Hong Kong

“Speaking the same language” and careful choice of words are the key to crowdfunding success, according to a recent study conducted by the Department of Marketing and International Business of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong. The study also showed the substantial power of specific words and phrases in predicting crowdfunding outcome. With crowdfunding being an increasingly popular and major source of capital for new ventures, these findings do have important implications for budding entrepreneurs as subtle nuances in word choice might mean a critical difference during the evaluation by the potential backers, and hence significantly affecting the success rate of the pitch.

EdUHK audiology experts have found improved ways to test the hearing of the young and elderly through technological innovation.

With a generous donation from respected social entrepreneur Dr Joseph Lee Chung-tak, Chairman of Wofoo Foundation, the Wofoo Joseph Lee Laboratory has been established to facilitate pioneering research in Lingnan University (LU)’s Department of Applied Psychology.

Undergraduate students usually need to collaborate with others to complete various types of group projects. However, it is not easy to distribute the work evenly among the group members, and some members are even called “free riders” because of their small contributions to the project.

The conventional composer-performer-audience model requires students to spend a large amount of time learning complex musical notation and instrumental skills before enjoying the process of music-making. This makes music inaccessible for many, who therefore give up at an early age.

Geb Impact aims to scale up microalgae production to provide novel super food ingredient by cost-effective mass cultivation of microalgae

A research team led by scientists at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has developed a novel cell sensor with a barcode-like micro-channel structure that enables rapid and low-cost screening of drug-resistant bacteria. The invention could potentially be used on a large-scale in resource-limited situations such as frequent safety screenings of water, food and public facilities, as well as urgent surveys of massive samples during an infectious disease outbreak, particularly in developing countries.

Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) will confer Honorary Fellowships upon four distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their professions and valuable contributions to society. The Honorary Fellowship recipients are: Hong Kong-based Teochew entrepreneur Mr Chan Wai-nam, BBS（陳偉南先生）, legal expert Mr Simon Ip Shing-hing（葉成慶先生）, philanthropist Ms Christina Maisenne Lee（李美辰女士）, and advocate for disability inclusion Mr Nelson Yip Siu-hong, MH（葉少康先生）.

While the Covid-19 pandemic is ongoing, another public health threat, antibiotic resistance, continues unabated. Microbiologists and chemists from two universities in Hong Kong recently made a breakthrough in synthesizing the first vaccine against one of the most deadly antimicrobial resistant pathogens, Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii). The vaccine shows good protection against the superbug in mice, indicating great potential as a vaccine for humans.

Research by Professor Lim Cher Ping, Chair Professor of Learning Technologies and Innovation at The Education University of Hong Kong, has significantly contributed to pedagogical and technological innovations in higher education institutions (HEIs), especially in the Asia-Pacific region. He has developed a framework for HEIs to drive and support blended learning to improve access to quality higher education. The framework has been disseminated by UNESCO (Asia-Pacific) to ministries of education and HEIs in Asia-Pacific countries. It has been adopted and implemented by ministries and universities in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, South Korea, Mongolia and the mainland. The research has provided HEIs with a framework and self-assessment tool to analyse and revise their existing blended learning practices and policies to enhance student learning engagement and outcomes.

The Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong has developed the CREW Wheelchair Control System which intelligently predicts a carer’s intentions so as to better control a wheelchair, improving the safety of both wheelchair users and carers. The research team recently won the Gold award at the international MUSE Design Awards, and has already filed patent applications in Hong Kong and Mainland for this ground-breaking system.

Inspired by a kind of tree leaf, scientists at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) discovered that the spreading direction of different liquids deposited on the same surface can be steered, solving a challenge that has remained for over two centuries. This breakthrough could ignite a new wave of using 3D surface structures for intelligent liquid manipulation with profound implications for various scientific and industrial applications, such as fluidics design and heat transfer enhancement.

Accommodation for young people in Hong Kong has long been at the top of the policy agenda. Recent research conducted by Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) and the City University of Hong Kong on the younger generation’s housing opportunities finds that 26 per cent of parents who responded expect to subsidise their adult children when they buy a property. Findings also suggest reliance on the family is now increasingly frequent, and important to young adults who wish to live independently and have a choice.

The Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) of Lingnan University has received two Gold awards at the MUSE Design Award in the category Conceptual Design for their “CREW Wheelchair Control System” and “12° Mask” respectively.

Similar to a magnet that always has both south and north poles, a kind of special quasiparticles in condensed matter called “Weyl Fermions” always appear in pairs with opposite chirality. There had been no experimental report that unpaired Weyl points exist in condensed matter until recently, a City University of Hong Kong (CityU) physicist observed the first unpaired singular Weyl magnetic monopole in a specific kind of single crystalline solid.

