Donor Roll and Named Buildings

Since its establishment in 1991, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has gradually developed a comprehensive campus building naming system through the Government Matching Grant Scheme and private philanthropic donations. This document compiles the information on major publicly disclosed donation events, named buildings, and endowed professorships, and outlines the basic framework of the naming policy.

---

# 1. The Naming Policy Framework

According to HKUST's official Donation Guidelines, the main rules governing the acquisition and exercise of naming rights are as follows:

• Major donation thresholds: Donations of HK$1 million or above require a Donation Agreement^※; donations exceeding HK$10 million require approval by the University Council^※; for donations of HK$10 million or less, the Council has delegated authority to the President, Vice-Presidents, and Deans.
• Naming decisions: The University may, at its sole discretion, acknowledge/recognize the donor in such manner, for such period, and on such terms as the Council deems appropriate^※. Naming is not an automatic right of the donor.
• Naming of faculties or departments: The naming of a faculty or department after a donor is more complex and requires discussion led by University management to formulate a proposal^※; to date, HKUST has no case of an entire faculty (Faculty) being named after an individual; naming has been applied to buildings, professorships, or research institutes.

---

# 2. Major Donors and Named Facilities

# Lee Shau Kee and the Lee Shau Kee Foundation

• Donation amount: HK$400 million^※ (donated by Lee Shau Kee Foundation Limited)
• Announcement date: 20 March 2007^※
• Purpose: To support HKUST's transition to the four-year undergraduate programme, establish the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), and enhance the University's overall capabilities.
• Named facilities:
  • Lee Shau Kee Campus: Opened on 10 September 2013^※, located above the main campus, covering approximately 10 hectares.
  • Lee Shau Kee Business Building: A seven-storey building providing space for the Business School and related academic departments^※.
  • IAS Founding Patron: Dr Lee Shau Kee was appointed Founding Patron of the Institute for Advanced Study^※.
• Background: Lee Shau Kee is Chairman of Henderson Land Group and, according to public records, one of the wealthiest people in Hong Kong. At the time of the donation, then HKUST President Paul Chu described it: "Dr Lee's gift will make this Hong Kong dream come true."

---

# Li Ka Shing Foundation

# Donation 1: HK$500 million for the Institute of Synthetic Biology

• Donation amount: HK$500 million^※
• Announcement date: 15 August 2019^※
• Purpose: To establish Hong Kong's first institute for synthetic biology, providing state-of-the-art research facilities to attract leading international scholars.
• Named facility: Li Ka Shing Institute of Synthetic Biology
• Quotation from the donor: 「正如合成化學及石油化工是二十世紀的核心，合成生物學與DNA是本世紀的技術引擎，將顛覆傳統製造業。」("Just as synthetic chemistry and petrochemical engineering were the core of the 20th century, synthetic biology and DNA are the technological engines of this century, poised to transform traditional manufacturing.")^※ — Li Ka-shing

# Donation 2: HK$20 million for talent nurturing

• Donation amount: HK$20 million^※
• Purpose: To broaden students' global vision and nurture a new generation of leaders with innovative thinking, covering international research opportunities, entrepreneurship, and community engagement programmes.
• No specific naming.

---

# Shaw Foundation Hong Kong

• Donation amount: HK$150 million^※
• Announcement date: 17 April 2019^※
• Purpose: To construct a multi-functional performance venue.
• Named facilities:
  • Shaw Auditorium: Opened on 17 November 2021^※, designed by the architectural firm Henning Larsen, a three-storey multi-purpose venue with a capacity of 1,300 (flat-floor mode) or 850 (concert-hall mode)^※; the inaugural performance was given by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
  • Mona Shaw Plaza: Named after Sir Run Run Shaw's late wife, Ms Mona Shaw (née Fong Yim-fun)^※.
• Background: The Shaw Foundation Hong Kong was established by the late Sir Run Run Shaw and has supported over 6,000 projects in higher education in Hong Kong and mainland China^※.

---

# Cheng Yu Tung Fund Series

HKUST has two separate named donations linked to the Cheng Yu Tung family and their associated funds:

# 1. Chow Tai Fook Cheng Yu Tung Fund — Cheng Yu Tung Building

• Donation amount: HK$90 million^※
• Announcement date: 6 July 2010^※
• Purpose: To build a new research and academic building.
• Named facility: Cheng Yu Tung Building: Opened on 23 February 2016 (the same day as HKUST's 25th Anniversary celebrations)^※, an eight-storey building housing the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Displays and Optoelectronics Technologies, the Robotics Institute, WHAT LAB (an artificial intelligence laboratory jointly established with WeChat), and a multi-purpose lecture theatre (400 seats).
• Donor background: The Chow Tai Fook Cheng Yu Tung Fund was established by the late Cheng Yu Tung, founder of New World Group; the Cheng family funds have made charitable donations exceeding HK$2.2 billion in Hong Kong and mainland China, covering education, healthcare, and culture^※.

