Readers will find it fascinating to read our cover story about the outlook for re-industrialisation in Hong Kong. Whilst one may wonder about the economic viability of rebuilding local manufacturing, new perspectives are now available with the i4.0 or Industry 4.0) which features the convergence of IoT technologies, more sophisticated automation and machine-to-machine communication coming of age. Indeed, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made much disruption to our daily life, it is also chiselling out footholds for us to elevate our aspirations for the prospect of embarking innovations in this traditional business.
When one casts an eye on revitalisation of our production, there can be a lot of thoughts about our construction industry. Despite all the past achievements in terms of infrastructure provision, improving livelihood and boosting economic growth, the industry is facing huge challenges including ageing workforce, declining productivity, lack of creativity and innovation amidst the mounting construction volume. There is a pressing need to revive the industry for more sustainable development.
Since 2018, the Government has been spearheading the Construction 2.0 campaign which includes a major initiative of innovating the construction industry. The vision is for developing an industry culture that embraces change, innovation and new technologies to drive forward productivity, efficiency and enhanced project delivery outcomes. In these few years, we have witnessed a gradual transformation of the industry, more importantly, in the mindset for change. There is now much wider adoption of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) digital technology which greatly assists in visibility, crossdiscipline collaboration, and enhancing the reliability of decision making from conceptual design to operation, maintenance and then to the demolition stage. The application of the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) technology in the production of high-rise buildings and medical facilities, with the recent exemplars of the Disciplined Services Quarters for the Fire Services Department at Pak Shing Kok, InnoCell at Science Park, and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre etc, is proving to be a game changer for our old-fashioned undertaking.
Looking ahead, there will likely be a pathway towards industrialisation of the construction process. With all the benefits of being more efficient, environmentally friendly, safer and enhanced productivity, there will be immense value in converting substantial portion of construction activities to manufacturing productions like MiC, Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), pre-fabrication and so on. One can tell that a sea change in construction industry from supply chain to on site logistics and operations will happen soon.
Talking about change, readers may be aware that we are now phasing out our printed publications. The HKIE Transactions is already available on our website free from any subscription. Starting from August this year, the Hong Kong Engineer will also be converted entirely to an online version only. With these digitalisation efforts, the Institution hopes to play a part towards decarbonisation for a better future society.
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Trainee of the Year Award 2021 - Call for nominations
The Trainee of the Year Award was established in 1993 by the HKIE to recognise outstanding achievements of Scheme “A” trainees. Registered Scheme "A" trainees whose nominal training period lies within 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 are eligible to apply for the Award. Nominations for the Award are open until 31 August 2021. For more details, please visit the HKIE website at http://www.hkie.org.hk.
President's Protégé Scheme
The President's Protégé Scheme has been very successful and well-received since its launch in Session 2009/2010. Over the years, the Scheme has not only allowed young engineers to gain insights into the work of senior industry figures, but also offered valuable opportunity for them to build a solid foundation for the development of their future careers. The Scheme for Session 2021/2022 will be open for application in mid-May 2021. Please stay tuned for further details on the HKIE website.
Webinar Series under the Presidential Theme
In April 2021, two webinars were organised by the Enginpreneurs Hub as a major President’s initiatives for the Session. These were delivered respectively by Mr Nathan Wong, an experienced IP consultant, and Ms Sindy Tse, an Ecosystem Manager focusing on driving innovation activities through collaboration, introducing the intellectual property issues in Hong Kong and the Free Electrons Programme - a global startup programme. As a prelude to the HKIE Innovation Expo to be held in June 2021, a webinar was also presented by Ms Carolyn Hicks, now stationed in Oxford UK, sharing her innovation journey from a professional civil engineer to a battery entrepreneur. All these webinars received enthusiastic participation by members. Please stay tuned for more webinars from the Enginpreneurs Hub and the HKIE Innovation Expo in the Session.
The HKIE Innovation Expo 2021
With an aim to strengthening the network between the engineering industry and I&T ecosystem’s stakeholders within Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, the Institution is organising the HKIE Innovation Expo under the theme of “Engineering into Future”. The Expo provides an arena for building a talent pool, and provides the young engineering
talents an opportunity to realise their innovative ideas for future advancement. The Event consists of exhibitions,
showcases, competitions, seminars and “The HKIE Enginpreneurs Award”. For more details, please visit http://www.hkie.org.hk/innoexpo.
The HKIE New Members’ Reception cum Prize Presentation Ceremony
With enthusiastic attendance by our newly admitted Members and guests, the HKIE Prize Presentation Ceremony cum New Members’ Reception was held on 27 March 2021 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. In addition to the presentation of certificates to newly admitted Fellow Members and Members, a presentation ceremony of 50-year membership certificates was also arranged on this occasion to honour members who have achieved 50 years or more continuous membership with the Institution. Highlights of the event are reported in page 25 of the Journal.