Under the agreement, ASTRI and HKUST will jointly perform screening and selection work of the candidates. Qualified ones will be employed by ASTRI as full-time R&D staff and pursue a part-time PhD degree in HKUST at the same time. The candidate has the opportunities to participate in frontier research projects spanning artificial intelligence, big data, wireless communications, smart city and advanced materials, as well as R&D projects related to their PhD studies. Senior R&D staff in ASTRI may be appointed as adjunct professors of the HKUST and serve as a co-supervisor to the PhD student.

With the nation’s support, the Hong Kong government has highlighted the importance of developing innovation and technology in the “2022 Policy Address”. The “I&T Development Blueprint” established by the government last December has outlined a clear development path for Hong Kong's I&T development over the next 5 to 10 years, covering strategies such as enhancing the I&T ecosystem and enlarging the I&T talent pool. This joint PhD program seeks to support such courses by nurturing talents who commercialize their research findings while pursuing the relevant knowledge and qualifications, getting themselves better prepared for their future careers.

Ir Sunny Lee, BBS, JP, Chairman of ASTRI Board of Directors said, “As the leading R&D organization in Hong Kong, we are committed to supporting Government’s measures in ‘I&T Development blueprint’ and ‘Competing for Talents’. The maiden launch of the Joint PhD Programme with HKUST is expected to attract and retain I&T Talents who wish to pursue their PhD studies or conduct their research in Hong Kong, as well as to provide high quality I&T talents to develop Hong Kong into a smart city and international I&T Hub.”

HKUST President Prof. Nancy Ip said, “HKUST is committed to fulfilling its mission of advancing knowledge through teaching and research. With our strong basic research and collaborations with many different industrial partners including ASTRI, HKUST is now in an even better position to bridge the gap between upstream and midstream research. This will not only help boost our city’s innovation & technology ecosystem, nurture high-caliber talent for Hong Kong, the nation and beyond, but will also facilitate commercialization of HKUST’s research outcomes to benefit society.”

Dr. Denis Yip, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI said, “Implementation of R&D results is one of the key missions of ASTRI. To maintain close connection with the academic community, we have signed a MoU with HKUST on joint R&D and technology commercialization in last February, follow by this Joint PhD Programme within a year. I am confident that the programme can effectively equip students in developing their creativity, critical thinking, global outlook, so as to elevate their international competitiveness and accelerate the implementation of R&D breakthroughs of HKUST.”

HKUST Provost Prof. GUO Yike said, “As a research university, HKUST is committed to supporting Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology hub, and the key to achieving this lies in talent development. We are therefore delighted to launch this joint PhD program with ASTRI, which will leverage the combined advantages of both organizations and offer specialists on knowledge transfer a platform to acquire the relevant skill and qualifications while undertaking R&D projects. Amid the global competition for talent, I hope this new initiative serves as a fresh booster to Hong Kong’s talent development and will help expand the city's talent pool.”