Enhancing academic exchange and collaboration was the focus when the President of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) led a delegation to Hefei, visiting the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (INEST) from 17 to 20 September.

Professor Way Kuo gave a talk titled “Technology to Benefit the Well-being of People” at the University Presidents’ Forum: Education to Face the Future at USTC as part of USTC’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

The USTC talk touched on the fact that people are getting more confused as technology is becoming more advanced and complicated, and suggested that technology development should not only emphasise functionality, but cater for the needs of society, too.

Technology should change people’s lives in different ways, offering people choices and different experiences for more convenience, he said.

“Technology should benefit people, not to make people slaves. That’s why higher education should enable students to become leaders of technology, not followers,” Professor Kuo said.

While in Hefei, the President led a CityU delegation on a visit to the laboratories of INEST. A framework agreement was signed between CityU and INEST for further collaboration. Professor Kuo is a member of the International Advisory Committee of INEST.

Members of the delegation included Professor Pan Chin, Chair Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the Department of Mechanical Engineering; Professor Xie Min, Chair Professor of Industrial Engineering at the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management; and Dr David Cheng Xing, Associate Vice-President (Global Services).

The USTC–CityU Joint Advanced Research Centre (Suzhou) was established in Suzhou Industrial Park under an agreement signed between CityU and USTC in 2004, and the two universities offer joint doctorate programmes under an agreement signed in 2005.

Since 2007, a PhD student workshop has been held annually in Suzhou or Hefei. The joint doctorate programme currently has about 100 students, with more than 200 graduates to date.