CUHK members provide their insights and share their knowledge to support the government’s policy formulation and implementation. Some staff members serve the advisory committees of the government. For example, Professor Emily Chan and Professor Dennis Ng have been appointed members of the Council for Sustainable Development, an initiative established by the HKSAR Chief Executive (Head of the HKSAR Government). In the battle against covid, Professor David Hui serves as an expert for the HKSAR Government’s COVID-19 Expert Advisory Panel, advising the government on pandemic strategies and anti-epidemic measures. Dr Elsie Tsui has been appointed as a co-opted member of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund Task Force of the HKSAR Government, to formulate strategies and arrangements for driving social innovation and entrepreneurship. CUHK also co-hosts the Hong Kong Chapter of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Hong Kong), one of the 57 national and regional networks set up in order to mobilize all sectors, including the government, to develop strategies and solutions for sustainable development.

The University promotes the development of science and technology, and has established five state key laboratories to support China’s technological and economic development.  CUHK also participates in the government’s Public Policy Research Funding Scheme and Strategic Public Policy Research Funding Scheme, which are dedicated to fostering and supporting public policy research in Hong Kong.

CUHK co-operates with the government departments, district council and other institutions to participate in the mitigation plan and warning system for climate change. Examples of its work include:

• Research on ‘hot nights’ and improvement on urban planning and building design in HK
• Research on extreme hot weather, high-density living and senior health in Hong Kong
• Research on the changing impacts of tropical cyclones on east and southeast Asian Inland regions in the past and a globally warmed future climate
• Agreement renewed to strengthen research, policy dialogue and training collaboration for disaster and medical humanitarian response, climate change and health

CUHK is committed to collaborating with other institutions and NGOs in building a sustainable future in the following areas:

Health

• Charles Kao CUHK BEAT AD Service jointly hosted by CUHK and The Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) to provide an one-stop service prevent the devleopment and slow the progress of Alzheimer’s through early intervention. The Clinical Neuroscience Centre at CUHK Medical Centre joins forces with the Foundation to establish a “Neurocognitive Registry” to advance medical research on dementia and AD
• ‘Jockey Club Age-friendly City’ in partnership with three local gerontology research institutes to make Hong Kong an elderly-friendly place to live in
• State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, a national level body established under the Ministry of Science and Technology
• Steering Committee of the Alliance for Healthy Cities, where CUHK is a member of this international committee
• Professor Emily Chan of Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response participated in the World Health Organization (WHO) ad hoc consultation: COVID-19 vaccines – Methodological approaches to assess variants effect on vaccine effects
• ‘Fitness x Mentorship’ Scheme, in collaboration with NGOs, and student volunteers to help vulnerable members to pursue sports
• AR-Home & AR-Centre Rehab Platforms, in collaboration with 7 local rehabilitation centres to design 46 training exercises for stroke survivors
• JC Generation Connect, a programme with three social service groups, to promote intergenerational relationships and well-being
• International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA), CUHK is one of the members, to develop a framework for assessing and modelling effects on climate-sensitive health

Climate Education

• CUHK and SDSN Hong Kong co-organized the Global Conference on Climate Change: Polar Studies, Environment and Climate Change on 9–10 April 2024, to coincide with the visit of the first Chinese-built research vessel, Xue Long 2
• MoCC in collaboration with L’Oréal launched the Mobile Exhibition “The Fading Colours of Coral” in October 2023, to showcase potential threats of climate change on marine ecology
• The Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change, CUHK supports the Climate Action Recognition Scheme, initiated by Wofoo Social Enterprises
• Secondary School Coral Nursery Education Programme, in collaboration with the Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department, WWF-Hong Kong and Ocean Park Hong Kong
• World at the Climate Crossroads is an exhibition in collaboration with the International University Climate Alliance (IUCA) to present a series of climate related poetic writings performed by 7 artists, trying to express their visions and aspirations on climate change and implementing solutions to environmental crisis
• Toward Carbon Neutrality: Challenges and Opportunities, co-organized with SDSN Hong Kong, about the latest climatic disasters and disaster risk reduction strategies
• Save the polar bears … only? —Impacts of a Changing Cryosphere, co-organized with SDSN Hong Kong, presenting the latest scientific findings on the changing cryosphere and how the melting in the Polar Regions impedes the achievement of SDG
• ‘Rising Seas, Rising Resilience’ Exhibition, co-organized by with the local think tank CWR to show how Hong Kong would be inundated in the future, providing a timely reminder of why climate change adaptation and resilience building must not be forgotten

SDGs

• SDSN Hong Kong, co-hosted by CUHK and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, one of the 50 national and regional chapters of the UN network, aims to mobilize universities, research and knowledge centres, NGOs, and businesses to develop policies, strategies and solutions for the advancement of the SDGs
• Global Conference on Sustainable Development (GCSD 2023), co-organised by CUHK and SDSN Hong Kong in October 2023  to bring together over 1,600 online views and more than 300 on-site participants to address pressing environmental and social challenges and forge meaningful collaborations in pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• SDG Forum Series the SDSN Hong Kong and CUHK’s Office of University General Education co-organised a series of forum highly relevant to 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Sustainability Conference & BSI Recognition Ceremony 2023 co-organized by the Centre for Business Sustainability, CUHK and the Friends of the Earth to present the latest trends in consumers’ awareness and behaviour towards sustainable consumption
• The International Symposium on Agricultural Genomics for Food Security and Plant-Environment Interaction in a Changing Climate, co-organised by the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, the RGC-AoE Center for Genomic Studies on Plant-Environment Interaction for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security and Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability in August 2023, to highlight the pivotal role of genomics in shaping the future of agriculture, bringing together experts, researchers, and scholars from around the world to delve into the latest advancements in the field
• Global Partnership for Sustainable Development : CUHK, The University of Queensland and University of Exeter organised a Joint Symposium on Environmental Sustainability and also launched a joint fund to kickstart collaborative research projects in Environmental Sustainability. Activities supported include visits, workshops, field works, data collection, and research experiments, among others
• Five projects funded by the CUHK-University of Exeter Joint Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Resilience (ENSURE) in 2019−2023 in various fields and which engaged 30 researchers from both universities
• Hong Kong Homelessness Census 2021 conducted by The Yunus Social Business Centre@CUHK and NGOs, with the aim of addressing the problems and situations of the homeless during the covid-19 pandemic made recommendations to improve the livelihood of the homelessness.