Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Encyclopedia
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU, ) specialises in professional education in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. The University’s teaching units are grouped under six faculties and two schools; the Faculty of Applied Science
Applied science
Applied science is the application of scientific knowledge transferred into a physical environment. Examples include testing a theoretical model through the use of formal science or solving a practical problem through the use of natural science....

 and Textiles, Faculty of Business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

, Faculty of Construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 and Environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

, Faculty of Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

, Faculty of Health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

 and Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...

, Faculty of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
The Faculty of Humanities at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the youngest faculty of Humanities in Hong Kong...

, alongside with School of Design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

 and School of Hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

 and Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 Management.

The University is the sole provider of full-time degree or higher diploma programmes in Hong Kong in the following areas: computing and management, design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

, engineering physics
Engineering physics
Engineering physics is the study of the combined disciplines of physics, engineering and mathematics in order to develop an understanding of the interrelationships of these three disciplines. Fundamental physics is combined with problem solving and engineering skills, which then has broad...

, fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...

 and textiles, geomatics
Geomatics
Geomatics is the discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering geographic information, or spatially referenced information.-Overview and etymology:...

, international shipping and transport logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...

, medical laboratory science, optometry
Optometry
Optometry is a health care profession concerned with eyes and related structures, as well as vision, visual systems, and vision information processing in humans. Optometrists, or Doctors of Optometry, are state licensed medical professionals trained to prescribe and fit lenses to improve vision,...

, occupational therapy
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...

, physiotherapy and radiography
Radiography
Radiography is the use of X-rays to view a non-uniformly composed material such as the human body. By using the physical properties of the ray an image can be developed which displays areas of different density and composition....

.

The University maintains strong partnership with the business and industrial sectors.

The current President of the University is Prof. Timothy W. Tong
Timothy W. Tong
Professor Timothy K.M. Tong is the current President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He succeeded Professor Poon Chung Kwong to take the president position in January 2009...

. Prof. Chung-Kwong Poon
Chung-Kwong Poon
Professor Chung-Kwong Poon, OBE, GBS, JP was the President of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 1991 to 2008. He received his secondary education at St. Paul's Co-educational College. Trained as a chemist, he holds doctorates of science and of philosophy from the University College London...

 retired on 31 December 2008 and the University Council decided to confer the title of "President Emeritus" on him in recognition of his dedicated and distinguished service to the University.

History

Founded in 1937 as the Government Trade School. Situated in Wood Road, Wanchai, the School was the first publicly funded, post-secondary technical institution in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

.

After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the School became the Hong Kong Technical College in 1947, offering both full-time and part-time courses. The year 1957 saw the opening of the new premises of the College in Hung Hom
Hung Hom
Hung Hom is an area of Kowloon, in Hong Kong, administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of the railway in the Yau Tsim Mong District. Hung Hom serves mainly residential purposes though is mixed with some industrial buildings in the north.-Geography:Hung Hom is located...

.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic was formally established on 1 August 1972, taking over the campus and staff of the Hong Kong Technical College. Its mandate was to provide professionally-oriented education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

.

Having gained approval from the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee for self-accreditation of degree programmes, the Institution assumed full university status on 25 November 1994, changing its name to The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Today, PolyU is an institution of higher learning and offers more than 130 postgraduate, undergraduate and sub-degree programmes, supported by more than 1,000 academic and research staff members from different parts of the world.

Achievements

Among the top 200 universities in the world

In the 2011 QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....

, PolyU (the university as a whole) is ranked 177th in the WORLD, versus 198th in 2009. In THES's 2010-2011 ranking, PolyU is ranked 149.

Civil Engineering Research

According to a survey conducted by Thomson Scientific
Thomson Scientific
Thomson Scientific was one of the five operating divisions of The Thomson Corporation until 2008. Following the merger of Thomson with Reuters to form Thomson Reuters in 2008, it became the Scientific business unit of the new company. In 2009, the Scientific business came together with the...

 in 2006, an established authority in compiling Science Citation Index, PolyU has been ranked number one in the world on the number of papers published in leading journals from 2003 to 2005 in the field of civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

.

School of HTM

PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management is ranked No. 2 in the world based on research and scholarship, according to a study released in the international Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in November 2009, the only institution in the top five not in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Besides, the School was the recipient of 2003 Institutional Achievement Award from International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators for enhancing tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 in Asia and innovativeness in student admission, curriculum design and industry partnerships. The School's strength is its international scope. Its faculty of 60 dedicated academic staff drawn from 18 countries around the world gives the School an international, innovative and creative learning environment. As the anticipation builds for the opening of its teaching and research hotel, Hotel ICON, in early 2011, the School expects ever-enhanced levels of excellence in the years ahead.

