Bulletin No. 1, 2009

6 CUHK–CAS–Shenzhen Chinese University Bulletin No. 1, 2009 T he CAS–CUHK– S h e n z h e n Institute of Advanced Integration Technology (SIAIT) is another milestone in CUHK–Shenzhen collaboration. Founded jointly by CUHK, the Chines e Ac ademy of S ciences ( CAS ) and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, SIAIT promotes the development of frontier integration technology to meet the needs of China and the Asia region in the mechanical and electronic industries. It is the core research unit of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), a national organization founded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, with significant CUHK involvement. SIAIT specializes in the R&D of innovative technology and systems integration, alongside two other research units under SIAT: the Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering and the Institute of Advanced Computing and Digital Engineering. The director of SIAIT is Prof. Xu Yangsheng, Associate Prof-Vice-Chancellor, p r o fe s s o r o f me chan i c a l and au t oma t i on engineering, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He is also the deputy-director of SIAT. Prof. Xu explains how SIAIT came to be established. ‘It all began in 2005. Shenzhen is undergoing rapid economic development, but its education and research sectors are lagging behind. It has a lot to benefit from the Chinese University’s strengths in teaching and research. In return, it can offer much needed space and resources to CUHK, which, in its endeavours to become a world-class research-led university, requires the support of a vast research base, just as MIT does the Lincoln Laboratory and UC Berkeley, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It was with these considerations in mind that we discussed the possibility of collaboration with the Shenzhen Municipal Government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Both agreed with our views and SIAIT materialized in 2006.’