The University recently hosted a special event in Hong Kong celebrating a successful week of international activity and recognising the achievements of Team Bath Racing Electric.

Held at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Central District of Hong Kong, the event toasted the achievements of the University’s student electric racing car team – Team Bath Racing Electric (TBRe) - in becoming the UK's number one electric student racing team and the first UK team to have competed in Formula Student Electric China (FSEC).

The reception was hosted by the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International & Doctoral), Professor Jeremy Bradshaw and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Design, Professor Gary Hawley.

Around 100 guests were in attendance comprising alumni, corporate partners and senior figures from the region including Hong Kong’s Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, GBS, JP, as well as honorary graduate and former Chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Sir CK Chow.

The event was formally opened by distinguished guest Mr Wong Kam-sing and followed by Professor Bradshaw, who welcomed the evening’s guests and gave a brief overview of the University. TBRe members Will Minter-Kemp and Natalie Kyprianou continued the presentations by providing an update about how TBRe had fared during the week in Zhuhai at FSEC and gave a short presentation on the team’s journey and impressive success to date.

Professor Hawley then addressed the guests and outlined the importance of the racing programmes in providing the students with a broad skill set with which to react to whatever they faced. In transporting the car, vibrations had dislodged various key components of the accumulator; the Dean expressed his admiration for the way the TBRe members had identified the problem on the ground, designed a solution and sourced replacement parts within 24 hours, no mean feat when on their first international trip and operating through an interpreter! He proudly highlighted that this kind of initiative gave Bath engineers the competitive advantage in the workplaces of the future.

Following the presentation, guests had the opportunity to network and learn more about the University successes and future direction over drinks and canapes.

This event was the conclusion of a co-ordinated week-long itinerary of activities supported by colleagues from the Departments of Development & Alumni Relations, Recruitment & Admissions, and Communications.

Professors Bradshaw and Hawley travelled to Zhuhai, China, to cheer along TBRe before meeting with a number of academic contacts in Hong Kong. Development & Alumni Relations colleagues engaged with members of our alumni community in Hong Kong, looking to reconnect, update them on the latest university developments and share the future vision of the institution. Recruitment & Admissions colleagues visited a number of international schools across Hong Kong to highlight Bath as a leading UK university for school pupils considering studying for a degree in the UK.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International & Doctoral), Professor Jeremy Bradshaw, said: “It was a pleasure to host this University reception and meet a number of our alumni and corporate partners based in Hong Kong, especially our distinguished guests Sir CK Chow and Mr Wong Kam-sing.”

“Universities are competing in an ever increasing global market and is it imperative we strengthen links and build relationships across the globe. This event was the conclusion of a week of coordinated activity amongst a number of university departments which I am confident has successfully helped raise the University’s profile in Hong Kong and China.”

Sir CK Chow said: “We are all deeply impressed by the passion and competence of members of the Team Bath Racing Electric; they are great ambassadors. This event is particularly meaningful for alumni and friends of the university in Hong Kong as it is held in the Big Bay Area of China of which Hong Kong is part. It significantly enhances the profile of the University of Bath in this rapidly growing region.”

Director of Development & Alumni Relations, Gavin Maggs, added: “The evening showed the University at our best, as a real community – alumni, students, corporate partners and academic collaborators all interacting, creating new relationships and reaffirming existing ones, even though we’re 6,000 miles away from home. Our internationalism is to be celebrated, and tonight we’ve done just that.”