The Department of Politics and Public Administration (PPA) recently welcomed colleagues and students to the start of the 2026-27 academic year. Professor Robert Thomson, Head of Department, welcomed everyone to the new year, noting that while most are restarting in familiar roles, the department is also welcoming many new faces.

Professor Thomson recognized the new leadership of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program by Professor Norbert Chan and the Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) program by Professor Jiangnan Zhu, noting the fresh energy they have brought to the department. He also welcomed new faculty member Cartland Zhou, who has already begun teaching International Relations courses.

Professor Thomson shared updates on international recruitment for new positions in Public Administration and International Relations. He also highlighted the upcoming Political Methodology Conference in January. Brought to HKU by Professor Haohan Chen, the conference will be a major milestone for the department’s research calendar.

This year, six new research graduate students have joined the PPA community: Zhengxin Zhang , Yating Zhang, Leike Huang, Yuxin Yuan, Yifei Tian, and Kaidierdan Muzhapaer. The department is proud to welcome them, including those returning to HKU for their doctoral research.

The event concluded with a networking session where Professor Thomson invited the community to support one another’s research and wished everyone a productive and successful year ahead.