HKUST and WebEx : New Agreement to Strengthen Hong Kong's IT Capabilities

Press Release 27 May 2002

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The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the San Jose-based WebEx Communications, Inc. (WebEx), today (27 May) signed an agreement of cooperation in developing education, training, and commercialization potential in information technology.

The cooperation is designed to strengthen the overall IT capability of Hong Kong, and help create a leading position for the territory in IT in the Chinese Mainland market and the region.

A Nasdaq-listed company founded by Mr Min Zhu and Mr Subrah S Iyar, WebEx is the world leader in real-time communications infrastructure for business meetings on the Web.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Prof Paul Ching-Wu Chu, President of HKUST, described the cooperation with WebEx as an exciting development in HKUST’s continuous efforts to form partnerships with multinational technology companies.

“This agreement will lay the foundation for WebEx’s future participation in the teaching and research programs at HKUST to help nurture students to become leaders in the IT field, and commercialize HKUST research results for mutual benefits,” said Prof Chu.

Mr Min Zhu, President & Chief Technical Officer of WebEx, said: “WebEx will leverage on the research outputs and business development opportunities at HKUST, and make use of such opportunities to position Hong Kong as the potential hub for WebEx’s future development in the Chinese Mainland and the region.”

The areas of cooperation covered by the HKUST-WebEx agreement include: Multimedia research – MPEG, data compression, computer graphics, and speech; Natural language research;

E-commerce; Internet security;

Search engine development; and Nansha IT Park

Under the agreement, HKUST and WebEx will exchange research personnel on collaborative work. HKUST will also provide training to WebEx’s IT and business personnel.

About HKUST

Officially opened in 1991, HKUST is a young and dynamic research university dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, and thus to the economic and social development of Hong Kong and its neighboring areas through teaching, research, and service. It is the only university in Hong Kong to offer an all-PhD faculty. Its groundbreaking work in science, engineering, business, humanities, and social science is successfully pushing back the boundaries of the information age.

About WebEx

Founded in 1996 by Min Zhu and Subrah S Iyar, WebEx Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: WEBX) is the leader in interactive communications infrastructure for business meetings. WebEx provides Web-based carrier-class communication services through its multimedia switching platform deployed over a global network. WebEx's services enable end-users to share presentations, documents, applications, voice and video spontaneously in a seamless environment. WebEx services are used across the enterprise in sales, support, training, marketing, engineering and various other functions.

For media enquiries only:

Adrian Cheung

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Tel: (852) 2358-6305

email: acheung@ust.hk