The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is dedicated to spearheading world-leading research and innovation for societal benefits. To recognise outstanding achievements with far-reaching impact locally and globally, PolyU has launched the inaugural "PolyU Top 10 Research & Innovation Stories of the Year" selection and voting campaign. From 20 remarkable research and technology translation stories announced in 2025, more than 7,700 members of the public and the PolyU community cast their votes. Combined with the scores of a professional judging panel, ten stories were selected as the final awardees. The winning stories span five PolyU strategic areas – artificial intelligence and data science, life sciences and healthcare, environment and sustainability, materials science, and smart cities – injecting powerful innovation momentum into Hong Kong's high‑quality development.
Prof. Christopher CHAO, Senior Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, remarked: "These outstanding research stories affirm PolyU's unwavering commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation that address societal needs. Each achievement also reflects our researchers' rigorous, truth-seeking spirit and courage to break new ground. By bridging original discoveries with real‑world applications, these projects improve lives, enable industrial upgrading and contribute to the global innovation lndscape. PolyU will continue to pursue its mission of delivering world-leading research and innovation for the benefit of society, fostering a dynamic research ecosystem and transforming bold ideas into impactful solutions. In doing so, we will support Hong Kong's development as an international innovation and technology hub and help shape a better future for the world."
Prof. Chao also expressed his appreciation for the strong support from different sectors: "We would like to thank all the staff, students, alumni, partners and members of the public who voted and shared their views. Your support is not only a vote of confidence in PolyU's research strengths, but also a clear reflection of society's keen interest in innovation and its positive impact. This expectation is a key driving force that inspires our research teams to pursue excellence and keep pushing the frontiers of knowledge."
As PolyU's first large‑scale public voting campaign dedicated to research, the initiative received an enthusiastic response, attracting more than 7,700 votes from members of the public, staff, students, alumni and partners. The campaign has deepened community understanding of PolyU's research excellence and innovation capabilities, while bringing well‑deserved recognition to the University's dedicated researchers. Based on the combined results of public voting and assessments by the professional judging panel, the following stories were selected as the "PolyU Top 10 Research & Innovation Stories of the Year" (in chronological order of announcement in 2025, and not ranked):
| Principal Investigator |
Research Topic |
Research Focus |
| Prof. Zuankai WANG, Associate Vice President (Research), Dean of Graduate School, Kuok Group Professor in Nature-Inspired Engineering and Chair Professor of Nature-Inspired Engineering of the Department of Mechanical Engineering Prof. Haimin YAO, Associate Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering |
Innovation for self-stimulated ejection of freezing droplets unlocks cost-effective applications in de-icing |
The research team has invented a self-powered mechanism for ejecting freezing droplets, enabling droplets to shoot themselves away. This innovation could catalyse the development of self-powered methods for a variety of purposes, including de-icing, energy harvesting, and soft robotic applications. <Details> |
| Prof. Jianli CHEN, Chair Professor of Space Geodesy and Earth Sciences of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics |
Utilising satellite positioning data to track Greenland's ice sheet melt behaviour and assess its impact on sea-level rise |
The global research team has integrated various modern space geodetic techniques, particularly satellite positioning data, to monitor the subsidence of vertical bedrock and quantify summer water storage in the Greenland ice sheet. This achievement offers new insights into ice sheets' role in sea-level rise. <Details> |
| Prof. Anqi QIU, Director of the Mental Health Research Centre, Professor of the Department of Health Technology and Informatics and Global STEM Scholar |
Sustained obesity may accelerate brain ageing |
The team has unveiled research to advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the relationship between obesity and cognitive health in adults. It highlights the dynamic relationship between obesity progression and brain-cognitive health. <Details> |
| Prof. Larry CHOW Ming-cheung, Head and Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology |
Advanced Therapy Product Laboratory gives hope to spinal cord injury patients, supporting Hong Kong's development into an international health and medical innovation hub |
The newly established PolyU Advanced Therapy Product Laboratory will promote precision and personalised medicine through the introduction of advanced therapy products. The team will collaborate with the biopharmaceutical industry to manufacture cell therapy products for spinal cord injuries, and utilise the expert knowledge from the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences to offer a one-stop approach from precision medicine to rehabilitation. <Details> |
