School of Engineering student teams gained three major awards at the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) Joint Institutes Competition, held in Spring 2012. The theme of the contest was "Shape Our Sustainable Campus", with a total of 14 teams taking part.

Showing their strong environmental awareness, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering students Jeromy Chun Yuen Chan, Karen Pik Shuen Hung, Ho San Mak, and Lawrence Kai Qi Yan of the CBME team won the gold award for their proposal to increase HKUST sustainability. This included converting leftover food into fertilizer and using empty rooftops on academic buildings and dormitories for farming.

Electronic and Computer Engineering student Fisher Ye Yu won silver for his sea water cooling system while Ming Kin Kwok and Lai Ping Wong of the Green Piece team from the same department received a merit award for their paper recycling reward scheme.

The competition was organized by the Young Members Committee of the HKIE, and the HKIE Student Chapters of HKUST, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Sha Tin) and Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Tsing Yi).