Hong Kong Baptist University Scholars to Lead Sessions on a Sustainable Future at the Global Sustainable Development Congress 2024

Taking place from 10 to 13 June 2024, HKBU will lead the core track dedicated to health, well-being, and demography, with participation from scholars and industry experts from around the world.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 5 June 2024 – The Times Higher Education Global Sustainable Development Congress (GSDC) 2024, taking place on 10-13 June 2024 in Bangkok, will witness the participation of esteemed scholars and experts from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), who will deliver keynote speeches and engage in panel discussions on priority topics related to health, well-being, and demography. GSDC is a 4-day event that brings together over 3,000 global thought leaders and innovators to discuss urgent solutions pertaining to the sustainability emergency. The congress is a call to action for global universities and businesses to pivot their educational, research, innovation and outreach programmes towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The “Health, well-being, and demography” track at the conference is led by HKBU and will focus on discussing the transdisciplinary actions that can be taken to prevent future pandemics and offer support to developing countries in enhancing their healthcare systems. Under this track are sessions from academics and industry experts from around the world, as well as leading researchers from HKBU.

“We are honoured to have the opportunity to not only participate in but also lead a core track at this year’s Global Sustainable Development Congress,” said Professor Aiping Lyu, Vice-President (Research and Development) at HKBU. “At HKBU we always strive to fuse traditional disciplines and advanced scientific and technological expertise, especially within our four strategic research clusters, creative media and practice, health and drug discovery, data analytics and artificial intelligence, and humanities and cultures. We believe this fusion to be the key to a sustainable future and look forward to utilising the GSDC platform to further discuss this approach with others championing the same goal.”

Agenda: Address Key Concerns on Health, Well-Being and Demography

• Health and Drug Discovery cluster: On the second day of the congress (11 June), Professor Aiping Lyu, Vice-President (Research and Development) at HKBU, will deliver a keynote speech in the session titled ‘The sustainability crises of our time: Health, well-being, and demography’. His keynote speech, focused on ‘Two Medicines and One Health’, aims to shed light on the unique integrative medical system in China that combines traditional Chinese medicine with Western medicine, and its potential to drive a more sustainable future for healthcare.
  
  Professor Lyu will discuss the promise of this integrated approach, viewed through the lens of systems science, and how it can evolve into a novel form of medicine in the future. He will also share his insights on how higher education institutions can effectively leverage transdisciplinary research and collaborate with other sectors, to apply these novel approaches and improve healthcare systems at scale.
  
• Health and Drug Discovery cluster:Professor Yannis Pitsiladis, Head and Professor of the Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health at HKBU, will take centre stage on the same day (12 June). In his session titled, ‘Getting up to speed with the science of the Olympics’, Professor Pitsiladis will provide a captivating journey into the science behind extraordinary athletic performance of Olympic and world-class athletes.
  
  He will explore the use of genetics, physiology, biomechanics, and psychobiology to understand and enhance athletic performance. Professor Pitsiladis’ groundbreaking work, supported by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), contributes to enhancing sports medicine and anti-doping efforts.
  
• Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence cluster: A distinguished panel of experts will convene on 12 June to discuss ‘Regional solutions and global lessons: Health, well-being, and demography’. The panel includes Professor Christy M. K. Cheung, Director of the Research Office and Chair Professor in Information Systems and Digital Innovation Management of the Department of Management, Marketing and Information Systems at HKBU; Professor Jason Thatcher, Tandean Rustandy Esteemed Endowed Chair at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado-Boulder; and Dr Marten Risius, Senior Lecturer in Business Information Systems at the University of Queensland.
  
  The panel session, titled ‘Empower your team with sustainable trust and safety practices on social media’, will delve into the digital world and explore the impacts of cyberbullying and online extremism on victims. The panellists will share insights on building resilience, strategies to safeguard the virtual space, and the importance of trust and safety practices on social media.

In addition, Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings 2024 will also be announced at the event, which is the world’s only ranking that assess universities against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Director of Institutional Research and Strategic Planning at HKBU and member of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings Advisory Board, Dr Jingwen Mu, will be participating in an interactive session, ‘Masterclass: Beyond sustainability and the SDGs: Tracking social justice, integrity and transformative education for impact’ (Humanities and Cultures cluster), which will explore the measures of impact beyond the traditional takes on sustainability and the SDGs. With a focus on how universities’ strategic planning efforts can act as the catalyst for positive change, the session aims to encourage institutions to adopt more inclusive research practices and engage deeply with the challenges outlined by the SDGs.

The participation of these distinguished scholars from HKBU at the Global Sustainable Development Congress 2024 underscores their commitment to promoting a sustainable future through their expertise and research contributions. View the agenda of the Global Sustainable Development Congress 2024 and register for events of your interest: https://www.timeshighered-events.com/gsd-congress-2024/agenda.

To learn more about HKBU’s research and contributions in the field of health, well-being, and demography, visit https://research.hkbu.edu.hk/
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