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Hong Kong Jockey Club Enterprise Center Groundbreaking Ceremony
took place on 5 November, demonstrating once again UST's firm commitment
to applied research and development in Hong Kong.
Officiating at the ceremony were President Paul Chu;
Dr John Chan, Council Chairman; Mr T Brian Stevenson SBS, Steward
of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Dr Yei-ching Chow, Chairman and Managing
Director of the Chevalier Group; Prof Roland Chin, Vice-President
for Research and Development; and Mr Mike Hudson, Director of the
University Estates Management Office. Other guests included UST
senior administrators and faculty members, donors, and representatives
of Chevalier (Construction) Company Limited, the contractor commissioned
to construct the Enterprise Center.
The Enterprise Center's construction costs amount
to roughly HK$200 million, half of which is being sponsored by the
Government, while The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has
pledged a donation of a further HK$100 million. In May this year,
the UST Staff
Association and Alumni Association, together with the Hong Kong
Chamber Orchestra, organized a concert, the proceeds of which were
also donated to UST in support of the Center.
 The
Enterprise Center, scheduled for completion in 2006, will not only
expand UST's capabilities in R&D and technology transfer, but
also strengthen its ties with industry and business. Sited adjacent
to the Annex, the Enterprise Center will have a floor area of 10,000
square meters and boast a full range of wet and dry laboratories,
offices, and lecture theaters.
These additional facilities will help accommodate
the ever-increasing demand for laboratory and office space stimulated
by an increasing number of postgraduate education and technology
transfer programs. They will also enable the University to step
up its efforts in executive and professional development, as well
as further foster its research partnerships with industry.
In his opening speech, President Chu expressed his
gratitude to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the Government,
and UST community members who had so generously donated to the project.
"The Enterprise Center is testimony to the community's
invaluable support for this University," President Chu remarked.
He also thanked the Government for its financial support and its
commitment to nurturing excellence in higher education.
In turn, Chevalier chairman Dr Chow thanked UST for
its trust in Chevalier, and extolled the University as a unique
institution in Hong Kong. 
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