The PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), the largest research platform of its kind in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area has been officially launched by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). PAIR aims to foster interdisciplinary research, partnerships with esteemed academics, and the dissemination of technologies to interested parties.
Research in cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence, carbon neutrality, deep space exploration, smart cities, smart energy, and many more will be the main emphasis of PAIR. The Academy will significantly advance Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area’s status as a global innovation and technology center.
The Academy’s interdisciplinary research platform is the largest among its peers in the Greater Bay Area. It comprises 16 research institutions and centers with more than 400 highly skilled senior PolyU academics from around the world. To carry out the cutting-edge interdisciplinary research programs of PAIR, the facility brings together top minds with a wealth of investigative and professional expertise.
PAIR strives to present answers to major social problems such as food safety, population aging, sickness, energy constraints, and others. Additionally, it aims to promote growth and development that is sustainable. The PAIR research institutes and centers will also focus on the opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s burgeoning technologies, which will alter how people work and live. These include robotics, artificial intelligence, data science, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence.
The State Key Laboratories and the Chinese National Engineering Research Centers at PolyU, among other top-notch resources, will assist the Academy’s creative research programs (Hong Kong Branches). According to PolyU’s president, the university is dedicated to creating innovations across disciplines and encouraging effective responses to contemporary global concerns. He stated that in order to ensure the relevance and practical application of its research, the Academy will also encourage and support the formation of strong collaborations with businesses and the community.
Additionally, the Academy will be essential in creating and fostering research partnership initiatives with partners on the Mainland and around the globe. To transform the Greater Bay Area into an international innovation and technology hub, PolyU will take advantage of its outstanding research and innovation capabilities and the region’s robust manufacturing sector.
The Vice President for Research and Innovation at PolyU said that during the past ten years, the growth of interdisciplinary research has fundamentally altered the core ideas and procedures of a scientific subject. The substantial research being conducted by scientists in this interdisciplinary context may also lead to the emergence of new disciplines. He stated that their work might have a wide-ranging beneficial effect, advancing knowledge and elevating people’s quality of life.
Prof. Qingyan CHEN, Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science and Director of PAIR at PolyU’s Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, will serve as the Academy’s director. After a long career spanning two decades at the famous university, he is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University in the United States. Since 2008, he has also held the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Building and Environment journal.
Interdisciplinary research, according to Prof. Chen, has the potential to be one of the most fruitful and inspirational human endeavors for finding answers to the complex problems that society is currently grappling with. By combining disciplines from business, design, social science, the humanities, and management with those from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, PAIR researchers are advancing knowledge and tackling difficult issues.
One of the major activities during the PolyU InnoTech Open Day is the official launch of PAIR, which will take place on July 16, 2022, at the campus’ Jockey Club Auditorium.