Cochlear implants help deaf patients in hearing, yet the current technology remains far from perfect. A research team led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has shown that neonatally deafened rats could be trained with cochlear implant stimulation to restore the ability to locate the directions of sound origins. The finding implies that shortcomings in current cochlear implant technology, rather than the lack of auditory experience in early childhood, maybe the reason why cochlear implant patients usually have poor spatial hearing performance.

Would you feel depressed if it has rained for several days? Sunshine affects our mood. The medical sector generally believes that seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is related to shorter sunshine duration in autumn and winter, as sunlight affects the activity of the brain. A study participated by an accounting scholar from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) found that if the weather is sunny immediately before releasing an earnings forecast, firm managers tend to issue more upwardly biased forecasts. The study results provided insight into the role that transient emotional states play in shaping managerial judgment.

Social media makes it easy for us to know how friends are doing recently, and even give us clues about our friends’ social networks. But in order to know the social networks of people of the past, you may have to bury yourself in countless ancient books and put in a lot of effort to figure out their actual relationships. A historian from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) who actively promotes digital humanities research uses digital tools to study the history of the Song dynasty. For example, he is drawn to the “circles of friends” from the letters written by historical figures from the Song dynasty in China. He has been sharing his experience in applying computer and information technology to the humanities in recent years. In addition to revolutionalising the humanities research model, he hopes to gather scholars from different fields to conduct joint research initiatives.

A recent study conducted by the Science Unit of Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) shows that concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from incense burning both inside and outside temples could be 6 times and 4 times of the recommended levels respectively. In addition, the more temples there are in the same district, the higher the respiratory mortality rate. The research team suggests that alternative measures, such as installation of automatic mist sprayers to reduce smoke dispersion, as well as using incense made with non-toxic substances to minimise health risks to worshippers and neighbours, should be considered.

Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong organised a series of online orientation activities to welcome about 850 new undergraduate students today (26 August).

Covid-19 appears to be easing in Mainland China and Hong Kong. In June, the School of Graduate Studies of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong conducted a follow-up survey based on last year’s Understanding Hong Kong and Mainland university students’ intentions to study overseas after the COVID-19 crisis, to get to know Mainland university students’ views on pursuing postgraduate studies abroad before, during, and after the pandemic.

A recent study conducted by Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong confirms a positive association between educational attainment and life satisfaction at the individual level. However, once labour market outcomes and especially income levels are accounted for, this positive relationship disappears.

Following its earlier announcement of the launch of the flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme “HK Tech 300” with an allocation of HK$500 million, City University of Hong Kong (CityU) held today (29 July) the HK Tech 300 Seed Fund Presentation Ceremony, presenting seed funds with the total sum of HK$6.5 million.

The State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has been endorsed by the United Nations (UN) to initiate a ten-year "Global Estuaries Monitoring (GEM)" Programme (www.globalestuaries.org) to collect and study environmental pollutants in the estuaries of major cities around the globe so as to formulate a long-term policy of promoting clean estuaries.

Overeducation tends to dissuade young people from moving to the Greater Bay Area (GBA), which indirectly supports a social capital theory (SCP) rather than a human capital theory (HCT), that explains why Hong Kong young people wish to invest in higher education, according to Assessing the connection between overeducation and migration intention in Hong Kong’s young working adults, a study conducted by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Lingnan University in Hong Kong(LU).

Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong and Shenzhen Open University (Shenzhen OU) on the Mainland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deepen inter-university cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

A research project led by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) entitled “Building Platform Technologies for Symbiotic Creativity in Hong Kong” has been awarded HK$52.8 million in research funding from the Theme-based Research Scheme (11th round) under the Research Grants Council (RGC) for a five-year project. This is the first time that major funding has been allocated by the RGC for an art-tech project.

Many waterbird species which travel across hemispheres are affected by a wide range of environmental and anthropogenic factors. A first-of-its-kind study along the China coast, jointly conducted by the Science Unit of Lingnan University in Hong Kong (LU) and the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS), quantified the 20-year wintering population trends of 42 waterbirds species in the Deep Bay area to evaluate the impacts of different threats along the East Asian-Australasian flyway (EAAF), providing important baseline information and recommendations on conservation.

Productive ageing is an internationally clear direction of social policy development. A recent survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong confirmed that an age-friendly city framework would help to promote the productive engagement of older adults in Hong Kong. The research team recommended that the Hong Kong Government to enact policies and programmes improving intergenerational communication and interaction, promoting inclusivity to address ageism for positive engagement leading to healthy and productive ageing.

The Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies (APIAS) of Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong recently organised a STEM-design competition for secondary school students to develop gerontechnology products tailor-made for rural elders to improve their quality of life. Pui Shing Catholic Secondary School students’ “smart shopping cart”, equipped with an infrared-based, automatic motion-tracking system that helps seniors transport a large amount of goods with less effort, won the Overall Championship Award and the Age-friendly Innovation Award.