HKUST Business Review

10 HKUST Business Review Collaborating Across Disciplines To that end, HKUST continues to champion interdisciplinary collaboration as the engine of innovation. That is seen as the best way to enhance teaching standards and learning outcomes, as well as to drive research initiatives and find viable solutions to real-world problems. As an example, while Professor Ip was the Dean of Science, this interdisciplinary approach inspired a collaboration with the Business School to launch the Biotechnology and Business (BIBU) undergraduate program, which equips students with both life science and business skills, giving them a head start across diverse industries. Encouraged by the success of the BIBU, HKUST has expanded cross-disciplinary offerings with new programs in financial technology, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. Each is designed and structured to prepare students for careers in complex industries where change is a constant. Driving Innovation and Entrepreneurship As a vibrant hub for innovation, HKUST also established Hong Kong’s first Technology Transfer Center and Entrepreneurship Center, where practical support is provided to more than 1,900 active start-ups, including ten unicorns. “Our patent utilization rate is 33% — on par with MIT and Stanford,” Professor Ip notes. “That is something we can be proud of because such benchmarks signal not just research excellence, but also effective pathways to commercialization and societal value.” Within this ecosystem, the HKUST Business School plays a pivotal role. It serves as a catalyst in driving entrepreneurial transformation in Hong Kong and further afield, which not only sparks ambition, but also helps to translate research discoveries into worthwhile business ventures. Science, Leadership, and the ‘Can-Do’ Spirit Before assuming the presidency, Professor Ip achieved global recognition for her groundbreaking neuroscience research. She still clearly remembers long days working alone in the lab, then gradually building a team, and in 2001, publishing the first paper from China in Nature Neuroscience . Those experiences continue to shape her approach as a leader. “As a scientist, you are trained to ask questions, form hypotheses, do experiments. They don’t always work, so we also need perseverance,” she explains. “One of the core HKUST values that I often cite is the ‘can- do’ spirit; it is similar to what scientists have to embody. And in a university setting, collaboration within and across disciplines is the key to achieving our goals.” We aim to strengthen our impact and partnerships, within the HKUST family and through our global networks, to showcase our commitment to innovation, research, and service to society. The University’s Can-Do Spirit HKUST embodies a can-do （凡事皆可為） spirit grounded in integrity and responsibility, fostering creativity, resilience, and innovation while empowering a risk taking community where students and faculty are encouraged to pursue entrepreneurship and new ideas.