Research Excellence

Innovation at CUHK

CUHK is recognized as the most innovative university in Hong Kong and ranks 22th in the Asia-Pacific region by the latest ‘Reuters: Asia Pacific’s Most Innovative Universities 2018’ listing. The University currently has more than 800 granted patents in different jurisdictions worldwide. Many of these patents have been licensed to relevant industries that help bring these innovations to the market to benefit society. In academic year 2019, CUHK has received 202 granted patents and filed 315 patent applications for inventions developed in the areas of medical technology, biotechnology, information technology, telecommunications, and materials science.

Faculty Strategic Research Overview

The Faculty is committed to fostering the advancement of innovative technologies which benefit society. With strong support from the university, the Faculty has built up a inter-disciplinary research team since its inception in 1991. After two decades of development, we have developed core competencies in information technologies, microelectronics, robotics and control, photonics, networks, system engineering and engineering management. Building upon our core excellence, the Faculty has already identified and started the development of several new focused areas. The following table summarizes the Faculty new research initiatives and the core strength of individual departments:

Faculty New Focused Areas (cross-departmental research)
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cybersecurity
  • Energy Engineering and Materials Science
  • Design and Advanced Manufacturing
  • Financial and Service Engineering
  • Big Data Analytics (under Information and Automation Technology which is one of the Four Strategic Areas of Research in CUHK's Strategic Plan 2016–2020)
Departmental Research Strength

Biomedical Engineering

  • Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine
  • Biomolecular Engineering and Nanomedicine
  • Biomedical Imaging and Informatics
  • Medical Instrumentation and Biosensors

Computer Science and Engineering

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • Computer Vision, Graphics, Visualization, and AR/VR
  • Databases, Data Mining, and Knowledge Management
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AIML)
  • Distributed Systems and Networks
  • Software Technologies
  • Computer and Cyber Security
  • Bioinformatics
  • Intelligent System Integration & Design
  • Post-Moore’s Law Computing

Electronic Engineering

  • Image and Video Processing
  • Wireless Communications & Microwave Engineering
  • Photonics and Optical Communications
  • DSP and Speech Technology
  • Solid State Electronics
  • VLSI and ASIC Design

Information Engineering

  • Information theory
  • Network Theory
  • Networking
  • Energy
  • Security
  • Big Data Analytics
  • Wireless Communication and Networking
  • Optical Communication

Mechanical and Automation Engineering

  • Design and Advanced Manufacturing
  • Energy/Building/Environmental Technologies
  • MEMS/Nano/Materials Technologies
  • Robotics and Automation
  • Intelligent Systems
  • Smart Structures
  • Systems and Control

Systems Engineering and Engineering Management

  • Operations Research and Analytics
  • Management Science & Engineering
  • Data Science & Systems
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Financial Engineering
  • Financial Technology