In early September, we witnessed what was apparently, in terms of hourly rainfall, the most serious deluge experienced by Hong Kong since records began in 1884. The torrential rain brought with it city-wide flooding, landslides, suspension of transport services and other hitches. Quite apart from the temporary havoc that they wreaked on our lives, these climate conditions constitute, in themselves, a major climate crisis—something not to be taken lightly.
Indeed, the Institution has shown how seriously it took the matter by the very way it reacted to it. While the crisis was still unfolding, we were already busy explaining to the public, in the first of our two Expert Q&A Sessions on 8 September, the possible reasons for severe flooding and approaches to extreme weather management. The second Session, held only a few days later (on 12 September), focused on water seepage, landslide risks, and enhancement of the city’s discharge capacity. The Sessions’ heavy attendance and warm reception by the media proved beyond doubt that engineers’ professional assessments of public issues are very much in demand. So, too, did the numerous media interviews, conducted for example by TVB and Now TV, with experts from our Divisions.
On many of these occasions, we gave particular weight to the development of climate-resilient infrastructure as a long-lasting remedy for comparable climate threats down the road. Of course, we were not improvising when we made this suggestion, nor did this idea dawn on us for the first time— as an afterthought, so to speak—only because we suddenly found themselves in this crisis. Sustainable development, and what engineers can do for its furtherance, is in fact one of our abiding concerns; so much so that, on the second day of the forthcoming Presidential visit to the UK, an international conference will be held in London, at the ICE Headquarters, with the theme “Climate-resilient Infrastructure Development”. In thus advocating the putting-into-practice of what we know to be of great theoretical significance, whether through media engagement or knowledge-sharing activities, the Institution is fulfilling, to the best of its abilities, President Ir Dr Barry Lee’s vision as expressed in the Chinese version of his Presidential Theme「知行合一 成就專業」.
Talent acquisition is another focus of the Presidential visit to the UK from 30 October to 3 November. In a forum designed with local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in mind, SMEs wishing to branch out their business portfolio into the Hong Kong market will have the rare opportunity to tap our panelists’ expertise on how to go about doing that and what kinds of excellent prospects can be gleaned from our city’s thriving engineering industry. The cocktail receptions in London and Manchester, though much more laid-back, will likewise serve as our springboards for communicating to our counterparts how pleased we would be should they decide to come on board with us.
In the Mainland, however, the pool of talented individuals is every bit as exceptional as that in the UK, and our talentscouting efforts must be exercised there in parallel. From 9 to 13 October, therefore, we will be touring Beijing and Tianjin together with the Development Bureau, holding career fairs in Tianjin University, Tsinghua University, and Beijing University of Technology. In these fairs, one of the focuses of our work will be to trawl talent by presenting students with the routes to our world-recognised HKIE membership, as well as the advantages that come with acquiring it. We will explain to them what kind of professional support they, having become our members, can expect from us. They will also learn how our membership, with its numerous Reciprocal Recognition Agreements and International Engineering Agreements (such as Washington Accord), will be of great practical value to any young, ambitious engineer who wishes to build a career with an international scope. Building on this tour, additional delegation trips will be planned for Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen to pursue similar objectives.
Our engagement with the Mainland engineering community goes far beyond recruitment. From 26 to 27 October, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Symposium on Science and Technology will be held in Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers. The symposium, which we co-organise with the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, has a long history dating back to 1997 and is now in its 14th edition. It fosters cross-regional partnerships through knowledge exchange. This year, speakers from both cities will share their perspectives on the theme “Journey for the Data Savvy in the New Era”.
Back at home, the Institution is slowly but steadily delivering its pledge to assist members in qualification acquisition with the recent introduction of a range of new professional qualifications in emerging engineering-related fields. To date, we have collaborated with Vocational Training Council (VTC) and The Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) on the accreditation of certifications in Building Information Modelling (BIM), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and Stage Engineering. More such joint efforts can be expected in the future.
This was by no means the only thing that the Institution has done recently to stay current and relevant in a changing world. In the month just past, our Council has given its approval for the formation of the Nuclear Discipline. This means that, with now a total of 22 disciplines—encompassing, in effect, the entire engineering profession—our engagement with the world is more far-reaching than ever.
In today’s world, however, “engagement with the world” is often dependent on the effective use of social media. We are fortunate in this respect to be seeing a steady growth of our Institutional social platforms. To align this growth with member participation, a social media training session was organised on 6 September to help members on their quest to harness the power of this tool more fully. You are invited to read more about this event on page 30.
Venue and voting centre(s) for the 49th Annual General Meeting (AGM)
For the 49th AGM to be held in June 2024, the Council approved the proposal that the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is to be the venue and voting centre for the 49th AGM.
Proposed Formation of Nuclear Discipline
On the recommendation of the Qualification & Membership Board (Q & M Board), the Council approved the formation of Nuclear Discipline.
Mutual Recognition Framework Agreement with Guangdong Institution of Engineers
On the recommendation of the Q & M Board, the Council approved the proposed Mutual Recognition Framework Agreement with Guangdong Institution of Engineers.
Associate Membership Revamping
On the recommendation of the Q & M Board, the Council approved the proposal to revamp the Associate Membership.
Proposed Collaboration Agreement between the HKIE and Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI)
On the recommendation of the Executive, the Council approved the proposal on establishing a formal collaboration platform between the HKIE and FHKI as well as the Collaboration Agreement.
Renewal of Agreement of Co-operation with Korean Society of Civil Engineers
On the recommendation of the Learned Society Board, the Council approved the renewal of Agreement of Co-operation with Korean Society of Civil Engineers.
Proposed amendments to the Composition and Terms of Reference of Q & M Board
On the recommendation of the Administration Board, the Council approved the proposed amendments to the Composition and Terms of Reference of the Q & M Board.
Secretariat support to Engineering Forum Limited (EF)
On the recommendation of the Executive, the Council approved to continue providing secretarial service to the EF by the HKIE Secretariat for another two years starting September 2023.
The Presidential Address/Dinner for Session 2023/2024
One of our important events of the Institution, the Presidential Address / Dinner was successfully held on 15 September 2023 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with a record-breaking number of booked tables. President Ir Dr Barry C H LEE rolled out his blueprint in the year ahead under the theme of “We Engineer, We Serve” (知行合一 成就專業) on the occasion. If you missed the live presentation by the President, you may view the webcast of the address at http://www.hkie.org.hk/PresidentialAddress.
For further details of the event, please refer to page 22.
Privacy-Friendly Awards 2023 - Gold Award
Demonstrating our commitment to fostering a culture of privacy awareness within the Institution, the Secretariat in October 2021 initiated the implementation of the Privacy Management Programme (PMP) governing the handling of personal data and our adherence to the data protection principles, and the PMP has been adopted for the whole Institution from April 2023 with the support of the Council.
We are delighted that the HKIE has been awarded the Privacy-Friendly Awards 2023 - Gold Award presented by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in recognition of our efforts in promoting the protection of personal data privacy and championing the importance of setting up a PMP.