School of Engineering Celebrates Soft Opening of New Engineering Commons

School of Engineering (SENG) faculty members, students and staff came together to celebrate the soft opening of the new Engineering Commons on May 3, 2024 as the place completed its phase 1 renovation after a four-month closure. The same joyous occasion also recognized the School’s long-serving faculty and staff who contributed 30 years of dedicated service at HKUST.

The newly renovated part, which is the interior area, offers a vibrant atmosphere for engineering students to socialize, relax, seek mentoring and advising, or engage in group discussion and meetings. Different from the old Commons’ layout, the area features an open setting with glass doors and big windows linking to the outside courtyard. This brings in more daylight and good weather for students to enjoy a cozy and pleasant ambience connecting with the outdoor environment.

The area is also installed with advanced audio-visual equipment, including an LED display wall and two big TV screens, and an increased number and variety of movable furniture, to facilitate different kinds of student-related events and activities such as ceremonies, workshops, teaching and entrepreneurial activities. A pool table, getting the most popular votes among students, is located in the center of the Commons to provide a fun time for them to relax and socialize.

Built as the “home” of the School, the old Engineering Commons was first created in 2013 as a central hub for students to engage in collaborative learning and mentoring and for different members of the School to come together. After a decade of operation, the place was closed for renovation in late December 2023 and opened its phase 1 area in early May 2024, in time to make the space available for students’ use during the study break and final exam period.

Officiating the celebratory occasion were Dean of Engineering Prof. Hong K. LO; former Dean Prof. Khaled B. LETAIEF; Associate Deans Prof. MOW Wai-Ho, Prof. WANG Yu-Hsing and Prof. Richard SO; Director of the Center for Engineering Education Innovation (E2I) Prof. Henry LAM; and Associate Directors of E2I Prof. Ben CHAN, Prof. Marshal LIU and Prof. Robin MA.

In his opening remarks, Prof. Hong K. Lo said a number of new events had already been planned to take place in the new Engineering Commons. These included a monthly “Get-together” for the SENG community to be held on the last Friday evening, as well as the School’s networking event called “Industry-Connect-University (I-C-U)”, a new initiative aiming to foster industry-academia collaborations. He also expressed his gratitude to colleagues who contributed to the renovation project and added that the full renovation of the whole Commons was targeted to complete by the end of this year.

The E2I Advising Office continues to be located at the Engineering Commons, with academic advisors based there full-time to provide advisory services.

E2I Director Prof. Henry Lam described the Engineering Commons as a “family room” for the School, where all members of the School, especially students, can come to play, learn, socialize and relax. He said that the newly built meeting room near the E2I Advising Office in the Commons would provide a private space for students to meet with the academic advisors for advisory services and a series of peer mentorship and student wellness programs will be organized in the Commons too.

The School also made use of this special occasion to recognize its long-serving colleagues who dedicated 30 years of service at the University. A meaningful gift, which is a tailor-made wooden plaque preserved from the Acacia Confusa trees that were cut down to make way for the construction of the new Innovation Building, was presented to the long-serving staff. Each of the plaques was engraved with the staff’s name by SENG students at the Undergraduate Student-initiated Experiential Learning (USEL) Lab.

“We want to pay tribute to our very loyal staff and faculty who work with us for 30 years. Some of them even spend their entire career with us. Those trees were about 35 years old, which is nearly the exact service period of our long-serving colleagues, making the plaques a highly memorable gift,” said Prof. Lo.

The Engineering Commons (interior area) was officially opened for students’ use on May 6, 2024. The place opens 24/7 during regular semester.