Professor Wai joined The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in 1996. During his 25 years at PolyU, he served in various university administration and leadership positions, including as Head of Department, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Associate Vice-President, Vice-President (Research Development), Deputy President and Provost as well as Chair Professor of Optical Communications.

Professor Wai is known for his commitment to pioneering innovative technology and translational research, and for his outstanding contributions to education. While at PolyU, he made great strides in several important research areas, which included collaborating with world-renowned partners on international and national High-Speed Rail projects, China’s Lunar and Mars exploration, and launching the Aviation Services Research Centre at PolyU with Boeing Corporate to enhance Hong Kong’s position as a world-class aviation maintenance hub. He also collaborated with the UK’s Royal College of Art to establish a research laboratory in PolyU that champions the integration of artificial intelligence and design.

Since he assumed office in February 2021 as the President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU, Professor Wai has led the University to pioneer the development of arts and technology. One of the most significant initiatives under his leadership was a farsighted art-tech project that has received funding from the Innovation and Technology Support Programme under the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) of the HKSAR Government. This was the art-tech project funded by ITC with the largest approved amount. Professor Wai also established the overarching research cluster of Humanities and Cultures for the University to support the development of the “East-meets-West Centre for International Cultural Exchange” in Hong Kong.

Professor Wai has spared no effort in promoting the application of technology and digitalisation in Chinese medicine, and championing the standardisation and internationalisation of Chinese medicine to bring Hong Kong’s Chinese medicine service and scientific research to the world stage. In early 2022 when Hong Kong was hard hit by the fifth wave of the pandemic, Professor Wai led a team of Chinese medicine experts and supporting personnel at HKBU to launch the “Free Online Consultation Service for COVID-19 Patients”, providing free online health consultations, medicine delivery and emotional support resources to over 41,000 patients, close contacts and carers. In addition, Professor Wai led Chinese medicine practitioners and social work experts from the University to support the operation of around 1,200 beds in the Kai Tak Holding Centre, serving the resident elderly COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms. These initiatives not only eased much of the pressure on the public healthcare system and demonstrated HKBU’s commitment to safeguarding public health, but also provided the University with invaluable experience in responding to large scale public health challenges and running Hong Kong’s first Chinese Medicine Hospital when its operation commences in phases in 2025.

With academic interests in the field of optical fibre communications, Professor Wai has a rich array of impactful and patented research achievements to his name. He was elected as a Fellow of the Optical Society of America in 2009, a Fellow and an Honorary Fellow of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) in 2010 and in 2025 respectively, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2012, a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering in 2012, a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association in 2024, and an Honorary Fellow of Hong Kong Institute of Electronics in 2025. With the approval of the State Ministry of Science and Technology, he has been selected for the “National Science and Technology Programmes Expert Database” since 2012.

Professor Wai served as Chairman of the Society of Hong Kong Scholars between 2014 and 2018, and he was named President of the Council of The Hong Kong Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology in 2014/15. He served as a member of the Research Grants Council between 2016 and 2021 and a member of the University Grants Committee from 2020 to 2021. He was appointed as a Justice of Peace by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in July 2022, and has become a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference since 2023.