Fall Issue, 2014

Every year, Microsoft Technical Recognition Awards honour those who have redefined how work is done both at Microsoft and in their industry. Electrical and Electronic Engineering alumnus, Dr Harry Shum 沈向洋 (MPhil 1991) was awarded the 2014 Outstanding Technical Leadership Award for his transformative impact on Search Development at Bing, the search engine. The Bing search quality team was struggling when Dr Shum first joined it in 2007. In a relatively short time, he had spearheaded a series of science and engineering enhancements that would turn Bing into a viable consumer alternative with a rapidly increasing search query share in the US. Under Dr Shum’s leadership, Bing has transformed into a very high-quality search engine comparable to Google and with differentiating features. Dr Shum has never forgotten what he learnt at his alma mater and, especially, what he learnt from his former supervisor and mentor, Professor Tso Shiu-kit 曹紹傑 (BSc(Eng) 1961). To pay tribute to Professor Tso, who has retired, Dr Shum generously designated the award money to HKU for the establishment of the Tso Shiu Kit Scholarship at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. There is no ‘ one model ’ and no ‘ clear cutter ’ of any solutions that would work economically and politically... I do believe people should find different avenues to speak up for what they believe in. Professor Simon S C Tay Chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs Associate Professor, National University of Singapore While the Thai government would want to allow representation, participation and freedom of expression, we need to have some kind of strong body to watch over us until the next government that will come from election. Dr Narongchai Akrasanee Minister of Energy, Thailand Former Minister of Commerce and Senator of Thailand Founding Member and Director of Thailand Development Research Institute By making the effort to adopt a common set of sustainable development goals in society, you have reached a way of reconciling possibly conflicting policy goals and issues. Dr Soogil Young Professor, School of Public Policy and Management, Korea Development Institute Director, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Korea Don’t let the politics of polarisation destroy everything - the social trust, the common ground, the middle ground. Then you won’t have a mainstream view and a social foundation to build up consensus later on. Professor Yun-han Chu Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica Professor of Political Science, National Taiwan University 25 Giving in Focus