CUHK is making waves around the world. Its consistent academic excellence has earned it the top spot among Hong Kong universities and a notable 42nd place in the prestigious U.S. News and World Report’s Best Global Universities ranking. Delving deeper, the exceptional contributions of its medical scholars in the realm of digestive health have garnered global recognition. What’s more, its commitment to sustainability shines through its hosting of the influential THE Global Sustainable Development Congress, solidifying its position as a leader in fostering a greener future. Read more to discover the full extent of CUHK’s remarkable achievements.

Standing proud as the first comprehensive research university in mainland established by a Hong Kong academic institution, CUHK-Shenzhen is now celebrating its 10th anniversary and has embarked on a series of celebratory activities under the theme of “Decade of Success, Fusion of Innovation”. As CUHK-Shenzhen reflects upon its remarkable journey, it continues to inspire with the way it has turned its vision into reality.

A landmark CUHK-Elsevier report unveils the research prowess of the Greater Bay Area, with a 17.9% annual growth in output over five years. This dynamic region now hosts 420,000 active researchers – nearly doubling since 2018. CUHK has emerged as a standout performer, accounting for a significant share of the GBA’s cutting-edge research in fields like biomedicine and AI, while boasting the highest field-weighted citation impact (FWCI) among top institutions.

CUHK is celebrating a range of accomplishments that solidify its status as a preeminent global leader in higher education and research. From a historic rise in prestigious university rankings to a sweep of awards at an esteemed international invention showcase, CUHK has consistently demonstrated its unparalleled commitment to academic excellence, innovative thinking and pioneering discoveries across its diverse programmes and world-class faculties.

As a world-renowned university, CUHK is devoted to fostering dialogue to exchange views on a variety of issues. Recently, CUHK organised a number of activities, including a climate conference that brought together scientists from China’s first homemade polar icebreaker, a dialogue that explored the ethical complexities of biomedicine through the lens of Buddhism, and an international finance forum for the 60th anniversary of CUHK Business School.

As an international university, CUHK is committed to promoting exchanges among tertiary institutions in different places. In late 2023, the University organised several presidential forums, and was involved in inaugurating the Belt & Road Alliance for Traditional Chinese Medicine. In celebration of CUHK’s 60th anniversary, it has held a series of commemorative events in the past few months, such as an anniversary banquet and a visit to CUHK from renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

CUHK scholars continue to garner international accolades for their academic excellence. Remarkably, 13 of them were recognised among the most cited researchers of 2023 globally, while one has been elected as the only new Hong Kong member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Read more to find out what else they have achieved.

As CUHK marks its 60th anniversary, its members have received numerous prestigious honours. Professor Katalin Karikó, who was recently awarded the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa by CUHK, was honoured with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023 approximately two months later. Professor Liao Wei-hsin has become the first recipient from Hong Kong of the Leonardo Da Vinci Award. Professor Cheng Hong and her research team became the first in Hong Kong to receive the prestigious Best Paper Award (Research Track) from the ACM SIGKDD International Conference. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Chan has been bestowed the European Society for Medical Oncology Lifetime Achievement Award. Last but not least, Vice-Chancellor Professor Rocky S. Tuan has been elected as Chair of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities.

CUHK’s new centres are set to usher in an era of thrilling academic collaboration and scientific breakthroughs. The internationally accredited CU-Med Biobank promises revolutionary drug research, while the S.H. Ho Research Centre for Infectious Diseases unites researchers to fight contagious diseases. The CUHK Beijing and Shanghai Centres create a vibrant corridor, bridging mainland China and Hong Kong and forging new knowledge, innovation and industry partnerships.

CUHK’s distinguished scholars have recently reaped several awards. Professor Li Cheuk-ting was honoured with the IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award 2023; Professor Qin Ling and Professor Yu Jun were elected as Foreign Members of the Academia Europaea; and Distinguished Visiting Professor-at-Large Yau Shing-tung was awarded the Shaw Prize 2023 in Mathematical Sciences. Additionally, CUHK broke into the top 100 in THE Impact Rankings 2023 for the first time, making a significant milestone on its academic journey.

To celebrate its 60th anniversary, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is partnering with Times Higher Education (THE) to host the THE Asia Universities Summit on 21-23 June 2023. The three-day Summit is themed “The Asian University in 2050”. Speakers include presidents, vice-presidents and university leaders from top universities in nations and regions including mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, Oceania and beyond. CUHK Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Rocky S. Tuan will open the summit and speak on a number of sessions.

