HKUST Business Review

6 HKUST Business Review “As I look back at our history, I just feel tremendously proud of our accomplishments at HKUST. The Business School, which rose so quickly to international standing, is a shining example. We pushed the envelope and helped move all of Hong Kong’s higher education forward.” Overall, he attributes the University’s success to an interdisciplinary mindset that allows for fluid boundaries between science, technology and business. “If you look at Stanford or MIT, they both integrate technology and business well. That is how great ideas can be nurtured into real impact.” Today, with more than 100,000 alumni and a reputation that rivals much older Universities, HKUST’s influence extends across the globe. “Our graduates, the companies they build, and the communities they serve are the true measure of our achievements,” he says. “We are helping to change society for the better.” A New Chapter: Expanding Horizons Amid its milestone year, HKUST has been able to celebrate a notably historic moment, with HKSAR Government’s approval for the University to establish the city’s third medical school. Professor Shum calls it a “pivotal step” that will broaden HKUST’s social impact. By uniting medical instruction with hallmark strengths in science, engineering, AI, and the humanities, HKUST will strive to train doctors who are “clinically outstanding, yet technology savvy and with humility.” Entrepreneurship as a Mindset Those developments also chime with the spirit of entrepreneurship, which is so evident in so much of what the University does. “Owning things in your own hands and doing them end to end—that defines success,” he says. He believes the ability to build things from scratch, a willingness to take risks, and a keenness to tackle real issues with social impact, is what sets HKUST students apart. To nurture that spirit, Professor Shum has championed initiatives such as the Redbird Innovation Fund, an internal venture platform that invests directly in HKUST people. “The idea was simple: invest in your own community,” he explains. “Even if a project fails, the endeavor offers plenty of learning opportunities and makes the entrepreneur stronger. That’s worth it.” Further proof of that culture of fearless creation can be found in corporate success stories like that of drone manufacturer DJI. “Our influence doesn’t come from being at or near the top of various rankings,” he says. “It comes from what our people build and how they serve others around the world.” Riding the Wave of Change When considering the future of education more broadly, Professor Shum is quick to mention the power and challenges of AI. Indeed, the first thing he did as Chairman was to approve a HK$250 million computing budget for the purchase of 500 GPUs to ensure more students and faculty could participate in an on-campus “AI for Science” initiative. However, progress in this respect must always be anchored in ethics and empathy. “AI is everywhere, but the big question is how do we think about the related ethical issues,” he says. “This is something our shared humanity must face together.” To that end, HKUST has joined the global Partnership on AI — the only member institution from Greater China — affirming its role as a voice for responsible innovation. Students at the Heart of It All Despite his focus on technology and policy, Professor Shum always circles back to what he calls HKUST’s single “product”: its students. “The University has only one most important product. It’s our students,” he repeats with conviction. “So how good is your University? You simply ask— how good are your students?” In the AI era, it is tempting to think you can do everything alone or with technology, but we live in a society where you have to collaborate, empathize, and engage with real people.