| Prof. YIN Jun, Assistant Professor of the Department of Applied Physics |
Record 33.89% power-conversion efficiency achieved with novel bilayer passivation strategy in tandem solar cells |
The research team has pioneered a novel bilayer interface passivation strategy to develop tandem solar cells that achieve a record-high power-conversion efficiency of 33.89%. It unlocks the application potential of perovskite technologies in photovoltaics and renewable energy. <Details> |
| Prof. Changwen CHEN, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences and Chair Professor of Visual Computing of the Department of Computing |
Novel multi-modal agent facilitates long video understanding by AI, accelerating the development of generative AI-assisted video analysis |
While AI technology is evolving rapidly, AI models still struggle with understanding long videos. The team has developed a novel video-language agent, VideoMind, that enables AI models to perform long video reasoning and question-answering tasks by emulating humans' way of thinking. <Details> |
| Prof. Ben KO Chi-bun, Associate Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology |
Discovery of Chinese medicine extract tetrandrine's target and mechanism opens new avenues for treating viral infection and Alzheimer's Disease |
The research team has discovered that tetrandrine works by blocking the transport of sphingosine – a lipid molecule essential for cellular signalling – and inhibiting calcium channels. Their research has revealed the critical mechanism of tetrandrine for the first time, opening new avenues for drug discovery and disease treatment. <Details> |
| Prof. YANG Hongxia, Executive Director of the PolyU Academy for Artificial Intelligence (PAAI), Associate Dean (Global Engagement) of the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, and Chair Professor of Generative Artificial Intelligence of the Department of Computing |
PolyU reshapes AI training paradigm, significantly reducing costs and democratising AI research |
The PAAI team is pushing the boundaries of AI with a novel collaborative GenAI paradigm known as Co-GenAI, which has the potential to transform frontier model training from a centralised, monolithic approach into a decentralised one. <Details> |
| Prof. LI Gang, Sir Sze-yuen Chung Professor in Renewable Energy and Chair Professor of Energy Conversion Technology of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Prof. YANG Guang, Assistant Professor of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
Driving the commercialisation of energy-efficient solar cell technology towards a 40% efficiency milestone |
Third-generation solar cell technology is advancing rapidly. The research team has reported a breakthrough in their review of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, addressing challenges in efficiency, stability and scalability. Their study aims to raise the energy conversion efficiency from the current maximum of about 34% to 40%. <Details> |
| Prof. Ai-Qun LIU, Director of the Research Institute for Quantum Technology (RIQT), Chair Professor of Quantum Engineering and Science of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Global STEM Scholar |
PolyU successfully completes Hong Kong's first chip-based quantum network and test |
The research team has successfully developed a quantum communication chip to establish Hong Kong's first quantum communication network. The team has achieved a breakthrough by successfully conducting a cybersecurity test on the world's longest optical fibre quantum network, built utilising a quantum chip platform. <Details> |
PolyU also announced the three stories that garnered the highest number of public votes, reflecting the community's strong recognition of their significance and societal relevance. These projects are listed below. Two of these projects are also among the Top 10 stories:
| Principal Investigator |
Research Topic |
Research Focus |
| Prof. Dahua SHOU, Limin Endowed Young Scholar in Advanced Textiles Technologies, Associate Professor of the School of Fashion and Textiles |
Innovative sustainable personal cooling technologies combat global extreme heat |
Global warming poses a growing threat to human health and work performance. The research team have been creating intelligent, superhero‑like garments that provide on‑demand adaptive cooling and clinician‑like health monitoring to help address the challenges of extreme heat. <Details> |
| Prof. Ben KO Chi-bun, Associate Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology |
Discovery of Chinese medicine extract tetrandrine's target and mechanism opens new avenues for treating viral infection and Alzheimer's Disease |
(This project has been selected as one of the Top 10 stories. For details, please refer to the table above.) |
| Prof. Larry CHOW Ming-cheung, Head and Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology |
Advanced Therapy Product Laboratory gives hope to spinal cord injury patients, supporting Hong Kong's development into an international health and medical innovation hub |
(This project has been selected as one of the Top 10 stories. For details, please refer to the table above.) |
Download photos here.
