The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announced that teaching and learning activities will resume normal in the Fall Term, starting from September. To ensure safety of its students, faculty and the staff from Covid-19, the university is conducting a vaccination drive on its campus while implementing strict social distancing and precautionary measures.

According to the university’s press release at the beginning of the new school term, all students, faculty and staff members are required to be either vaccinated or undergo testing every two weeks. The university has arranged on-campus vaccination in June and July, with more rounds to follow for both new and existing university members – including those returning from India as well as other countries in the coming weeks. The university will also offer assistance to members who opt for regular testing due to medical and other reasons.

The classes will be held in a hybrid mode to accommodate student(s) who cannot be physically present in Hong Kong.

Apart from providing its members a safe work and study environment, HKUST is also making collaborative efforts to fight the pandemic through science and technology.  Its researchers have worked tirelessly on preventing, mitigating and treating the significant public health threat.  Below are some of the inventions, discoveries and solutions created by HKUST’s researchers, faculty and students:

A portable and rapid Covid-19 detection device using the latest microfluidic chip technology

An artificial intelligence(AI)-driven fever screening system to identify febrile subjects

An antimicrobial coating which could kill a wide spectrum of viruses and bacteria

An ultrathin polymer nanofilm suitable for multiple biomedical and environmental applications – including a transparent and breathable facemask highly efficient against virus and bacteria

Autonomous driving vehicles to assist delivery of groceries during city lockdowns

Discovery of a set of potential vaccine targets

Establishment of a web-based platform for reporting vaccine recommendations for COVID-19 to help scientists across the globe in the quest for an effective vaccine  

As one of the earliest universities to switch to teaching online back in February 2020 when the pandemic practically put education to a halt, HKUST was invited to share its online teaching experience in a webinar in April last year with 36 universities around the globe – including Oxford and UCLA.