As we reflect on a remarkable 2024 and usher in the Year of the Snake, I am filled with immense pride and gratitude for the unwavering support of our alumni community. Under our 30th anniversary theme, "Innovating into the Future," City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has reached new heights, connecting with alumni around the globe and launching numerous exciting initiatives.
Strengthening alumni bonds
We have recently achieved some remarkable milestones in alumni development. The Alumni Homecoming event on 2 November 2024 was a resounding success, with more than 3,000 former students in attendance. It was heartwarming to see so many alumni return to their alma mater, reconnecting with the University and discovering more about our latest developments. Your continued engagement and enthusiasm inspire us to strive for excellence, ensuring that CityUHK remains a source of pride for all our life-long family members.
To warmly welcome our alumni “home”, we have recently established the Alumni Lounge at the CityUHK International Centre. Thanks to insightful ideas from our alumni committee members, this dynamic space, with its blend of indoor and outdoor areas, now serves as a vibrant hub where alumni network, collaborate, and hold reunion activities. Alumni are warmly welcome to visit the Lounge, a sanctuary where cherished memories can be relived, stories shared, and friendships rekindled.
I sincerely congratulate the two recipients of the 8th Distinguished Alumni Award: Mr Anthony Lam, a pioneer in the Hong Kong rice industry, and Dr Allen Shi, a prominent industrialist and entrepreneur. They have contributed extensively to their industries, CityUHK and society, serving as role models for our students and showcasing CityUHK’s high-quality education. The Presentation Ceremony on 23 January 2025 was attended by University management, business partners and community leaders who came together to honour the achievements of our distinguished awardees.
On the global front, we are excited to announce the establishment of a new alumni chapter in Singapore, made possible by the dedicated efforts of our alumni leaders. At the inauguration ceremony on 3 January 2025, Dr Anna Lau, Chairman of the Singapore Alumni Chapter, said close connections among alumni and a commitment to organising various activities would deepen a sense of belonging to CityUHK.
Ranking tops again, and new academic initiatives
CityUHK's ambition and progress in the academic arena spotlight our latest achievements. The University is recognised as one of the top 30 universities in Asia for the 4th consecutive year in the Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings 2025. We are also recognised as the only Asian representative to join the THE World 100 Reputation Network Management Committee, a global web for reputation managers from the world’s leading universities. Additionally, in the 2025 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings, CityUHK was ranked 10th in Asia and 3rd in Hong Kong. Locally, CityUHK is increasingly attractive to secondary school students and parents, as reflected by the latest figures released by the Joint University Programmes Admissions System, which showed that we received the highest number of applications from all universities in Hong Kong for 2025/26.
In our ongoing quest to advance scientific research and technology for the benefit of humanity, we established the Hong Kong Institute of AI for Science in October 2024, drawing together experts from computer science, data science, statistics and bioinformatics. At the start of 2025, we established the College of Biomedicine, leveraging our strengths in biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, and digital medicine. In February, we have collaborated with École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) to establish the Institute for Materials Innovation, advancing research in cutting-edge areas of materials science. Furthermore, our newly launched Joint Research Laboratory in Guangzhou Nansha will facilitate collaboration in veterinary and research between Guangdong and Hong Kong.
Global collaborations
When you come to CityUHK, you come to the world! One such exciting development is our strengthened partnership with the University of Cambridge, through which we have launched Hong Kong's first university-wide scholarship programme in collaboration with Cambridge's Lucy Cavendish College. Additionally, two new scholarships have been established between Cambridge's Judge Business School and CityUHK’s College of Business and between the Cambridge Digital Humanities, School of Arts and Humanities and the Department of Media and Communications at CityUHK. These scholarships enable our students to pursue master’s degrees at the University of Cambridge.
Moreover, we solidified our partnership with the University of Exeter in the UK on the future implementation of research and education collaborations, forged new partnerships with institutions such as the Muroran Institute of Technology in Japan, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember in Indonesia, Ghent University in Belgium, and the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Lastly, I wish you all a wonderful and fulfilling new year. Thank you for your constant support and steadfast dedication to CityUHK.
Professor Freddy Boey
President and University Distinguished Professor