School of Design

Surveys by the U.S. magazine BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...

in 2006 and 2007 ranked PolyU's School of Design ranked among the top 60 in the world and among the ten best in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. In 2009, the magazine further rated the School's Master of Design (Design Strategies) program as one of the World's 30 Best Design Thinking programmes.

Faculty of Business

PolyU's Graduate School of Business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

 is ranked 66th in a worldwide ranking of business schools conducted by the University of Texas at Dallas
University of Texas at Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas, also referred to as UT Dallas or UTD, is a public research university in the University of Texas System. The main campus is in the heart of the Richardson, Texas, Telecom Corridor, north of downtown Dallas...

 (UTD) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The ranking was based on the research contributions of staff to leading business journals during 2004-2008.

Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences

In 2010, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities
Academic Ranking of World Universities
The Academic Ranking of World Universities , commonly known as the Shanghai ranking, is a publication that was founded and compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University to rank universities globally. The rankings have been conducted since 2003 and updated annually...

 (ARWU) http://www.arwu.org/index.jsp ranks PolyU as the world's top 75 in "Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences". This places PolyU among the world's top 100 universities in the disciplines of engineering and information technology. PolyU's score is 69.2 for “Papers Indexed in Science Citation Index - Expanded in ENG fields”. For comparison, CityU has 65.4, HKUST has 55.5, CUHK has 44.8. HKU's is unknown because HKU is not among the world's top 100. This ranking accounts for (i) highly cited researchers, (ii) papers indexed in Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCIE), (iii) percentage of papers published in the top 20% journals of each field, among other objective factors.

In the 2010 QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....

 (QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited,http://www.topuniversities.com/), PolyU is ranked 70th in the WORLD, for "Technology and Engineering". PolyU's 2009 ranking was 91st in the WORLD.

According to the 2009 by-fields Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities (conducted by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan), PolyU was ranked 72nd in 2008 but 63rd in 2009, in the world in terms of engineering publication performance. That ranking employs objective indicators that evaluate both quantity and quality of a university’s scientific papers, and incorporates the assessment of long-term and short-term achievements in the composite measures.

Accountancy and Finance

The research output of PolyU's School of Accounting and Finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

 has been ranked second in the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...

 region, according to the November 2005 issue of the Pacific-Basin Finance Journal. The ranking was based on the research contributions of staff to leading finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

 journals during 2000-2004.

Operations Research and Management Science

According to a recent study published in the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...

 Journal of Operational Research in 2008, PolyU ranks as the fourth most productive institution among all Asian countries in publishing research papers in the area of Operations Research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...

 and Management Science, topping other universities in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

.

Building Services Engineering

Department of Building Services Engineering
Building services engineering
Building services engineering, technical building services, architectural engineering, or building engineering is the engineering of the internal environment and environmental impact of a building...

 has been honoured with the Happold Brilliant Award for Excellence in Teaching 2005/06 by the UK-based Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers is a British professional engineering body based in London, England that represents building services engineers...

, in recognition of its contributions to the education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 and research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 in the field.

Mathematics

PolyU has been ranked among top 100 universities in the world in terms of its academic and research performance in mathematics, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2009 announced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Arts and Humanities

In the sub-category of Arts and Humanities in the THE-QS ranking exercise (From 2010 two separate rankings will be produced by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings is an international ranking of universities published by the British magazine Times Higher Education in partnership with Thomson Reuters, which provided citation database information...

 and the QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....

)http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2009/results, PolyU has been ranked 198th in 2009. The "Arts and Humanities" discipline at PolyU has been ranked among the top 40 in Asia and one of the top 4 in Hong Kong (QS.com Asian University Rankings 2009).

New drug for liver cancer

PolyU researchers have developed a new drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...

 for treating liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

 cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

: BCT-100. Winning Special Gold Award in the 33rd International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 in April 2005. BCT-100, is the first drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...

 developed in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 that has been able to come to the stage of clinical trial. Further breakthrough in developing cancer drugs through has been made using advanced biotechnology. The innovation was awarded the Prize of the State of Geneva (third runner-up prize) and a Gold Medal with Jury’s Commendation at the 37th International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products of Geneva.

Development of space tools

Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 Rock Corer, a rock sampling tool jointly developed by leading PolyU engineers and a local dentist, became the first Chinese made instrument launched to space in a European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

 spacecraft, Beagle2 Lander, for Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 exploration on 3 June 2003. In March 2007, following the signing of space collaboration agreement between China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, scientists at PolyU started to develop another sophisticated space tool, known as the Soil Preparation System, for a mission to Phobos
Phobos (moon)
Phobos is the larger and closer of the two natural satellites of Mars. Both moons were discovered in 1877. With a mean radius of , Phobos is 7.24 times as massive as Deimos...