One of the most innovative universities in the city and the region, CUHK is committed to producing impactful research and propelling innovation in Hong Kong and beyond. Recently, CUHK students and scholars have excelled in several national and international competitions, while the CUHK Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Research Institute (Futian) (FITRI) has recently been unveiled to foster cross-border I&T collaboration.

2023 marks a historic milestone for CUHK - the 60th anniversary of its foundation. Today, with eight faculties, nine colleges and over a quarter of a million alumni it is a fully fledged university whose impact has grown exponentially and, as the theme of its diamond jubilee celebrations says, a place “where great minds shine”. CUHK kicked off the celebrations with a carnival of lights, featuring a stunning drone show and many thrilling performances. Catch a glimpse of the glittering commencement ceremony and upcoming spectacles.

CUHK’s network of distinguished scholars continue to garner worldwide recognition for their pursuit of excellence in research, innovation and education. For example, a CUHK architecture scholar and his team built a library for children in a rural area of China, received an award for it at the 2022 World Architecture Festival, known popularly as the Oscars of architecture. Also, seven scholars from CUHK received international and national honours in a range of disciplines over the past few months in recognition of their research excellence.

CUHK’s outstanding scholars and research have recently won several coveted international awards. In particular, Professor Dennis Lo received the prestigious Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his revolutionary non-invasive prenatal test. Additionally, CUHK Art Museum won the UMAC Award from the International Council of Museums Committee for University Museums and Collections. The University has also set new records in world university rankings, demonstrating CUHK’s influence and leading position in the global higher education community.

Professor Mei-Po KWAN from CUHK’s Department of Geography and Resource Management has been awarded the James R. Anderson Medal of Honor in Applied Geography, the highest honour in the field, for her multidisciplinary contributions to applied geography; while Professor YU Jun from the Faculty of Medicine has been awarded the Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award by the Chinese Academy of Engineering in recognition of her distinguished achievements in gastrointestinal cancer studies.

Remarkable research and innovation from CUHK have reaped multiple awards at this year’s International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. A CUHK professor also received the honour of AIMBE College Fellowship in recognition of his novel technology for rehabilitation and his contribution to the education of biomedical engineering.

Certain traumas, diseases or ageing problems cause damage to human tissues and bodies, but regenerative medicine brings hope to patients by repairing or regenerating them. Professor Rocky S. TUAN, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK has spent years of intensive effort in the field of skeletal tissue engineering and regeneration. His achievement has recently been recognised by the TERMIS with an International Fellowship (FTERM); he is the first Hong Kong scholar to be given the honour.

Applications of quantum sensing technology can be found in a wide range of settings, including medical imaging, prediction of weather patterns and even analysis of seismic activity. Professor Renbao Liu from Physics of CUHK has received the 2022 Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics for his contribution to spin decoherence and quantum sensing research. He and Professor Chester Shu from Electronic Engineering have also been elected Fellows of a prestigious society, highly commending their research achievements.

CUHK researchers and their projects have recently been funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council under its various schemes, supporting innovative and more collaborative research. CUHK topped Hong Kong’s universities in the Collaborative Research Fund 2021/22, as well as securing significant funding from other schemes.

Physical exchange programmes from global educational institutions have been heavily affected by the pandemic. CUHK has initiated a virtual student exchange programmme for students to experience international education without leaving home. The endeavour made it into the final round and was a “Highly Commended” entry for International Strategy of the Year at the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2021.

In the past two months, CUHK scholars gained international recognition from various disciplines for their outstanding research achievement. Three medicine scholars’ effective translation of non-invasive prenatal test and cancer diagnostic approaches from scientific research level into clinical application, has earned them inclusion in “Top 20 Translational Researchers of 2020” by the world-renowned scientific journal Nature Biotechnology.

Innovative researches led by CUHK teachers and students won them awards of high national and local impacts. Exemplary research and novel inventions covering the fields of medicine, religion, engineering, psychology, and business administration have shown benefits to groups of people in society.

With a clear and pronounced emphasis on promoting “Research and Innovation”, CUHK has been working diligently to bring out talents and pioneers in the industry. Recently, CUHK scholars received global and national recognition for their research excellence, among whom Professor Dennis LO from Medicine has become the first Chinese scientist to receive the Royal Medal in biological sciences.