The world-renowned scientist plays a key role in the SAR’s efforts to become a regional tech hub by advancing the digital economy. Jessica Chen reports from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Vice Chancellor Wang Yang (right) interviews Aden Su, a journalist from China Daily Hong Kong’s Junior Scoop Program in July. (Photo provided to China daily)
Time flies. Wang Yang, one of the world’s leading scholars of pure and interdisciplinary mathematics, had already been at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for ten years when he gave a special interview to a young journalist on a scorching summer afternoon.
Sitting with Aden Su in an office overlooking the sea, Mr Wang shared his thoughts on mathematics, a lofty subject, and the trend of “embracing the GBA”, such as Hong Kong’s integration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. . — For China Daily Hong Kong’s Junior Scoop Program, which looks at Hong Kong from a youth perspective.
Back in 2014, Wang, then dean and professor of mathematics at Michigan State University, was invited to pursue research at two universities in the United States and Hong Kong. After living his 30 years in the United States, he chose HKUST and started all over in the Special Administrative Region. It was a big decision, but his choice was simple. “The future is in China” was a common-sense view widely accepted in academia a decade ago.
The king who rode the wave to the east was far-sighted and bold. In Hong Kong, Clearwater He Bay proved he was adept at digitizing HKUST. In Guangzhou, the university paved the way for North GBA North with the debut of the glitzy-chic HKUST (Guangzhou) campus, a mega-project worth 30 billion yuan ($4.16 billion). With twin campuses, his HKUST is one of the youngest universities in the world with a history of just over 30 years and aims to establish itself as an emerging academic complex.
Aside from the difficult mission, Wang set a record for the number of articles published in a journal in pandemic-hit Hong Kong. When HKUST (GZ), where Mr. Wang led the recruitment of faculty, began its initial operations last year, he published 16 publications that year on subjects ranging from pure mathematics to biomathematics, marking the beginning of his academic career. reached its peak.
Harvard graduate Wang wants to assert Hong Kong’s dominant position in the virtual realm, the Metaverse, in addition to advancing the “new frontier” of the Greater Bay Area. First, HKUST will launch the MetaHKUST project on campus to integrate the two universities, approximately 130 kilometers apart, into one organic virtual campus, to issue diplomas in digital format with a unique blockchain mark. Various “digitalization measures” have been taken.
For Wang, MetaHKUST is a starter for experimenting with water. The ultimate goal is to transform Hong Kong into a premier institution in the Metaverse. Over the years, he said, the city “has all the ingredients necessary to shape the future of Web3 as the physical and digital realms converge rapidly.” The scientist is now one of the most visible leaders in driving promising and fast-growing digital industries within and beyond the Special Region.
SAR governments have made the development of information and technology a top priority in urban planning. The proposed Northern Metropolis and Lok Ma Chau Rup aim to become regional technology hubs.
The flow of data and the free flow of people, goods and funds are seen as the cornerstones of success in driving economic growth in Hong Kong and other GBA cities. Transforming Hong Kong, which he now calls home, into the “largest city” of the metaverse, Wang said, will maximize Hong Kong’s position as a research, finance, and gateway between mainland China and China. It is said that it will be done. rest of the world.
By prioritizing the development and promotion of the digital economy through the Web3 ecosystem, the SAR government can give cities a prosperous future with unlimited opportunities to upgrade their economic structures and create value in their daily lives, Wang said. said Mr.
Despite its promise, the digital economy ecosystem seems elusive to Sue, an eighth grader who dreams of becoming a doctor. Mr. Wang explained to Mr. Su while showing the overall picture of the regional division of the Greater Bay Area.
“Hong Kong, with a population of 7 million, is relatively small. Therefore, when innovations are made by HKUST students, we need an ecosystem to convert them into marketable products and connect them with the rest of the world, especially Hong Kong. To the mainland, both for the market and for supplies,” the professor told Su, but said he was astonished by the sight of the smart drones.
Equipped with vision capabilities, this drone is one of the latest innovation products from Cheng Jiashun Robotics Laboratory, one of HKUST’s premier research institutes. Drones allowed Sue to “play the Jedi.” When he raised his hand, the drone in the air followed his hand movements as if it were a young Jedi from a Star Wars movie.
Mr. Su clearly enjoyed and was enlightened by Mr. Wang’s fatherly explanations and introductions. According to Wang, Hong Kong’s integration into the Greater Bay Area has opened up across the board new opportunities for innovators to collaborate with more researchers and entrepreneurs on the mainland. Being part of a larger plan allows SAR to leverage its strengths and pursue value-driven growth to the best of its ability.
Junior Scoop is an all-media program produced by China Daily Hong Kong. During the filming of the show, Mr. Wang poured out his love and expectations for the city’s youth, saying that being open-minded is healthy for their development and for the city.
