OALC

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) received six awards in the 2016 State Science and Technology Awards ceremony, including one second-class State Natural Science Award (SNSA), one first-class State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (SSTPA), three second-class SSTPA awards and, for the first time, the SSTPA Innovation Team Award. CUHK also received the highest number of awards among local institutions. The research team led by Prof. Joseph Sung, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, was honoured with the second-class State Natural Science Award for the project entitled 'Integrative Research on Molecular Pathogenesis, Diagnostic Biomarkers and Prevention for Colorectal Cancer'.

The award presentation ceremony was held in Beijing on 9 January 2017. Prof. Sung, together with other award recipients of CUHK including Prof. Francis Chan, Dean of Medicine; Prof. Simon Ng, Assistant Dean of Medicine (Learning Experience); Prof. Lan Hui-yiao, Assistant Dean of Medicine (Research); Prof. Jun Yu, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics; and Prof. William Wu, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care and the Institute of Digestive Diseases, attended the ceremony to receive the awards.

Apart from receiving the prestigious award in Beijing, the CUHK delegation also visited China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), the State Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and met with senior representatives including Prof. Shu Wei, Executive Secretary of CAST; Prof. Yin Hejun, Vice-Minister of MOST; and Prof. Liu Congqiang, Deputy Director of NSFC. Current collaborations and future plans were discussed and devised for the purpose of enhancing interactions with these close partners. Prof. Sung also took the opportunity to join a dinner gathering with around 100 alumni in Beijing to get informed of the updates and establish stronger connections with them.

Administered by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, the State Science and Technology Awards aim to recognize outstanding contributions to scientific and technological progress by citizens and organisations, which are highly prestigious in the national science and technology sector. Details of the award project can be found in the University's press release here.