Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences Summit
The Young Academy of Sciences Summit, co-organised by the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, was held at the Hong Kong Science Park to provide a platform for local young academics and scientists to engage in scientific discussion and collaboration across disciplines, cultures, and institutions.
The Summit discussed how Young Academies, such those in Hong Kong, Sweden, Germany and the UK, can help develop the careers of scientists. The event included a discussion on how young scientists can contribute to long-term public policies related to science. Other sessions explored how to translate and commercialise deep-tech solutions from universities, ways to promote and popularise science in Hong Kong’s schools and Hong Kong's potential to become an international hub of science and technology development.
“This Summit gave us an opportunity to share the positive role the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences can play in the careers of young scientists. The event illustrated how early to mid-career academics can offer valuable contributions to the scientific community, and it provided many practical ideas on how they can get involved,” said Anderson Shum, President of the Hong Kong Young Academy, Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong and a 2020 Croucher Senior Research Fellow.
The Hong Kong Young Academy was established in 2018 and is a chapter of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences. It offers a platform for young scientists in their early to mid-career to make meaningful contributions to the community and build Hong Kong’s research and education environment for science and technology.
Croucher Foundation has been actively involved in and supportive of the Hong Kong Young Academy since its very beginning. The Foundation played a facilitating role in its development by inviting the chief executive of the Swedish Young Academy to visit Hong Kong in 2014 to share their experience and insights with various government, university and science leaders, which provided the Hong Kong initiative with a model for its own development.