Ir HON Chi-keung Chief Executive and Secretary

The Chief Executive delivered her 2021 Policy Address on 6 October. I think the whole community is still very excited to appreciate the broad vision portrayed in this mega plan for pursuing the long-term prosperity of Hong Kong. We are particularly delighted to note that the Administration has embraced many of the initiatives that the Institution has advocated, covering aspects like innovation and technology (I&T), land and housing supply, integration with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), urban mobility, youth development and sustainability.

The engineering sector will find a host of initiatives in the Policy Address for which our efforts and input are being called for. Major development projects are planned, including the Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau artificial islands, and infrastructures for enhancing connectivity within Hong Kong and with other places in the GBA. In particular, we should be glad to learn about the boosting of investment in I&T by forming the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Co-operation Zone with San Tin Technopole, as well as the HK$130+ billion funding injection over a period of four years. These new policies and plans will be opening up unprecedented opportunities for engineers, especially the younger generation, to advance their careers and build a better future not only in Hong Kong, but also in the GBA.

When it comes to I&T, the Institution established the Enginpreneurs Hub (EP Hub) last year to support members in their pursuit of I&T development. This actually accords with the various initiatives as delineated in the Policy Address, notably so on the sections on I&T and re-industrialisation. The emerging advanced manufacturing technologies and associated scientific research-based efforts will assist in accelerating Hong Kong’s re-industrialisation footstep. We are gratified that we can be instrumental in promoting I&T development essential to revitalising industries in Hong Kong.

Progress on Digitalisation

Readers will be interested to have an update on the implementation of our digitalisation roadmap, which is aimed for enhancing our operational efficiency and services to members. To recap, areas covered include the Institution's hardware infrastructure, email system, document management system, room booking system, learned society event management, HKIE and RPE membership applications, Secretariat database system, website revamp, training and HR management systems etc.

Recently, Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited has been appointed for upgrading our hardware infrastructure and the project is expected to be completed in around three months’ time. Tenders for email system enhancement, online document management system and room booking system have been invited and hopefully the associated work will commence very soon.

We have also awarded a contract to the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) to assist in managing the implementation of several projects, viz, event management application, e-membership application (both HKIE and ERB) and Secretariat membership database. The current plan is to have the applications launched by the end of 2022.

2021 Shanghai and Hong Kong Symposium on Science and Technology

Co-organised by the HKIE, the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology (上海市科學技術協會) and the People’s Government of Qingpu District of Shanghai Municipality (上海市青浦區人民政府), the 2021 Shanghai and Hong Kong Symposium on Science and Technology (2021滬港科技合作研討會) was successfully held on 21 October 2021 along the theme “新技術‧新業態‧新發展”. To cope with the pandemic, the Symposium was held in a hybrid mode, attracting over 300 delegates and guests. A total of 24 presentations were made, including three keynote speeches delivered by keynote speakers from Shanghai, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. Details of the Symposium will be reported in the next issue of the journal.

Media gathering

To promote the engineering profession and raise the standing and visibility of engineers in society, a media luncheon was held on 25 October 2021 with the President, the Officers, the Executive and the Chairman of the Public Services Committee attending. Journalists from the electronic, print and online media attended. At the gathering, besides discussions about prevailing engineering related subjects, the President also introduced his Presidential theme, the Institution’s plan for this session and our recent and upcoming events and activities.

HKIE Instagram

To enable members and the public to know more about the latest activities of the Institution and allow the Institution to better connect with them, following the launch of the HKIE Facebook, HKIE is now on Instagram as well. Members are invited to follow us on our newly-launched Instagram and check out our latest updates at:

“Hong Kong Engineering Archive” - A new look and feel

To raise public awareness of the contributions and achievements that Hong Kong engineers have made to society, we have completed a revamp with new features and layout for the Hong Kong Engineering Archive which gathers past and recent notable engineering projects.

Browse through the revamped website at https://www.hkie.org.hk/ea/ to have a first-hand experience to gain a comprehensive knowledge about how these engineering projects have contributed to the development of Hong Kong over the years.

Members can search for their interested engineering projects by keywords, engineering disciplines or five categories relating to sustainability, including:

1. City planning and development
2. Technological innovation
3. Environmental management and protection
4. Society and livelihood
5. Energy and resources

The Young Engineer of the Year Award 2022 – Call for nominations

Entering its 20th year in 2022, the Young Engineer of the Year Award recognises and honours outstanding young engineers who have made commendable achievements and valuable contributions to the continuous development of Hong Kong. The Award for the year 2022 is now open for nominations until 5:00 pm (Hong Kong time) Thursday, 9 December 2021. Please visit http://www.hkie.org.hk/yeya/ for details of the eligibility and nomination procedures.