Positive loop powers university's ascent

HKU is set to become Asia's Stanford University with its research-friendly and entrepreneurial atmosphere for global top academics and students, says Max Shen.

Shen was commenting after HKU was ranked the second-best Asian university in the QS Asia University Rankings last month - surpassing National University of Singapore. Beijing's Peking University was No 1.

Shen described the ranking as a "by-product" of HKU's recruitment, teaching, and research enhancements, which are key to becoming a top university.

"Of course, it's a good result. But we never put rankings as our sole objective. If the university improves, the ranking is a by-product," he said.

"I think for a university to be great you must have great professors first."

HKU has hired 91 professors this year from 17 different countries, including Nobel Prize laureates.

"With top professors, they will conduct quality research and train better graduates and post-doctorates," Shen said.

"That's a positive loop. So to make that happen, we also have many schemes to support."

One of these is HKU attracting quality students for its undergraduate and postgraduate programs, Shen added. As pro-vice-chancellor in research, he initiated the launch of the HKU Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science in January last year and welcomed its first batch of PhD students in September. Students can opt to choose data science as one of their "interdisciplinary areas."

Students can take courses co-hosted by the scholars at the institute and other HKU departments.

"We try to push this horizontally across all the faculties so we can train students to be better prepared for data science," he said.

"At MIT, majority of undergrad students get degrees in data science and computer science-related disciplines."

Seven of the data science institute's PhD students were among the 70 HKU students selected under the Research Grants Council's PhD fellowship scheme this year.

The fellowship awards 350 PhD students from the city's eight public universities, which provide an annual stipend of HK$331,200 and a conference and research-related travel allowance of HK$13,800 to each awardee.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com