Message from the Head
Welcome to the website of the Division of Public Policy (PPOL) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)! We are delighted that you have visited our site.
Established in 2017, PPOL is among the newest Divisions at HKUST, created with a view to enhancing HKUST’s capacity to generate first-class academic and societal insights into the policy dimensions of new scientific and technological discoveries.
PPOL builds on, and partners with, areas of pre-existing excellence at HKUST: namely, the School of Engineering, the School of Science, the School of Business, and not least the School of Humanities and Social Science.
Administratively, PPOL is housed in HKUST’s Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS) which, as its name suggests, was itself created as a hub for pursuing the campus’ interdisciplinary research agenda. At AIS, PPOL operates alongside the Division of Environment and Sustainability (ENVR), the Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas (EMIA), and the Division of Integrated Systems and Design (ISD).
PPOL’s main ambitions are twofold: First, to generate independent academic research at the global frontier of public policy research. Second, to contribute to Hong Kong’s and the region’s policy development by partnering with government agencies, think tanks, and regional organizations to meaningfully impact the broader policy agenda.
PPOL comprises nine highly qualified and productive full-time-equivalent faculty members while leveraging the expertise of dozens more of HKUST’s world-class faculty whose administrative homes lie outside of PPOL. This approach allows us to retain the focus required to achieve our mission, yet gives us the breadth we need to optimize novel situations.
Our flagship teaching program at PPOL is our recently launched two-year full-time professional degree: the Master of Public Policy (MPP). Despite its relative youth, the MPP has quickly become synonymous with rigorous, best-in-its-class training in public policy in Hong Kong and the globe. We also now offer a one-year full-time (or two-year part-time) Master in Public Management (MPM), a bespoke degree for working professionals with work experience under their belts. Every year, through a highly selective process, we admit a handful of research postgraduate students who undertake academic pursuits in public policy research.
Please do take a look around our website. I am sure you will not be disappointed. If you find anything missing from the scope of this website, please do not hesitate to contact us. We in PPOL look forward to advancing public policy research at HKUST.
Naubahar Sharif
Acting Head
Division of Public Policy