Press Invitation: 6 November 1997
Information Technology Community Planned
in Nansha by HKUST and the Fok Ying Tung
Foundation
President Chia-Wei Woo and Mr Fok Ying Tung, Chairman, Fok Ying Tung Foundation, will host a press conference on the captioned project.
Details of the conference are as follows:
Date: Thursday, 13 November 1997 Time: 12:30pm
Venue: Foyer, 7/F, Lifts 13-15, HKUST, Clear Water Bay
Speakers: Prof Chia-Wei Woo, President, HKUST; Mr Fok Ying
Tung, Chairman, Fok Ying Tung Foundation; Prof Otto Lin, Vice-President (Research & Development), HKUST
You are invited to send your representative(s) to cover the event. Please direct enquiries to the Public Affairs Office at 2358-6305 or email pamedia@usthk.ust.hk.
Attachment
For Immediate release 6 November 1997
A major program to promote development of information technology in the greater Hong Kong region will be undertaken by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Fok Ying Tung Foundation. The program will help to establish the greater Hong Kong--Pearl River Delta region as a center of science and technology in the 21st century.
Prof Otto Lin, the University's Vice-President of Research and Development, said the aim of the program, which had been under consideration since early this year, is to develop a state-of-the-art information technology (IT) community in Panyu's Nansha district, including facilities for professional training on many levels, on-site and distance conferencing, software technology research and business development, and residence. In its final phase of development, the community will incorporate a hi-tech manufacturing facility utilizing the latest clean production technology.
The community is envisioned as a high-quality, IT-based, user
Chinese cultural setting. As a highly attractive place for professional and business leaders to live and work, it will be a prosperous
community emphasizing high added values and high productivity. When it becomes fully operational in seven to ten years, it will be recognized as a world-class center of technology and will serve as a model for future development in southern China.
Development of the IT Community will complement the science park project currently under evaluation by the Hong Kong Industry
Department. However, several distinctive features set the community apart--a focus on IT-related technology, a significant manufacturing component in its final phase, the private sector as a major partner, and extension outside the Hong Kong SAR to the Pearl River Delta. Information technology is one of the University's significant core capabilities. Not only is the IT research team in HKUST's School of Engineering the top-rated research group in this area according to UGC's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, but IT expertise resides in many of the departments in the Schools of Science and Business & Management as well. Moreover, it is a focus of several interdisciplinary research institutes and centers.
The impact of information technology in our lives is all-pervasive. During the 20th Hong Kong International Computer Conference held in October, Prof Lin suggested that "information technology will become the driving technology of 21st century society. It will provide the engine of economic growth, as well as a significant foundation of social infrastructure." In relation to Hong Kong, he added that "IT creates and enhances the added values of both the service and the manufacturing sectors of the economy. Thus it will be key to the overall competitiveness of Hong Kong."
In his policy address to the Provisional Legislative Council on 8 October, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR, Mr Tung Chee-Hwa, promised "to make Hong Kong a leader in the information world of tomorrow", emphasizing the need to bring together hardware, software, talented people, and a social and cultural environment conducive to the advancement of information technology. This new initiative at HKUST will, hopefully, become an important component of Hong Kong's effort to meet this need.
The Fok Ying Tung Foundation has been dedicated to the
advancement of education and cultural and economic development for many years, and is highly respected for its work both in this region and elsewhere in the Chinese Mainland. Beginning six months ago, the Foundation and the University have been in close discussion, with senior officials of both organizations reaching agreement on joint development of the IT Community. Site selection and other design parameters will soon be worked out, taking into account the many factors, such as availability of skilled manpower, local support, and relevant government regulations, that will affect the final program. The IT Community program derives from the vision of HKUST's role in this region advanced by its governing Council and President, Prof Chia-Wei Woo, who has cited the need to position the University to contribute to Hong Kong's technology-based economic development,
and to her motherland as the "dragon head" of the region south of the Yangtze River Basin.
Note to Editors:
Please direct enquiries to the Public Affairs Office on 2358-6305 or email pamedia@usthk.ust.hk.
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