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President Ir Aaron K M Bok, together with Senior Vice President Ir Dr Barry C H Lee and Director Mr Davis Wong, had a memorable and rewarding trip to the UK from 4 to 10 of December 2022.
After nearly three years of COVID-induced suspension, the Presidential Visit to the UK resumed this year with the twofold goals of exchanging ideas with sister institutions and attracting engineering talents to Hong Kong.
Indeed, the meetings with the representatives of various institutions were fruitful and inspiring. Issues of shared interests were discussed at length, such as energy efficiency, engineers’ role in the world’s struggle against climate change, talent shortage in the technology sector, the importance of guiding and nurturing the next generation of engineers, etc. The sharing by the representatives of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) of their experience on building up a strong membership base of engineers, including a new class of infrastructure engineers, also offered a lot of food for thought.
The HKIE delegation - President Ir Aaron Bok (1st right), Senior Vice President Ir Dr Barry
Lee (2nd right) and Director Mr Davis Wong (1st left) had a fruitful discussion with ICE
President and ICE Director-General, followed by a luncheon
In addition to the more “traditional” institutions, the delegation also visited the Building Research Establishment (BRE) Group and the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC). The BRE Group is a profit-for-purpose organisation that develops science-led solutions to make buildings better for people and for the environment, while the CSIC is a world-leading centre in the development of data-driven solutions for smarter infrastructure. At CSIC, the delegation was welcomed with some latest research presentations and the delegation was given a tour of the laboratory.
The visits to these two organisations were insightful and valuable for understanding more about the commercial application of leading-edge engineering research in the UK.
Besides meeting with engineering-related institutions, the delegation also visited the Carnwath Road Riverside, one of the Thames Tideway Tunnel Project’s 24 construction sites. Considering the scale and significance of the project, the visit helped to acquaint the delegation with the latest status of infrastructure development in London.
Another highlight of the trip was the Presidential reception and dinner at the Institute of Directors, where members of the HKIE UK Chapter and representatives from sister institutions received the President with warm hospitality. The Presidential Address received rounds of applause from the attendees. In addition to hearing about the latest developments in Hong Kong and the Institution’s plans and initiatives, the event also offered an opportunity for old friends and new acquaintances to mingle and exchanged updates, and the evening was filled with laughter and joyful conversations.
The HKIE UK Chapter Committee with the President Ir Aaron Bok (front row, 3rd right) and
Senior Vice President Ir Dr Barry LEE (front row, 4th right) at the Presidential Reception
and Dinner at the Institute of Directors
On the final day of the Presidential Visit, a seminar jointly organised with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office London (HKETO London) was held at Imperial College London, one of the best universities in the UK. The seminar was well attended by around 100 students – mostly local and from all over the world, but also some originally from Hong Kong. The audience responded enthusiastically to the President’s speech about the city’s upcoming infrastructure projects and the opportunities they signified for engineering graduates. The President’s resolve to attract talents to Hong Kong was met with a lot of interest and positive responses.
All in all, the Presidential Visit to the UK this year was a success. It was filled with lasting memories, significant achievements and worthwhile moments. Over the course of a short week, the delegation encountered many accomplished engineers and aspiring young engineers, who all shared the same sentiment - “Proud to be Engineers”, and they also had the common vision of using engineering for the improvement of society and the world at large.
“Remember me? Of course you do, I’m Hally. So, why am I back in the Journal again, when I’m supposed to be promoting HKIE on Facebook and Instagram?”
“Well, truth to tell I’m still in a bit of a holiday mood, and after telling you all about our Christmas eCard, I thought I should also let you know about our Chinese New Year eCard and the new set of WhatsApp and Signal stickers we’ve prepared.”
The eCard will be available in the Member Login Area of the HKIE website. So, if you sent our “Hally” Christmas eCards, why not follow them up with some “Hally” CNY eCards?
Half of the stickers feature me promoting the Hong Kong Engineers Week 2023. In that campaign, which runs from 3 to 11 March this year, there will be fun stuff like competitions, a carnival, exhibitions, lectures, conferences and fundraising cycling & run for everyone to participate in. And before these, a roving exhibition in February too! So why not help me to promote the engineering profession’s public profile and send some stickers out too! That’ll help those interested to stay tuned for the Week.
“Many thanks and a Happy New Year to you all”
Scan to download Hally’s Whatsapp and Signal stickers from https://whatsticker.online/p/647835whrh6hn/HK.
The HKIE Outstanding Paper Award for Young Engineers/ Researchers was first launched in 2006. It aims to encourage young engineers and researchers to develop innovations and technologies, publish their achievements, as well as to promote engineering profession among the younger generation. This competition is open to young engineers and researchers at the age of 35 or below worldwide. Each year, first authors of the awarded papers are invited to give a Public Lecture to share their research accomplishments and to celebrate their research success with the audience. Last year, the Public Lecture was cancelled due to the prevailing pandemic. This year, the first authors of the awarded papers for both 2021 and 2022 were invited to share their winning papers with topics in various engineering fields.
The Public Lecture was successfully held on 16 December 2022 with more than a hundred HKIE members, practitioners and students joining the lecture at the HKIE Headquarters or online.
The Institution would like to express its sincere gratitude to the four awardees including Dr Juhua He, Mr Tung Ngai Wong, Ms Chun Cheng and Dr Xiangxuan Deng in sharing their research achievements and exchanging invaluable insights with the participants, making the Public Lecture both informative and rewarding.
All the awarded papers have been published in the December Issue of the HKIE Transactions in 2021 and 2022. The awarded papers are now available on the HKIE Transactions website.
Awarded paper for 2021
By Juhua He*, Kenny W K Hui and Irene M C Lo
Awarded papers for 2022
By Tung Ngai Wong* and Ray K L Su
- “Numerical study of electrochemical thermocells for harvesting low-grade waste heat”
By Chun Cheng*, Shien-Ping Feng and Meng Ni
By Xiangxuan Deng*, Shan Liang, Kwing-san Wan,Tsz-yat Young, Kam-yim Young, Ming-yin Shan, Pak-kui Tang and Wai-lun Chan
(*The first author who was aged 35 or below on the closing date of submission.)
(L to R) Dr Juhua He, Ir Prof Michael Kwok Hi Leung, Chairman of HKIE Transactions
Committee and Mr Tung Ngai Wong
Dr Juhua He during his presentation
Mr Tung Ngai Wong was presenting his awarded paper
Ms Chun Cheng’s online presentation
Dr Xiangxuan Deng in her presentation