KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

A Start-up with Backbone

The Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology has developed new shape-shifting rods that offer a gentler option for correcting curvature of the spine. They now have a viable product and a start-up to support it, OrthoSmart Limited.

Edible Roof

Growing your own vegetables makes sense, but in Hong Kong's urban jungle few have gardens. Now the Division of Landscape Architecture has produced a manual for building and operating a productive rooftop garden that it hopes will not only result in people cultivating their own food but will also bring communities together.

CUHK and HKU researchers introduce 3D printing technology in complex cardiac surgery procedures

Researchers from the CUHK Division of Cardiology of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics and the HKU Department of Mechanical Engineering collaborated to use echocardiographic data to create soft silicone-based models of complex cardiac structures using 3D printing. The project is the first in Hong Kong to introduce three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to complex cardiac procedures for enhancing procedural efficacy and safety. The models allow cardiologists to personalise planning for cardiovascular intervention for each patient. The practice was applied to a complex case of Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) occlusion in 2015 and the patient is now in good condition.

HKU Faculty of Engineering holds "Invention for Schools Contest" award presentation ceremony

Over a hundred students from primary two to secondary five joined the "Invention for Schools Contest" organised by the HKU Faculty of Engineering. The participating teams were required to use credit card-sized computers to make inventions that could be turned into useful applications in their schools. Pok Oi Hospital 80th Anniversary Tang Ying Hei College's "queue jumper revealer" was the champion of the secondary school category, and Yaumati Catholic Primary School (Hoi Wang Road)'s "e-Helper" won the champion and the Most Practical Invention for School Award in the primary school category.

Christie’s Education Hong Kong and HKU Faculty of Arts jointly launch Contemporary Asian Art seminar programme

HKU Faculty of Arts and Christie's Education Hong Kong will launch a five-day seminar programme titled Contemporary Asian Art: An Insider’s View from July 6 to 10, 2016. The programme combines art seminars with visits to various places including artists' studios, galleries, Christie's and museums, and conversations with art professionals, focusing on modern and contemporary art in Asia, in particular China, Japan and India. The art historical portion of the programme will be delivered by HKU Fine Arts Department, while the market-related portion by Christie's Education. Former Chief Secretary for Administration Mr Henry Tang will be a speaker of the programme.

British Airways' HK80 Heritage Exhibition at HKU

The HKU Department of Sociology collaborated with British Airways (BA) to launch a heritage exhibition at MC3@702 Creative Space, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus from now to June 30 to showcase the company's 80 years of history of flying to Hong Kong. Visitors can get a close-up look at the historical artefacts, including vintage cabin crew uniforms, inflight menu and promotional posters used on the route decades ago. Postgraduate students of Sociology also worked with the British Airways' Heritage Centre curators in the UK to interview the airline's loyal customers and long serving staff members about their experience and memories of the airline over the years.

Two HKU departments offer first self-help stress release programme for women receiving test tube baby treatment

The HKU Department of Social Work and Social Administration and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecologyconducted a longitudinal study from 2013 to 2015 on 151 women who received In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF, or so called "test tube baby") treatment but failed. According to the findings, 39.1% of patients reported symptoms of anxiety immediately after the failed treatment and 18.6% of patients reported symptoms of depression. Their depression and anxiety levels remained in the subsequent months. To help women undergoing the treatment to better cope with the stress in the process, the two departments have offered a "Body-Mind Wellness Intervention Program", which consists of a three-hour workshop and a set of self-help body-mind techniques for stress release. The pilot programme conducted since October 2015 has demonstrated good results with significant decrease in the anxiety level of participants in the treatment group during post-embryo-implantation period.