PolyU receives staunch support from the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation for the establishment of the Smart Cities Research Institute and the Research Institute for Smart Energy

(from left) Dr Lam Tai-fai, PolyU’s Chairman of Council; Dr David Chung Wai Keung, JP, Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government; Ir Dr Otto Poon, BBS, OBE, Founder of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation, and Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, PolyU’s President, unveiled a plaque to formally name the two research institutes.

In his welcoming remarks, PolyU’s Council Chairman Dr Lam Tai-fai extended his heartfelt
gratitude to Ir Dr Otto Poon Lok-to for his long-standing support to PolyU, “Dr
Poon is a strong advocate of using innovation and technology to solve societal
problems. Smart cities and energy challenges are two topics of great importance
to society today. We are excited to join hands with Dr Poon to set up two
research institutes focusing on these strategic areas in order to contribute to
the further development of Hong Kong, the Nation and the wider international
community.”

The Under Secretary for
Innovation and Technology, Dr David Chung , said that the Government
had been collaborating with the two Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research
Institutes in conducting trials and pilots in a number of smart city projects,
ranging from the application of urban informatics to smart and sustainable
energy, in order to improve the quality of life of our citizens.

  “The
Innovation and Technology Bureau will continue to develop Hong Kong into a
smart city and to make space for our local talents to help contribute to the
betterment of Hong Kong as well as our country. I urge all of you to take
advantage of the opportunities brought about by the National 14th Five-year
Plan and development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. There
is much to gain from collaboration with our neighbour cities and we have much
to learn from each other, especially on the new frontier of smart city
development. PolyU, with its outstanding research institutes and
academics, will have a big role to play in building Hong Kong into an international I&T hub,”
Dr Chung added.

Founder of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Ir Dr Otto Poon Lok-to
remarked that “the notion of s mart cities embraces a wide array of topics. The
establishment of SCRI will serve as a catalyst to blend the various elements of
smart cities together in order to contribute to the success of Hong Kong’s
Smart City Blue Print 2.0.”  Ir Dr Poon also raised concerns regarding
climate change, and noted that renewable energy and energy storage were two
essential research topics. He appreciated PolyU researchers’ dedicated
commitment to advancing the frontiers of technology and knowledge to cope with
energy challenges.

Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU ,
thanked Ir Dr Poon for his unwavering support to PolyU over the years and said
“Interdisciplinary collaboration can provide solutions to address societal
challenges. Against this backdrop, the University has established the PolyU
Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), a hub to promote research and
innovation across disciplines. To date, ten research institutes and five
research centres have been established to offer impactful solutions in areas
including land and space creation, smart ageing, advanced manufacturing, smart
cities, smart energy and more.”

Established in
2020, SCRI and RISE will bring together PolyU experts from diversified fields to
develop impactful interdisciplinary research.

SCRI aims at being
a global centre of excellence in urban informatics and a living smart cities laboratory
for Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in order to
promote smart cities development in Hong Kong and in the country. Its research
focus areas include Smart Mobility, Smart Living, Smart Environment, Smart People,
Smart Government, and Smart Economy. SCRI is collaborating with some of the
world’s top universities including the University of Cambridge and University
College London, as well as major industrial players to develop innovative
solutions. SCRI’s innovations have received worldwide recognition and won two
Gold Medals at 2021 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days and two prizes in the
2021 Smart 50 Awards.

RISE strives to pursue translational research on
innovative solutions for energy-related problems. Its five research focus areas include
District Energy Systems and Smart Grid, Smart Buildings and Smart Energy
Systems, Advanced Energy Storage Technologies, Advanced and Renewable Energy Conversion
Technologies, and Advanced Energy Materials. RISE’s world-class research has
been recognised in various global research rankings. A ccording to a recent report by Stanford
University,
16 RISE members
have been listed among the top 2% of scientists in relevant research fields
globally, with three members ranking in the top 25 places. In addition, three
RISE scholars have been acknowledged in the Highly Cited Researchers 2020 list
by Clarivate Analytics.

For more details about the research institutes, please visit the
respective websites:

Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) https://www.polyu.edu.hk/scri/

Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE)
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/rise/

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