The opening ceremony and inaugural symposium of the Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability (IEES) was held on 22 October. Mr. Edward Yau Tang-wah, Secretary for the Environment, HKSAR Government; Prof. Joseph J.Y. Sung, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK; and Prof. Lam Kin-che, professor, Department of Geography and Resource Management, and director of IEES, CUHK, officiated at the ceremony. Two keynote speakers, Prof. Lau Ngar-cheung Gabriel, lead scientist of the Climate Diagnostics Project at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Prof. Chu Junhao, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, gave addresses on the ‘Applications of High-Resolution Numerical Models to Climate Research’ and ‘Development of Photovoltaic Solar Cells Technology’ respectively at the symposium.

The inaugural symposium gathered scholars from various local universities to introduce their work and share their insights in various domains of environmental research, including waste water treatment, urban planning, analysis of tropical cyclones, air quality, public health and solar cell technology. The symposium drew about 200 participants to explore ways and direction in building a sustainable future.

Prof. Joseph J.Y. Sung envisages the University can build synergy and generate a critical mass in relevant areas so that Hong Kong, mainland China and the world can be better informed and served on how a sustainable future can be built based on innovative and rigorous research, education and knowledge transfer in environment, energy and sustainability.

‘The institute will provide an ideal platform to foster collaboration with strategic global partners to develop joint research and teaching programmes, as well as to hold international conferences and symposia with a view to impacting on public policy,’ remarked Prof. Lam Kin-che.

Prof. Fung Tung, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor, CUHK, and associate director (administration) of the institute, said IEES will integrate environmental expertise in various fields to address the environmental issues thoroughly from multi-disciplinary perspectives such as scientific, social, legal, and humanistic.

Opening ceremony