# 2. Chow Tai Fook Charity Foundation — Cheng Kar-Shun Robotics Institute

• Donation amount: HK$100 million^※
• Announcement date: 17 June 2021^※
• Purpose: To enhance research capabilities in robotics and autonomous systems; support students' development in innovation and design thinking; and promote knowledge transfer.
• Named facility: Cheng Kar-Shun Robotics Institute; the naming ceremony was officiated by Dr Adrian Cheng, eldest son of Mr Cheng Kar-Shun^※.

---

# Martin Ka Shing Lee / Henderson Land

• Donation amount: HK$150 million^※
• Announcement date: 17 June 2016^※ (groundbreaking ceremony held on 10 November 2022^※)
• Purpose: To construct a new innovation building to advance HKUST's work in innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Named facility: Martin Ka Shing Lee Innovation Building: Located near the south entrance of the Clear Water Bay campus, with approximately 5,100 sq m of operational space containing laboratories for robotics, AI, data science, sustainability, and health science^※; expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025^※.
• Donor background: Martin Ka Shing Lee is Vice Chairman of Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd, and a son of Lee Shau Kee^※.

---

# Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust

The Jockey Club is one of HKUST's most important institutional donors, contributing to multiple facilities in separate tranches:

# 1. Jockey Club Enterprise Center

• Total construction cost: Approximately HK$160 million, of which the Jockey Club Charities Trust funded about HK$80 million and the remainder came from the Government^※
• Opening date: 17 April 2007^※
• Facility: Two five-storey buildings with a total gross floor area of 10,000 sq m, supporting applied R&D, technology transfer, executive and professional development programmes, etc.

# 2. HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)

• Donation amount: Over HK$71 million^※
• Naming ceremony date: 27 November 2013^※
• IAS named professorships: The same ceremony launched the first batch of named professorships, including the "Jockey Club IAS Bank of East Asia Professorship", "Jockey Club IAS Helmut and Anna Sohmen Visiting Professorship", "Jockey Club IAS Si Yuan Professorship", and "TT & WF Chao Foundation Professorship"^※.
• IAS mission: To bring together the world's leading scholars to drive cutting-edge discoveries and academic research in Asia and globally^※.

# 3. Jockey Club Global Graduate Tower

• Donation amount: HK$176.05 million^※
• Opening date: 25 October 2021^※
• Facility: Provides 504 postgraduate residence places^※ and has received BEAM Plus Platinum (the highest rating)^※ green building certification; saves approximately 45% of water and uses 26% less energy than comparable buildings.

# 4. Jockey Club i-Village

• Donation amount: Over HK$203 million^※
• Opening date: 11 June 2026^※
• Facility: Provides 1,551 undergraduate residence places^※ across four residential towers, with a total gross floor area of approximately 35,500 sq m, arranged in a hexagonal layout and achieving BEAM Plus Platinum certification. The "i" stands for internationalization and innovation^※.

---

# Otto Poon Charitable Foundation

• Donation amount: HK$100 million^※
• Announcement date: 24 September 2018^※
• Purpose: To set up an endowment fund to support research and education in the areas of environment, technology and innovation, including environmental sustainability research infrastructure, central research facilities, and named professorships and scholarships.
• Named facility: Otto Poon Professor of Engineering and other named professorships.
• Donor background: Dr Otto Poon is the founding Chairman of ATAL Group^※.

---

# Li Dak Sum

• Donation amount (I): HK$100 million^※ (presentation ceremony on 28 June 2016)
• Purpose: To establish the "Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Kenneth Li Research and Development Fund^※" to support five strategic areas: data science, autonomous systems and robotics, design thinking and entrepreneurship, sustainability, and public policy.
• Named facility: A newly built conference lodge on campus was named "Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Kenneth Li Conference Lodge"^※.
• Donation amount (II): HK$100 million^※ (a separate donation in December 2015), specifically to support undergraduate scholarships, benefiting graduates of Ningbo College and Ningbo Second College.
• Donor background: Dr Li Dak Sum is Chairman of Roxy Investment Company and Honorary Permanent President of the Ningbo Residents Association (Hong Kong)^※.

---

# Lo Kwee Seong Foundation

• Donation amount: HK$100 million^※
• Announcement date: 6 September 2018^※
• Purpose: To purchase an ultra-high-resolution cryo-electron microscope (Cryo-EM) and establish the "Lo Kwee Seong Research Fund" to support cutting-edge life sciences research.
• Named facility: A portion of the Academic Building's laboratory space was named "Lo Kwee-Seong Building"^※ to house the Cryo-EM and related facilities; expected to become operational in early 2019^※.
• Donor background: The Lo Kwee Seong Foundation was founded in 1991 by the late Dr Lo Kwee Seong^※.

