Engineering Professors and their research teams achieved remarkable results at the 16th International Invention Fair in the Middle East (IIFME). Three projects led by Professors from the Faculty of Engineering won 8 accolades and scooped the event’s Grand Prize. The awards included three Gold Medals with the Congratulations of the Jury.

Developed by Professor Zhang Li from the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Professor of Robotic Surgery in the Department of Surgery, and their team, the project “Magnet micro-/nano-robot for endovascular treatment” garnered the IIFME Grand Prize (which was the first time for CUHK), a FIRI Award and a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury. As traditional surgical tools have limited adaptability and are not small enough to reach many of the human body’s tiny, torturous and distal locations, their invention allows surgeons to access these locations and deliver treatment using magnetic micro-/nano-robots.

Professor Raymond Tong from the Department of Biomedical Engineering and their team won the Prize of the International Federation of Inventors’ Association (IFIA) Award, Special Prize of the Iranian Delegation (FIRI Award) and Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury for their project “Bionic artificial muscle for robotic systems: XoMuscle and XoBrace”.

Professor Lu Yi-chun from the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering and their team secured the Special Prize Awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury for their project “Safe, low-cost and sustainable sulfur-based flow battery”.

The IIFME, which was held in Kuwait this year, is the largest specialised exhibition of inventions and innovations in the Middle East, as well as the second largest international invention exhibition in the world. A collaboration with the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, the event aims to promote the culture of invention and innovation while strengthening connections among inventors, enterprises and investors worldwide.

More details: CUHK wins 10 accolades at 16th International Invention Fair in the Middle East

The Chinese University of Hong Kong‘s (CUHK) Faculty of Engineering and Shanghai Jiao Tong University Global College (SJTUGC, abbreviated as GC hereafter) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on January 28 to jointly launch an integrated bachelor-to-doctor programs under the Global Degree Pathways (GDP) initiative. The MOU was signed by GC Dean Professor Hesheng Wang and Professor Hon-ki Tsang, Dean of CUHK’s Faculty of Engineering.

Through the collaboration, the GDP program is expected to serve as a starting point for gradually building a multi-tiered cooperation framework encompassing undergraduate dual-degree and postgraduate programs. By leveraging the complementary strengths of the two universities in engineering disciplines, the partnership is expected to create accelerated pathways for SJTU students to pursue advanced international studies, while promoting deeper integration in scientific research, innovation, and discipline development. The collaboration also aims to establish a model for cooperation between leading universities in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and the Chinese Mainland.

The scope of the collaboration will innovatively include integrated Bachelor–Master and Bachelor–Doctor pathways. Students may apply to the Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs at CUHK. Covered disciplines include embodied intelligence, robotics, automation and automatic control, artificial intelligence, information science, materials science and engineering, and mechanical engineering, among other frontier fields. Students admitted to the programs will receive full financial support from CUHK, providing strong support for their research activities and academic development.

According to the agreement, the programs primarily target the fourth-year undergraduate students at GC. Interested students may submit their applications during the autumn semester of their final year of studies. Upon recommendation by GC and approval by CUHK, selected students will receive pre-admission offers to master’s or doctoral programs. After completing their undergraduate studies and graduating from GC in August, students may directly commence master’s or doctoral studies at the CUHK Faculty of Engineering in September of the same year. The first round of applications is now open.

About the Global Degree Pathways (GDP) program

The GDP program is a structured series of integrated bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs jointly developed by GC and its international partners. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary learning and innovative engineering education, with flexible academic pathways designed to align with the college’s curriculum and accommodate diverse academic and career objectives. To date, the GDP program has established partnerships with 12 internationally renowned universities.