Working closely with the Office of Research Development and across faculties, Professor Chau will develop strategies and sustain purposeful partnerships to enhance the University’s research excellence.

As a member of UNNC’s Management Board, Professor Chau will also contribute to and share responsibility for key decisions on the University’s development, strategy and policy.

Provost Professor Nick Miles said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Patrick to UNNC. His experience and academic achievements are without doubt unparalleled. As research being such a vital aspect of the University’s strategy, I’m glad that Patrick is taking this essential role. With his leadership, I look forward to the next phase of research development at UNNC.”

Professor Chau said: “Compared to the previous institution that I have worked for, UNNC is a much younger institution, which is full of energy and enthusiasm to grow and develop. As a mission of the University is to find out how our research transforms lives, my aim as the Vice Provost for Research is to realise this mission by working closely with colleagues and students to make it come true. In particular, I view that research is not for the sake of publication and definitely not the only sake. We aim to have our research findings to make not just academic impact but also impacts and contributions to society and even to the mankind.

“My first week at UNNC has been very rich and fruitful with a schedule full of meetings and interactions with colleagues from different units of the University who helped me understand the vision, mission, management and operation of the University. It is no doubt that I have got on a ‘high speed train’. With the UNNC Strategy 2020 and the UNNC 2.0 initiative ahead of us, I see my role as a ‘humble, committed and enterprising driver’ of this high speed train to lead and carry all our ‘passengers’, be them faculty members, students and professional staff, to a new height of academic discovery which transforms lives.”

Professor Patrick Chau is also a Li Dak Sum Chair Professor in Information Systems and Operations Management at UNNC.

Prior to joining UNNC, Professor Chau’s many leadership roles included Director of the School of Business at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), and Founding President of the College for Academic Leadership at the Association for Information Systems (AIS). Recognised for his academic achievement and societal contribution, the many awards that Professor Chau has received include Chang Jiang Scholar Chair Professorship, the highest academic award in China issued by the Ministry of Education.