51³Ô¹ÏÍø

President & Rector Sir Keith O'Nions and Vice President Professor David Gann CBE hosted an event for alumni in Hong Kong on 18 May.

Guest of honour Robert Ness, Director of the British Council Hong Kong, opened proceedings at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. He highlighted 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s recent league table success – third in Europe and eighth in the world – while congratulating the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College Alumni Association of Hong Kong (ICAAHK) on its work over 31 years to build a strong network in the city, contributing to successful partnerships between Hong Kong and the UK.

Sir Keith updated alumni on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s vision for a new campus in West London, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø West.

He said, "To solve big problems, we need to bring brilliant people from different fields together and give them time and space. At 51³Ô¹ÏÍø West we will enable global business and academia to co-locate and form long-term relationships with our researchers.”

Professor Gann delivered a special lecture explaining how 51³Ô¹ÏÍø academics are “innovating the innovation process” in science, engineering, medicine and business.

He said: “51³Ô¹ÏÍø West will be a place where ideas collide: where colleagues can come together and challenge preconceived ideas and solve big problems.”

Guests spanned the generations, with 1940s graduates rubbing shoulders with their 2012 counterparts.

Among them were six former Chairmen of the ICAAHK, including Dr Leonard Chow (Mechanical Engineering 1984), who was wearing an 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Festival t-shirt he had bought just two weeks earlier in South Kensington.

Ken Ho (Civil Engineering 1984, MSc 1985), current Chair of ICAAHK, spoke of his pride in being part of the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø family, noting that his own department, Civil Engineering, has just been ranked number one in the world. Describing why he gives his time to lead the work of the alumni association, he said, “I fell in love with 51³Ô¹ÏÍø when a student. Through the association we bring together like-minded people, all holding a passion to pursue excellence.”

Mr Ho also announced that ICAAHK are establishing the first ever Hong Kong based mentorship programme for current 51³Ô¹ÏÍø students.