Professor Way Kuo, the President of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and University Distinguished Professor, was awarded a prestigious medal in Management by the Chinese Management Association (CMA) of Taiwan on 3 December. The medal is the highest honour bestowed to an individual who has made contribution to management. The winners over the years are all leaders from all walks of life.

“By advocating the integration of teaching and research and the separation of politics and education, Professor Kuo has been leading CityU to become one of the most progressive universities in the world”, said the CMA.

A pioneer in reliability research of systems at their infant stage, President Kuo is renowned for his work in designing the reliability of electronics systems and nuclear energy. Before joining CityU in 2008, he was University Distinguished Professor, Dean of Engineering at the University of Tennessee, and was a member of the senior management team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy.

The CMA also mentioned that, President Kuo is one of the few outstanding Chinese scholars excels in academics and management, who was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering at a young age. He has been bestowed the title and rank of Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Legion d’ Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by Mr Emmanuel Macron, President of France in 2019, and the Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia (the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy) by His Excellency Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic in 2021 respectively. President Kuo has also been elected as International Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) in recognition of his “unflagging dedication to academia and professional service to the international community” in 2021.

President Kuo travelled to Taipei to receive this award in person earlier. By referring to the management philosophy of Zeng Zi (曾子), President Kuo shared his views on management and leadership with the audience in his speech. “Devoting my career to tertiary education for 40 years, I have been focusing on teaching and research. It was such a great honour for me to be granted the Management Medal 2022 in Taipei, which is the place I was born. I am thankful for and cherish all the support and cooperation of peers over the years, which are the key to success”, he added.