, one of the two moons of Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

, onboard a Russian spacecraft. These space tools were critically important to help unlock the mystery of exobiology on Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

.

Lunar mission

The University signed a collaborative agreement with the Lunar Exploration Programme Centre of China National Space Administration
China National Space Administration
The China National Space Administration is the national space agency of the People's Republic of China responsible for the national space program. It is responsible for planning and development of space activities...

 (CNSA) on 27 April 2006 to nurture talents and foster academic exchange and research collaboration in support of the lunar exploration projects. At the invitation of CNSA, PolyU's Institute of Textiles and Clothing has designed anti-static work clothes for CNSA staff at the Control Centre during China's space mission.

Partner in research and technology development for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

With the expertise available in the Faculty of Health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

 and Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...

, PolyU has been designated as a collaborative partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee
Chinese Olympic Committee
Chinese Olympic Committee represents the People's Republic of China in international affairs related to the Olympic Movement.-Timeline concerning Olympic recognition:...

 in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has sent forth experts to prepare national athletes for the Olympics.

Faculties and Schools


Library

Pao Yue-kong Library was established on August 1, 1972 to serve the then Hong Kong Polytechnic. Between 1973 and 1976, Library services were provided at two centres, one at the present University site at Hung Hom and one at the Quarry Bay Centre. The two centres were consolidated when they were moved to the present Library Building in 1976. On November 25, 1994, the Polytechnic assumed full university status and was renamed The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. On December 20, 1995, the University Library was officially named after the late Sir Yue-kong Pao in appreciation of a generous donation to the University by his family.
Opened by Princess Alexandra on February 7, 1977, the Library Building is a six-storey purpose-designed building with an area of 16,662 square metres, providing approximately 3,623 study places. The Library also houses a 24-Hour Study Centre, group discussion rooms, a seminar room for library instruction classes, AV carrels and group rooms for use of audio-visual materials, study carrels for private study, and a special room for the visually disabled.

The Library comprises one of the largest collections of scientific, engineering and business materials in East Asia. Other areas of strength are information technology, computing, nursing, textiles and design. The present holdings exceed 2.2 million, to which more than 40,000 volumes are added annually. Over 4,100 active print serial titles are held in the Library. The Library also provides Internet access to over 32,610 unique full-text e-journal titles, almost 225,100 e-books, and a wide array of multi-media and e-learning programmes.

The Library also maintains several special collections and self-developed databases, including a comprehensive Standards Collection, the PolyU Examination Paper Database, the PolyU Course Scheme Database, the Senate Paper Database, a Digital Image Gallery, and a Slide Collection. In addition, a unique and heavily used collection of over 24,000 local Chinese and English language television programmes and the Hongkongiana Online database (an index to Hong Kong information found in periodicals published in Hong Kong) all constitute important resources for the study and research of Hong Kong.

Student life

PolyU Student Halls

PolyU Student Halls of Residence is probably the largest single block of hall premises in the world that can house over 3,000 student residents. There are 8 Undergraduate Halls and 1 Postgraduate Hall on the hall premises. The 8 Undergraduate Halls are named after PolyU's motto of "To learn and to apply, for the benefit of mankind" ("開物成務 勵學利民") :

Big Mouth Corner (BMC)

The Big Mouth Corner, first started in 2002 following the success of its predecessor the Chat Point, is a weekly English conversation forum organised by the English Club of the University. Local students and young native English speakers (who serve as English facilitators) participate in the BMC.

PolyU International Film Society (PIFS)

PIFS is a student society run by the English Language Centre. It screens up to 5 movies each semester with an objective to show a range of movies from around the World. PIFS has its own blog. Notable speakers at screenings include Leung Kwok Hung

Sports Affairs Committee (SAC)

There is also an organisation called Sports Affairs Committee(SAC), which is a part of the Student Union.
Their responsibilities are organising different sports competitions and promote sports to students.
They are sporty, sunny and healthy.
They have a long history and this year(2009) is the start of 38th SAC. There are 16 members in 38th SAC.

See also

  • Education in Hong Kong
    Education in Hong Kong
    Education in Hong Kong has a similar system to that of the United Kingdom, in particular the English education system of Hong Kong was modernised by the British in 1861. The system is often described as extremely competitive by global standards....

  • List of universities in Hong Kong
  • List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
  • Sunwah - PearL Linux
    Sunwah - PearL Linux
    Sunwah – PearL Linux is a joint venture of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Sunwah Group . Sunwah – PearL Linux established the Sunwah – PearL Linux Training & Development Centre on the university campus on January 2001...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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