Past Events

The HKU Water Centre, in collaboration with the Business Environment Council, the Building Services Operation and Maintenance Executives Society, and the Water Supplies Department of the Government of the HKSAR, successfully hosted an Interdisciplinary Seminar, entitled “Using Smart Technologies to Optimise Water Efficiency in Buildings”, on 22 October 2025.

The seminar attracted a diverse group of audience, including site engineers, property management professionals, and corporate sustainability team managers. The event focused on the application of smart technologies—such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and the Internet of Things—to enhance water-use efficiency levels in buildings.

A key highlight was an interdisciplinary dialogue featuring Dr. Frederick Lee (Executive Director of the Water Centre), Dr. Angela Lee (Project Manager), and four panel speakers, representing academia, the government, and the industry. The discussion centered on the question of how to formulate effective strategies for promoting water sustainability practices in buildings.

Dr. Frederick Lee, Executive Director of the HKU Water Centre, was invited to co-deliver a presentation at a Seminar organized by the HKU SPACE Community College. The seminar was organized to mark the 60th anniversary of the supply of Dongjiang water to Hong Kong.

Dr. Lee’s presentation, entitled “Reflections on our community engagement approach to water conservation in Dongjiang’s headwater region”, highlighted the question of how Hong Kong’s water conservation efforts could contribute to sustainable water resources management goals in Hong Kong and the Dongjiang River Basin.

Dr. Frederick Lee, Executive Director of the Water Centre, along with four other speakers, explored strategies for the business sector to tackle water and climate risks. The session emphasised both the challenges water resources management presents and innovative solutions and protective measures that companies and organisations could implement to address them effectively.

Dr. Angela Lee, Project Manager at the Water Centre, delivered a presentation titled “Application of IoT-Enabled Smart Metering Technologies to Control Water Leakages in Buildings.” This event was organised by the International Water Association Specialist Group – China Region in collaboration with Hunan University. In her talk, Dr. Lee shared findings from the WaterWise program and provided valuable insights on how to effectively manage water loss in various aspects.

Dr. Angela Lee, Project Manager at the Water Centre, was invited as a panellist for the session titled “Business and Community Actions” at a symposium co-organised by the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning and the City University of Hong Kong. During the session, she shared an innovative approach to conducting Water Literacy Education aimed at engaging secondary school students to promote water sustainability. Drawing from her experience in running a knowledge exchange program co-hosted by the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, HKU and the Water Centre in 2023, Dr. Lee explained how the application of smart technologies and the implementation of an action plan could be combined to reduce water consumption in real-life settings.

Dr. Frederick Lee, the Water Centre’s Executive Director, delivered a seminar on “the water-related challenges facing Hong Kong in its transition towards sustainability”, at the invitation of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. The talk focused on the nexus issues pertaining to water use and management in the city.

The Inter-disciplinary forum, co-organized by the Water Centre and the Water Supplies Department, was designed to promote an exchange of innovative ideas among policy-makers, practitioners and researchers. Two overseas speakers were invited to share their insights on how, and to what extent, the application of smart technologies—such as Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning—could help address, and resolve, current and future challenges in managing our urban water systems to achieve long-term sustainability goals.

Dr Frederick Lee, Executive Director of the Water Centre, delivered a talk at a webinar organised by the Nanyang Technological University’s History Department and Hong Kong Research Hub. Dr. Lee argued that the official narrative of Hong Kong’s water story has been anchored in the 1963 drought, but circumstances have changed. Continuing to fear the spectre of drought-induced water-use restrictions runs the risk of our becoming prisoners of this entrenched narrative—blinded by outdated premises and overlooking the most pressing issues in water planning in the 21st century. It is time for us to contemplate alternative narratives that will help us address real challenges.