HKUST Top Engineering Scholars Award

With the generous support from The Jen-Hsun & Lori Huang Foundation and Mr Terry TSANG Kin-Chung, the HKUST Top Engineering Scholars Award honors exceptional undergraduate and PhD students in the School of Engineering (SENG). More than a mark of academic excellence, the award celebrates bold innovation, transformative leadership, and the profound societal impact our students deliver.

Eligibility

The HKUST Top Engineering Scholars Award (PhD) is open to: 

• Final-year PhD students from SENG departments (CBE, CIVL, CSE, ECE, IEDA, MAE) who will defend their thesis by Summer Term 2025-26 (a supporting email by the PhD thesis supervisor of the nominee is required along with the application; for shortlisted candidates, please also submit the email of “Confirmation of the approved PhD Thesis Examination Committee (TEC)” sent by PG Secretariat of HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School by July 31, 2026)

• PhD graduates from SENG departments (CBE, CIVL, CSE, ECE, IEDA, MAE) who have satisfactorily met the degree requirements of the prescribed program of study between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025 as stated in the Award Certification Letter issued by the HKUST Academic Registry

Types of HKUST Top Engineering Scholars Award (PhD) 

First Prize Award (1 quota)
Awardee will receive a cash prize of HK$200,000, a trophy and a certificate

Second Prize Awards (up to 2 quotas)
Awardees will receive a cash prize of HK$100,000, a trophy and a certificate

Third Prize Awards (up to 3 quotas)
Awardees will receive a cash prize of HK$50,000, a trophy and a certificate

Awardees will have the honor of being titled “HKUST Top Engineering Scholar (PhD)”, and their names will be displayed on the wall alongside a display box containing Dr. Jensen Huang’s leather jacket and a plaque commemorating the generous gifts from Dr. Jensen Huang and Mr. Terry Tsang.

To encourage interdisciplinary research exchange and bring dynamic aspiration to the students, the Awardees of the First Prize Award, Second Prize Awards and Third Prize Awards will be invited to share their research experiences during PhD studies at HKUST in an open forum. 

Nomination Process and Conditions

• Nomination can be made by one nominator who is the candidate’s PhD thesis supervisor and at least 2 endorsers who are faculty members within the School of Engineering (one endorser must be substantiated-track faculty member, i.e., Assistant Professor or above).  At most one endorser can be the PhD student’s thesis supervision / TEC member from outside HKUST.

• A complete nomination should consist of: 

  1. Nomination form 

  2. A recommendation letter stating the achievement written by the nominating group (other supporting letters from recognized experts are welcome)

  3. A current curriculum vitae of the nominee giving details of their academic qualification, awards, and research outputs such as publications, conference papers and patents, and any other relevant materials to strengthen the nomination

  4. A full list of publication with citation information including Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science (times cited and times cited without self-citations), ISI Journal Citation Reports (impact factor, 2024), Scopus (times cited) & Google Scholar (times cited) 

  5. A copy of the “Award Certification Letter” issued by the HKUST Academic Registry (only for PhD graduates and potential graduates who has submitted final thesis copies)

  6. Any supporting documents to validate the information in the nomination and to prove the eligibility criteria

• Past awardees / finalists cannot be nominated.

Selection Criteria

• A nominee should demonstrate their research achievements resulting from work primarily conducted at HKUST. The criteria to be considered include, but not limited to, the following: 

• Research outputs (e.g., publications, patents, published design work), and their originality and innovativeness;

• Impact of the research outputs on society, industry, and relevant engineering disciplines, measured through citations, practical applications, and recognition by professional communities;

• Academic qualification as well as awards and prizes received by the nominee;

• Good communication and presentation skills, along with the ability to articulate their ideas;

• Other considerations such as the nominee’s performance in entrepreneurship and experiential learning, as well as their substantial contributions to the University’s mission and the wider community;

• Shortlisted candidates will be required to present their research work and accomplishments to the Selection Committee. 

Selection Process

A Selection Committee will be established to review eligible nominations and shortlist  nominees for interviews. Nominees who do not accept interview invitation or do not show up at the scheduled interview will be automatically disqualified.

Schedule

For reference only.

Enquiries

Should you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Dean of Engineering (DENG) at sengawards@ust.hk

The HKUST Top Engineering Scholars Award (Undergraduate) (hereafter referred to as “the Award”) celebrates students whose outstanding academic achievements, leadership, and far-reaching contributions set them apart within the university community and beyond. Each honoree will receive a HK$50,000 cash prize and earn the prestigious distinction of "HKUST Top Engineering Scholar (Undergraduate)."

Eligibility

• To be eligible for nomination for the Award, students should be in the final year of their undergraduate program that they are pursuing at HKUST during Academic Year 2025-26, and will be conferred a bachelor’s degree by HKUST with the first major offered by the School of Engineering (SENG).  Students with first major outside SENG or having additional major (but not 1st major) in SENG will not be considered.
• To receive the Award, the nominee has to be qualified for the HKUST Academic Achievement Medal upon graduation from the major program as prescribed in point 1(a) above at the end of Academic Year 2025-26.

Selection Criteria

Excellence in academic achievements, and outstanding performance in other educational areas, including but not limited to, research work, entrepreneurship, experiential learning, substantial contributions to the University’s mission and the wider community, etc.

The Award and Honor

• Up to 3 students may receive the Award each year.
• Each awardee will receive a cash prize of HK$50,000, along with a trophy and a certificate.
• Awardees will have the honor of being titled “HKUST Top Engineering Scholar (Undergraduate),” and their names will be displayed on the wall alongside a display box containing Dr. Jensen Huang’s leather jacket and a plaque commemorating the generous gifts from Dr. Jensen Huang and Mr. Terry Tsang.

Nomination and Selection

• Engineering Departments/Programs will be invited to nominate top students to the School of Engineering during Fall 2025-26.
• Nominees will be shortlisted for interviews during Spring 2025-26.  Nominees who do not accept interview invitation or do not show up at the scheduled interview will be automatically disqualified.
• Nominations should be made by engineering departments (CBE, CIVL, CSE, ECE, IEDA, MAE) or the BEng in Computer Engineering Program (CPEG), which is a joint-department program within SENG.
• The nomination package should include the following:
  • A personal statement written by the nominee of NOT more than 500 words
  • CV of the nominee
  • A copy of the nominee’s HKUST unofficial transcript
  • Any supporting document for the nominee’s outstanding performance in educational areas, including but not limited to, academic pursuits, research, experiential learning project, competition, entrepreneurship, substantial contribution to the HKUST mission and the wider community
  • A support letter from the home department endorsed by the head of the department (or the Director of the BEng in Computer Engineering Program in the case of CPEG nominees)
• The complete nomination package should be submitted to the Office of the Dean of Engineering by email at sengug@ust.hk by Friday January 30, 2026.

Announcement of Selection Results

Selection result will be announced in September 2026.  Awardees are expected to attend the Award Ceremony, the exact date of which will be decided by the Donors and HKUST.

Enquiries

All enquiries can be sent to the Office of the Dean of Engineering at sengug@ust.hk