Latest news with #HongKongUniversity
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
South Asian University opens UG, PG & PhD admissions for students
The South Asian University, an international institution set up in New Delhi by eight SAARC nations, has opened the applications for students who want to apply for the undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses for the academic year 2025-26. The extended application deadlines have been announced, with the direct mode application closing on June 2 and the virtual campus programmes application deadline set for June 19. Available disciplines include Computer Science, Mathematics, Biotechnology ( MSc, MCA), Management and Legal Studies (BBA-MBA, BS-MS, LLM), Economics, Sociology, International Relations, Climate Change and Sustainability, and doctoral research in areas such as Media, Arts & Design, Physics, and more. Specialised academic courses are also available in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Business Intelligence, and Interdisciplinary Sciences. Additionally, the institution provides a range of virtual campus offerings, including BS in Data Science & AI, BCA (Hons.), BBA (Hons.), Integrated BBA-MBA, MS in Data Science & AI, MCA, MBA, Music, Fashion, and short-term design courses. SAU Admission Admission to these programmes is available through national-level exams like CUET, JEE, CAT, NET, and GMAT, or via direct admission for eligible candidates, including SAARC nationals and international students. The institution also ensures accessibility and inclusiveness by offering scholarships and financial support. Not only SAU, the University of Hong Kong has announced a Full-Ride Scholarship for the toppers of the CBSE Class 12 board exams 2025. According to an official statement from the board, the scholarship will fully cover tuition fees, accommodation, and living expenses for top-performing students who enrol in undergraduate (UG) programmes at the university. Eligible students can submit their applications for various UG courses through the official Hong Kong University admissions portal at Course offered Hong Kong University has announced a diverse range of undergraduate courses for Class 12 students aspiring to study abroad. The university's offerings include a BA in Humanities and Digital Technologies (HDT), a BBA in Business Analytics, and BScs in Marketing Analytics and Technology (MAT). Students can also opt for a BSc in Quantitative Finance (QFin), BA in Global Creative Industries (GCIN), and the BBA BEng-Global Engineering and Business Programme (GEBP). For those interested in advanced engineering, the university offers the BEng Elite Programme BEng X + MScEng – Master of Science in Engineering in Artificial Intelligence in Engineering (AIE). Social science aspirants can enrol in BSocSc with a major in Computational Social Science, while tech enthusiasts have options like BASc in Applied Artificial Intelligence (AppliedAI), BASc in Financial Technology (FinTech), and BSc in Actuarial Science (ActuarSc). Further specialisations include the Bachelor of Statistics (BStat) in Decision Analytics, Risk Management, and Statistics, alongside BEng in Computer Science (CompSc), and BEng in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (AI&DataSc). Additionally, courses such as BSc in Innovation and Technology and BEng in Biomedical Engineering (BME) are also part of the extensive academic portfolio available for the upcoming academic session.
The Independent
17-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
New bat coronavirus discovered in Brazil – but risks are unclear
A new coronavirus discovered in bats in Brazil has been found to share similarities with the deadly Mers virus but its risk to humans remains unclear, scientists say. Researchers from São Paulo and Ceará discovered the novel coronavirus in collaboration with colleagues from Hong Kong University (HKU), and found it resembles the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus (Mers-CoV). The Mers virus was first identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and has since led to over 850 deaths with cases of infection reported across more than two dozen countries. The new coronavirus discovered in Brazil has a genetic sequence with about 72 per cent similarity to the Mers-CoV genome, scientists say. Specifically, the spike protein of the new virus, which it uses to attach to host cells, shows 71.74 per cent similarity with the Mers virus spike protein, they say. 'Right now we aren't sure it can infect humans, but we detected parts of the virus's spike protein [which binds to mammalian cells to start an infection] suggesting potential interaction with the receptor used by Mers-CoV,' said study first author and PhD candidate Bruna Stefanie Silvério. Scientists hope to conduct further experiments in Hong Kong this year at high-biosecurity laboratories to determine the risks posed by the new virus to humans. 'This monitoring helps identify circulating viruses and risks of transmission to other animals, and even to humans,' said Ricardo Durães-Carvalho, another author of the study. In the latest study, published in the Journal of Medical Virology (JMV), scientists screened 423 oral and rectal swabs from 16 different bat species. Researchers identified seven coronaviruses in five out of 16 oral and rectal swabs from bats collected in the city of Fortaleza in northeastern Brazil. They found that the new virus has 'high similarities' to Mers-related coronavirus strains found in humans and camels. Scientists also spotted evidence of the virus genome mixing and changing in a process known as recombination. The findings highlight the 'extensive genetic diversity' of coronaviruses, the presence of their novel lineages, and the occurrence of recombination events among bat viruses circulating in Brazil, researchers say. 'Bats are important viral reservoirs and should therefore be submitted to continuous epidemiological surveillance,' Dr Durães-Carvalho said. The new study, according to scientists, underscores the critical role bats play as reservoirs for emerging viruses and emphasises the necessity of ongoing surveillance to monitor the public health risks associated with coronaviruses. 'Our studies show the importance of making this type of analysis more systematic, optimised and integrated, with several sectors participating and generating data on unified platforms that can be used by health systems to monitor and even prevent epidemics and pandemics,' he concluded.
South China Morning Post
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Chiaroscuro Quartet's playing of Beethoven and Schubert a revelation in Hong Kong debut
Rarely do string quartets perform works of the Classical period and beyond on pure gut strings. These are made with fibres extracted from either sheep or cow intestines and one associates them with early instruments used for the performance of Baroque music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Advertisement The customary choice for later works is 'modern' strings that are wound with steel; these are less prone to temperature changes while producing enough sound to fill larger spaces. Despite the challenges in regard to tuning, gut strings indisputably have special qualities. In their performance of quartets by Beethoven and Schubert for the opening of Hong Kong University's MUSE Chamber Music Festival on March 1, the Chiaroscuro Quartet not only proved their command of intonation on gut strings, but also captivated listeners with a dramatic use of light and shade. The quartet, named after the art term for strong contrast in light and shade, was founded in 2005 and is made up of violinist Alina Ibragimova, second violinist Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux, violist Emilie Hörnlund and cellist Claire Thirion. The Chiaroscuro Quartet, comprising (from left) violinists Alina Ibragimova and Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, violist Emilie Hörnlund and cellist Claire Thirion. Photo: cemwi@hkumuse For their Hong Kong debut, British violinist Benjamin Marquise Gilmore replaced Saluste-Bridoux, and the quartet adopted a vibrato-free approach for the most part, aside from the odd addition of 'wobble' to warm some of the higher lyrical passages.
