Leading through Innovation: Dr Yeung Kin-man shares a common vision with CityUHK - Fully supports and motivates University advancement

Dr Yeung Kin-man, President of Biel Crystal Holdings Limited, built his business empire from scratch and became a dominant player in the global smart device industry, thanks to his drive to innovate and adapt to change. Today, as Honorary Chairperson of the CityUHK Foundation’s Board of Governors, Dr Yeung sees his own values reflected in CityUHK’s forward-thinking vision.

Dr Yeung’s rise is an inspiring story. While many Hong Kong manufacturers were content with producing plastic watch faces, Dr Yeung recognised the potential of glass and developed glass watch faces. By the time his competitors caught up with the glass watch trend, he had already moved ahead to focus on glass covers for mobile phones, and later, 3D glass covers and ultrahard coated glass — always staying at the forefront of innovation.

When he first encountered CityUHK in 2015, it felt like reliving his own entrepreneurial journey. CityUHK has always been a step ahead of other universities — Hong Kong’s first veterinary school has championed the “One Health” concept locally, the School of Energy and Environment drives sustainable development in Hong Kong, the newly established College of Computing addresses global digital transformation, and the Institute of Digital Medicine and Hong Kong Institute of AI for Science advances technological innovation for the betterment of society.

“An entrepreneur shouldn’t be satisfied with small gains,” says Dr Yeung. “One must have strong self-motivation, innovate continuously, and always strive to improve.” His first donation to CityUHK was HK$200 million, supporting the then School of Veterinary Medicine, students overseas exchange programmes, and strategic development of the University. He also established several Named Chair Professorships to advance research in fields such as biomedical sciences, finance, network science, photonics materials, and sustainable engineering.

Dr Yeung has never forgotten the support he received along his entrepreneurial journey and is now giving back to the next generation. He established several endowed funds for different scholarship schemes, including exchange scholarships, dual degree scholarships for the CityUHK-Columbia University programme, Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering scholarships, and internships for undergraduates, benefiting over 300 students to date.

In recognition of his steadfast support and generosity, in 2017, CityUHK named Academic 1 the “Yeung Kin Man Academic Building”.

As a former Co-Chairperson and the current Honorary Chairperson of Board of Governors and Honorary Patron of the CityUHK Foundation, Dr Yeung chaired the University’s Foundation Dinner Organising Committee in 2016 and served as Honorary Chairman in 2017, 2018 and 2023. His enormous efforts have helped raise over HK$50 million for the University’s Foundation Dinner over the years. Yet, with humility, he says, “Being able to help others is a blessing.”

Dr Yeung emphasised that education is crucial for development of society. “It takes 10 years to grow a tree, but it takes 100 years to educate a person. That’s why I fully support CityUHK and the Foundation,” said Dr Yeung.