Let’s Explore, Experience, and Enjoy the HKUST Impact Fiesta!
Lunar robots, AI-powered art, and, marking our birth year, 1,991 drones lighting up Victoria Harbor—HKUST invites the entire city to join its 35th anniversary celebrations.
What does a lunar robot look like before it rockets to the Moon? How can a smartphone camera check your vitals in under 25 seconds? And how can drones and AI help find hikers lost in hostile terrain?
Hong Kong residents can find the answers at the HKUST 35th Anniversary Impact Fiesta, a dynamic showcase of discoveries and creative milestones at the AIA Vitality Park from November 27 to 28.
This flagship community event will feature space-bound technologies, AI-powered healthcare, immersive digital art, and hands-on STEM activities, illuminating how HKUST is making an impact in the city, across the nation, and around the globe.
Get Up Close with Tomorrow’s Technology
As visitors navigate the event grounds, they can explore several themed zones spotlighting HKUST’s achievements. Inside the Impact Showcase Zone, they can experience technologies under development across aerospace, robotics, healthcare, and sustainability. Highlights include a 1:1 scale model of the Hong Kong Operation Robot, a multi-functional lunar surface operation robot designed for the national moon landing mission, and MUSICO, HKUST’s pioneering carbon-monitoring payload currently operating on China’s orbiting Tiangong Space Station.
Back on Earth, they can meet AI-powered robot dogs, command an intelligent robotic arm to sort objects and play games, and discover technologies designed to support search-and-rescue missions.
Health matters to everyone, and two public health talks will offer insight into the latest medical technology for assessing ADHD and the best ways to maintain a healthy heart.
The Start-Up Zone will spotlight innovation nurtured within HKUST’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, from contactless health monitoring and AI-powered eye care to wearable robotics, green technology, and live 3D food printing.
Where Technology Meets Imagination
A key message embedded in the Fiesta is that innovation can change how we create, imagine, and experience art. At the Art-Tech Zone, attendees can step inside SURREALITY, the world’s first large-scale, cross-regional Mixed Reality (MR) x AI digital art exhibition.
There, you can put on an MR headset and watch the physical and digital worlds merge. Witness international erhu master Guo Gan’s digital performance transform the urban landscape alongside traditional music and dancing Dunhuang flying apsaras. And look up to see swirling blue-and-gold galaxies completely reimagine the Victoria Harbour skyline.
For film buffs, step into the AI Cinema Zone to see how emerging AI and spatial technologies are opening new possibilities for creative expression. Hosted by HKUST’s new Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC), this curated selection of newly released AI-generated shorts explores everything from futuristic sci-fi comedies to touching reflections on family, memory, and the passage of time.
Build, Play, Engage
Ready for a hands-on adventure? You can build your own Gear Motion Car, explore the science of flight with lightweight aircraft, join interactive science experiments, and assess your business acumen at financial literacy sessions during the interactive workshops.
For spinning-top lovers, get ready for high-energy Beyblade action on November 28 as the HKUST Student Union hosts a live competition, accompanied by a physics workshop revealing the real-world science behind the perfect spin.
When it is time for a break from exploring, you can grab a spot by the stage and enjoy live music, dance, and more, with performances by the Chinese Orchestra, HKUSTSU; HKUST students; and guest artists, including the crowned champion of the inaugural HKUST Talent Quest in 2026, throughout the two-day event.
Between activities, try your luck at the game booths, snap a few photos, create your own Red Birdie-inspired keepsake, and redeem exclusive HKUST 35th Anniversary souvenirs from stamps collected as you circulate the venue. When you need to refuel, enjoy festival treats and refreshments along the way.
Look Up! 1,991 Drones Take Flight
The Saturday evening finale will feature a low-altitude spectacle as 1,991 drones take flight above the Victoria Harbor. Why 1,991? That’s the year HKUST was founded.
Against the stunning cityscape, these drones will light up the night sky with images from HKUST’s first 35 years, celebrating how far we have come and looking ahead to the possibilities still to come.
Celebrate for a Cause
Impact Fiesta is also an opportunity to give back. Proceeds from souvenir sales and photo booth prints will be donated to the Children's Cancer Foundation.
So, mark your calendars! Come and experience the Impact Fiesta, and see firsthand how HKUST is dedicated to making the world a better place to live.
Follow HKUST’s official social media channels for more sneak peeks as we count down to the Fiesta.
HKUST 35th Anniversary IMPACT FIESTA: Explore. Experience. Enjoy.
Dates: Nov. 27 (Fri.) and Nov. 28 (Sat.), 2026
Time: 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 27; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 28
Finale: 1,991 Drone Light Show Finale from 6:20 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 28.
Venue: AIA Vitality Park, 33 Man Kwong Street, Central, Hong Kong
Admission: Free and Open to All
The MUSICO showcase features a 1:1 scale model of HKUST's pioneering carbon-monitoring satellite payload.
The HKSREC showcase features a 1:1 scale model of the 1st Generation "Hong Kong Operation Robot."
The Chinese Orchestra, HKUSTSU, will perform at the HKUST Impact Fiesta.
Enjoy a selection of food and beverages from local partners.
