Graduated with a doctoral degree from the University of Oxford in the UK, acknowledged globally as the leading figure in the field of transportation with outstanding scientific research and outputs, and after working in world-renowned institutes and universities, Adolf K.Y. Ng is now a State Specially Recruited Expert and a Professor of Transportation and Supply Chain Management at Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC).
Prof Ng at UIC
Standing at the top of a pyramid brings one broader view and fresher inspirations, and glorious achievements and leadership may come with more responsibilities and motivations. We have invited Prof Ng to share his experience and insights in his research field.
Using professional knowledge to shape a better world
Prof Ng's research interests cover a wide range of transportation with a specialisation in sustainability and resilience, and his focus on climate change adaptation and resilience could be dated back to 2011.
With such professionalism and influence, he was interviewed by CARE for South Asia lately, a project supported by the World Bank to encourage climate-resilient development in South Asia.
The interview is the cover story by CARE for South Asia
In Prof Ng's opinion, South Asia is an economy full of potential. Still, it lacks the resources to build up quality infrastructure to support its development, let alone the ability to tackle the challenges caused by climate change. So besides giving theoretical instructions, he hoped to truly help these regions build up resilience capacity.
"Nowadays, we are facing plenty of challenges, including climate change, which will disrupt the smooth operation of infrastructure," said Prof Ng. "The project tries to provide the type of professional knowledge and instructs these regions to construct resilient facilities that can recover quickly after disruptions."
Although the project is very regional-oriented, he regarded it as a great opportunity for scholars to put theories into practice and apply them to different settings.
"I think the lessons we learn from the project will benefit China because of the Belt and Road Initiative, which involves a lot of activities about Chinese investments and assistance to developing countries in infrastructure construction."
Interdisciplinary experience provides more research angles
Prof Ng's background is very interdisciplinary. He is a human geographer by training and has absorbed knowledge from various industries by working in different trades.
Such experience and accumulation allow him to conduct research in transportation and supply chain management from different angles, developing insightful, comprehensive and transnational outputs.
As a result, he maintains close relationships with multiple international institutes, including United Nations (UN), European Commission (EC) and the African Development Bank (AFDB), as well as many world-class journals.
Professor Ng attends international conferences and lectures organized by the UN, the African Development Bank and other institutions
Currently, he is the chief editor of The Maritime Economist, the official magazine of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME). The magazine aims to create a platform for merging academic studies with practice, where scholars, policymakers, and industrial practitioners in the industry can exchange their thoughts.
As the chief editor, Prof Ng considered himself a bridge connecting academic research and practical application.
"It seems there is a gap between academic knowledge and professional practices in maritime transfer. Although the industry is very practical, it still requires the collaboration of scholars and practitioners. So that practitioners can adapt academic knowledge to navigate the development of the industry, and scholars can identify valuable topics by communicating with the practitioners," said Prof Ng.
"Sometimes we could be a little more too subjective or stick to one particular angle," he added, "but this role makes me jump out of the academic circle and stand from other points of view, giving me a better picture of the industry."
"We are living in a world that requires solutions involving knowledge and collaboration among disciplines that previously had absolutely no relation with each other, and UIC has advantages as a liberal arts college in cultivating interdisciplinary talents with global mindsets and encouraging them to embrace the diversity."
Leadership mingles with joy and pressure
Prof Ng's long and notable contribution has been highly recognised in the academic world. He was consecutively listed as the World's Top 2% of the most-cited scientists in various disciplines by Stanford University in 2021 and 2022 and identified as the leading figure in his specialised area, Logistics and Transportation.
"Years of hard work pays off," Prof Ng said it was a great pleasure and excitement to see his efforts recognised by his colleagues when referred to the list. However, concerns come with happiness, for being a front-runner requires more wit, courage and responsibilities.
Prof Ng's field works in the Arctic area in 2017
"What's the structure of the academic community and the industry will be? How is it operating now? I'm actually part of it, and I have to be more careful about my actions," he explained further.
"But that's also a kind of motivation. Because I think, especially in academia, it is important for one to make a difference for the well-being of humans. Probably one person would not be able to change the world, but bit by bit, there might be some progress gradually."
He gave an example. "Back in 2011, when I was working on the climate change adaptation issues, most research was conducted by engineers with a mere focus on flooding. I can say I'm one of the pioneers that are trying to look at this whole thing from management and an institutional, organisational perspective. Now, there is a substantial increase of papers from the new angle, which really encourages me."
Cultivating interdisciplinary talents at UIC
Prof Ng has been working at UIC for around two years, and it's his first time working in the Chinese mainland. He said UIC is quite supportive, providing platforms and resources for his academic development and adapting him to the new environment.
"I'm very grateful to UIC for allowing me to continue to develop and generate something that could be influential internationally."
Served as the Associate Department Head in the Faculty of Business and Management (FBM), Prof Ng needs to take charge of teaching, research projects and administrative work.
"I would say all these achievements will happen largely because of the support from UIC,” he expresses gratitude to his team and colleagues at UIC, who help him multitask and harvest the glories. “In addition to their help, maybe with some luck, maybe I'm not too bad, right?"
"I think I would say, for the past two years, I enjoy every minute out of it."
From MPRO
Reporter: Cecilia Yu
Photo provided by the interviewee and Cecilia Yu
Editor: Deen He
