KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

HKU Geography Chair Professor Jim Chi-yung receives LC Chadwick Award 2014 for Arboricultural Research

HKU Geography Chair Professor Jim Chi-yung has been awarded the LC Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Research by the International Society of Arboriculture. He is the first Asian winner of the highest honour in the field of arboriculture. Apart from his academic impact, he is one of the pioneer academics to bridge town and gown by transferring research-based knowledge to the community for direct adoption and application. Recently, he has successfully convinced the government to set up a tree management office and a landscape planning office at a high-level policy branch, providing for the first time a professional arborist grade in the civil service establishment.

HKU holds ''Refuse the Shadows of the Past: Five Years of Austrian Art Made in China'' exhibition

HKU Museum and Art Gallery has organized an exhibition to showcase artworks by 27 Austrian artists. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Austrian Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau, and the Austrian initiative Embassy of the Arts. The exhibition is a commemorative exhibition that celebrates the fifth anniversary of artistic creation and transformation by Austrian and other international artists working in China.

HKU research team develops a software for re-construction of crime scenes in three-dimension space

A research team led by HKU Computer Science Professor Yu Yizhou has developed a new software which can re-construct an informative and easy-to-comprehend three-dimension (3D) re-enactment of a past event to assist in crime investigation. The project received funding of over HK$5 million from the Innovation and Technology Fund in 2012. A trial version of the software is expected to be commercially available in one to two years.

International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society (ICGB) held at HKU

Over 1,000 scholars, health professionals and experts took part in the tri-annual conference, which was held in Asia for the first time. Over 250 papers and reports were presented during the four-day conference and 20 professional training workshops were held to enhance the skills of healthcare professional and practitioners. According to a study conducted by the HKU Faculty of Social Sciences, death avoidance score of Hong Kong adults aged under 59 (which ranged from 1 to 7 with higher scores indicating greater fear) had reduced significantly from 4.23 in 2007 to 2.2 in 2014, which reflected the general public's attitude towards death had become much more open.

A lesson in respecting the past through a student knowledge exchange project

A team of students with a student knowledge exchange project grant in 2012/13 produced a video about life in the historic Blue House in Wanchai. It highlights frustrating inconsistencies in the Government's heritage policy.

HKU promotes light pollution awareness among students and within the community

HKU Department of Physics partnered with the Ho Koon Nature Education Cum Astronomical Centre and the Hong Kong Space Museum to organize the ''Light Pollution Awareness Community Engagement Project''. A total of 42 student teams from 17 secondary schools participated in the ''Light Pollution Project Competition 2014''. The University also held the ''Light Pollution Photography Competition 2014'' in which 154 entries were received. Outstanding projects and winning photographs from the two competitions will be on display for free at the Space Museum from July 9 to August 11 to further spread the message of night sky preservation and educate people the adverse effects of light pollution to the natural environment and our daily lives in Hong Kong. This project is supported by the HKU Knowledge Exchange Fund granted by the University Grants Committee.

HKU partners with HK Public Libraries to organise "Explore the World of Medicine" public lecture series

HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine has partnered with the HK Public Libraries to co-organize the "Explore the World of Medicine" public lecture series. HKU Head of Nursing Professor Agnes Tiwari and Psychiatry Clinical Assistant Professor Dr Sherry Chan Kit-wa will speak on stress-related topics on June 14 to increase public awareness on the prevention of and latest treatments for diseases. Another lecture on genomic medicine will be held on June 8. Drs. Jenny Ho and Vivian Lui from the University will speak on cancer-related topics to enhance people's understanding and interest on genomic medicine in Hong Kong.