Hanoi in 1972, Ngo showed early brilliance, winning gold... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3342872/vietnams-legendary-maths-genius-ngo-bao-chau-join-university-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3342872/vietnams-legendary-maths-genius-ngo-bao-chau-join-university-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:00:08 +0000 William Yiu William Yiu The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has regained its position as Asia’s best in a regional ranking after 15 years, overtaking a mainland Chinese counterpart, with five local institutions making the top 10 for the first time. British-based education information firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) said Hong Kong’s model – anchored in internationalisation, research excellence and targeted talent policies – showed how smaller systems could outperform larger ones through strategic focus. It added that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3331495/hku-regains-asias-no-1-spot-5-other-hong-kong-universities-break-top-10?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3331495/hku-regains-asias-no-1-spot-5-other-hong-kong-universities-break-top-10?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:04:43 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Hong Kong’s once sprawling and diffuse network of state-backed research labs has undergone a surgical transformation – streamlined, repurposed and laser-focused on Beijing’s strategic technology ambitions. In a move emblematic of China’s broader overhaul of its national scientific apparatus, the city has dismantled underperforming labs, rebranded legacy institutions and launched three cutting-edge facilities dedicated to quantum materials and climate resilience – all under tightened alignment... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3323633/how-china-streamlines-national-labs-tech-war-machines-case-study-hk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3323633/how-china-streamlines-national-labs-tech-war-machines-case-study-hk?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Aug 2025 22:00:13 +0000 Oscar Liu Oscar Liu Hong Kong’s state key laboratories must ramp up research and innovation to help develop the city into a tech hub through its international connections while aligning with the national strategy to boost China’s power on the global stage, top local and Beijing officials have said. China’s tech minister attended a ceremony in Hong Kong on Monday to present plaques to the directors of the facilities, as he urged the city to support national development through innovation. “I hope the state key... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3323043/hong-kong-should-strengthen-research-drive-industrial-upgrading-zhou-ji?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3323043/hong-kong-should-strengthen-research-drive-industrial-upgrading-zhou-ji?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 07:28:29 +0000 Vivian Au Vivian Au Hong Kong’s eight public universities have received about 850 transfer inquiries related to “sudden policy changes” affecting overseas higher education amid the Trump administration’s hostile stance towards foreign enrolments, according to the government. Authorities revealed the number of inquiries submitted so far following a meeting between university heads and the government’s Committee on Education, Technology and Talents on Thursday. Last month, the United States said that international... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3316011/hong-kong-public-universities-get-850-transfer-inquiries-amid-hostile-us-policies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3316011/hong-kong-public-universities-get-850-transfer-inquiries-amid-hostile-us-policies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jun 2025 01:03:21 +0000