IPO Best Research Award 2020/21

The IPO Best Research Award was established in 2011 with the support of the Provost’s Office to recognize outstanding achievements by research postgraduate students who made the most original and influential research achievements outcome from their study that has been carried out mainly at HKUST.  The key objective of the Best Research Award is to foster the overall quality of research education in the University.  The Award has two categories – the PhD and the MPhil category.

Among the nominations for 2020/21, Dr. SUN Li (PhD in Environmental Science, Policy and Management program, Class of 2020) and Mr. MANSOOR, Athar (PhD in Public Policy program, Year 4) were selected as the recipient of the first prize and the runner-up of the PhD category respectively.

Dr. SUN’s research focuses on environmental sensor technology development and air quality monitoring in urban built environments.  A central feature is to develop, evaluate, refine and use of novel techniques for monitoring in challenging places to answer questions of practical public health and societal significance.  She has also pushed the development of sensor technology to the level that it can now produce data which is comparable to reference grade data quality, thereby leading an important paradigm change in the way we understand our environment.

Mr. Athar MANSOOR’s research focuses on the development of Pakistan’s innovation system, and policies surrounding the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).  The findings of the research have huge implications for policy formulation and implementation in the region and can create a lot of impacts in the low-middle income countries as the research is trying to provide theoretical and practical insights for reaping the maximum benefit from the BRI projects.

The Selection Committee, comprising Prof. Jimmy FUNG (Chair), Prof. Jianzhen YU and Prof. Benjamin STEUER from the Division of Environment and Sustainability, Prof. Kira MATUS and Prof. Masaru YARIME from the Division of Public Policy, assessed candidates on the research impact and output on evidence-based criteria based on candidates’ work done at HKUST.  The Selection Committee hopes that the Award would encourage the students to continue their research work and make an impact to the society.

The IPO Best Research Award accepts both self-nominations by students or nominations by supervisors.   All research postgraduate students who are registered students of IPO in the award year, including those who graduate in Spring semester of the award year, are eligible to apply.  Nomination is normally invited in the Spring semester of an award year.