Course Description

[This is a certified Communication-intensive (Ci) Course which meets all of the requirements endorsed by HKU’s Senate, including i) the teaching and assessment of oral, written and visual communication ‘literacies’; and ii) at least 40% of the course grade assigned to communication-rich assessment tasks.]

This course is unique as it is co-organized by three faculties: Engineering, Medicine, and Science. This interdisciplinary collaboration highlights the importance of “biomimicry” and nature-inspired technologies that go beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. Students in this course benefit from a comprehensive and diverse range of knowledge, merging insights from engineering, medicine, and science. By exploring how nature inspires technological advancements, students gain interdisciplinary skills and a broader perspective. The course is structured around three themes: industrial technology, biomedical technology, and environmental technology. Throughout this course, students will learn to develop innovative ideas rooted in biomimicry to address real-world problems. Working in cross-faculty groups, students collaborate to design and build solutions that leverage the principles of biomimicry. This course equips students with the tools to contribute to sustainable and innovative technologies, preparing them for the challenges of the modern world.

[Several optional local and potential overseas field trips will be organized during Reading Week, weekends and on public holidays. Students can choose any they wish to join and use their chosen field trip to complete their field trip report.]

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Learn how to look at the nature with innovative mind-set to develop new ideas for human-wellbeing.
2. Observe Hong Kong’s marine environments to discover “fouling” free organisms and to learn variety of natural antifouling mechanisms through real-world observations.
3. Explain how nature inspires the development of new biomaterials for medical applications.
4. Understand how natural biochemical processes assist the treatment of wastewater and solid waste.
5. Identify natural resources and environmental processes in providing for our energy needs.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

First semester (Wed)