---

# Yuexiu Group

Yuexiu Group donated to HKUST for three consecutive years, totalling HK$280 million^※:

None of the three rounds of donations resulted in a specifically named facility^※. Yuexiu Group is a state-owned enterprise; at the time of the third donation, it stated the aim was to build industry-academia collaboration for the development of HKUST and the Greater Bay Area^※.

---

# Fok Ying Tung Foundation

• Facilities funded: Fok Ying Tung Research Institute Building and HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School (located in Nansha, Guangzhou)
• Building opening date: 16 December 2014 (opening of the completed building on the Nansha campus)^※
• Facility scale: The research institute building has a total gross floor area of 36,000 sq m, equipped with advanced laboratories and educational facilities^※.
• Research priorities: Internet of things, advanced engineering materials, advanced manufacturing and automation, and environment and sustainability.
• Note: The specific donation amount has not been publicly disclosed by official sources; it is described only as a "generous donation".

---

# Alumni Donation: Tsang Chiu Sang and Lam Po Yu

• Donors: HKUST alumni Mr Terry Tsang and Mr Terence Tsang (brothers)
• Naming ceremony date: 16 December 2025^※
• Named facilities:
  • Tsang Chiu Sang Tower (formerly Undergraduate Hall A)
  • Lam Po Yu Tower (formerly Undergraduate Hall B)
• Donation amount: The specific amount has not been disclosed officially.
• Background: Tsang Chiu-Sang joined HKUST in 1990 as a campus security guard; he passed away in 2004 while his sons were still studying at the University, and the HKUST Emergency Fund helped the two brothers complete their degrees^※. After graduation, the Tsang brothers founded a mobile game company, Mad Head Limited, whose game Tower of Saviors has amassed over 23 million downloads globally^※. They later gave back to their alma mater through sustained donations; the two halls are named after their father and mother respectively — a rare case at HKUST of a naming honouring a family of a campus frontline staff member.

---

# Frank Wang and DJI

• Identity: Frank Wang is an alumnus of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering (ECE) at HKUST, and the founder and CEO of DJI^※; DJI is the world's largest commercial drone manufacturer.
• Donation contributions: Frank Wang has funded a joint postgraduate supervision scheme and donated to ECE research projects; DJI has also established robotics research scholarships for HKUST postgraduates^※.
• Donation amount: The specific amount has not been publicly disclosed; Frank Wang is listed as a "Life Grand Patron" of the HKUST Foundation.
• Not found via source searches: A check of multiple official channels reveals no public statement indicating a specific donation figure; only his "Life Grand Patron" status and the above contributions are confirmed.

---

# 3. Tiers of the Donor Foundation Honor Roll

The HKUST Foundation maintains a multi-tier donor recognition classification, divided by cumulative total donations and updated at the start of the fiscal year each July^※:

The precise donation entry thresholds for each tier have not been publicly disclosed by the Foundation. The HKUST Foundation's "Life Grand Patron^※" status is attainable only through sustained and substantial donations.

---

# 4. The Named Professorships System

HKUST has a systematic "Named Professorship Program", designed to attract outstanding scholars and highlight donors' commitment to education^※. When a donation supports a professorship, the University provides the appointed professor with additional annual research funding and academic expense support.

Confirmed major professorship funding sources (partial list):

The specific number of professorships, funding amounts, and application conditions have not been fully disclosed by HKUST through public channels.

---

# 5. Major Donation Timeline

---

# 6. The Eighth Matching Grant Scheme and the Surge in Donations

In February 2018, the Government announced the Eighth Matching Grant Scheme (2019–2021), with a total matching pool of HK$2.5 billion^※. The 10 funded institutions collectively raised approximately HK$5 billion in donations^※, and the Government fully allocated the HK$2.5 billion in matching funds.

According to HKUST's 2019/20 Consolidated Financial Statements^※ and annual report, donations and benefactions for that year were recorded as high as HK$741 million^※, a roughly 12-fold increase compared with HK$62 million in 2018/19^※; matching grant income was approximately HK$600 million^※, marking the highest single-year matching fund receipt in HKUST's history.

The South China Morning Post noted^※ that for some universities, including HKUST, the surge in large donations occurred during the 2019 Hong Kong social movement. Some analysts suggested the surge was more related to the timing window of the matching scheme than to socio-political factors.

---

# 7. Entries Without Verifiable Sources

The following entries were checked against multiple sources, but the relevant information or donation amounts could not be verified through official channels and are recorded here accordingly:

• Cheng Ka-shan (成嘉善): The original remit required inclusion; however, a search of all official HKUST news articles, annual reports, and building naming pages revealed no donation or naming records matching "Cheng Ka-shan". No building, professorship, or fund corresponding to this name was found. No record found; not included in this document.
• Frank Wang's specific donation amount: Frank Wang is listed as a "Life Grand Patron", but the specific donation amount has not been publicly disclosed by official sources.
• Donation amount linked to the Tsang Chiu Sang / Lam Po Yu hall naming: The donation amount has not been publicly disclosed by official sources.

---