The University of Hong Kong (HKU) announced that it received two donations from long-standing supporters: a HK$500 million donation from a multinational conglomerate as well as a HK$300 million donation from the Education and Charity Fund of a Hong Kong-based company.
The funding will support the establishment of Tech Landmark, the headquarters of the HKU InnoTech initiative. HKU has set out its 111th anniversary plan to enhance the long-term competitiveness of Hong Kong and Asia in the area of new technology.
As part of this dynamic drive, the University will host 12 new institutes with state-of-the-art infrastructure, dedicated to strategic research and with a strong focus on interdisciplinary studies including global poverty mitigation, geriatric science and gerontechnology, materials and energy, quantum science, materials and energy, smart cities, and biomedical engineering. It is believed that an understanding of these emerging fields will help address the issues impacting humanity. Tech Landmark comprises three towers with a total floor area of 45,000 sqm and a target completion date in late 2024.
The President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU thanked the donators for helping transform the university’s vision into reality.
The Chairman of the conglomerate stated that on the 111th Anniversary of The University of Hong Kong, they send congratulations and best wishes to the University and its students, past and present. He noted that for over a century, the University has been the wellspring of valuable ideas and discoveries, which have made a positive impact on society and today we celebrate those successes.
The firm is pleased to participate in this current expansion, supporting the University as it continues to be a driving force, not only in the pursuit of dynamic and creative innovations in science and technology but also as a centre for the cultivation of friendship, compassion, co-operation and peace, he said.
The Chairman of the second donating partner stated that the HKU Tech Landmark is set to become a vibrant, globally impactful community at the forefront of cutting-edge research in science and technologies, and where the world’s top talents will convene in active exchanges and collaborations.
It will be an ecosystem of stakeholders, partners, and researchers the like of which we have never seen before. It is exhilarating to be at the start of something this revolutionary. Working in a close partnership, breakthroughs will be brought about that is beyond the limit for the better of all, he added.
Tech Landmark – the Headquarters of InnoTech
The Tech Landmark, a complex of four towers, will be the next major development at the University. Planned for 2024, the Tech Landmark will enable new horizons for HKU as it enters its second century. The Tech Landmark will house 12 institutes serving as national platforms with global impact. The Lee Shau Kee Institute of the Mind was the first to be announced.
The Tech Landmark, a complex of four towers, will be built to house new institutes dedicated to interdisciplinary studies and emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, smart materials, quantum science, and biomedical engineering. The complex will serve as a hub for innovative thinking, learning, teaching, research, and entrepreneurship.
Support for current talents at the University will also be enhanced, while top academics from around the world will also be recruited. These efforts will help position HKU as a world leader seeking solutions to world problems.
