News & Stories

Prof. CHEN Kai, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, is now the brain behind what will become Hong Kong’s ‘brain’ in future – the next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) computing hub for the entire city that encompasses smart bus schedules, taxi dispatch, typhoon warning, medical diagnosis, fintech and others. 

Unlike big tech corporations, tech SMEs or start-ups usually do not have dedicated resources to hire interns who are enthusiastic about innovation and technology. Yet, internships at big tech firms are highly competitive. To help bridge this gap, HKUST has joined the Hong Kong government’s STEM Internship Scheme, through which more than 300 HKUST students have secured internships -- the highest among all universities taking part.The Scheme, offered by the Innovation and Technology Commission to students from UGC-funded universities, aims to foster students’ interest in pursuing a career in IT after graduation to enlarge the local IT talent pool in the long run. 

Prof. Charles NG Wang-Wai (left) and Prof. HUI Pan (right) were elected as the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Fellow and International Fellow respectively.

As governments worldwide are planning to gradually ease lockdown or social distancing measures after months of life disruptions due to COVID-19, an interdisciplinary study co-convened by a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) computer scientist has recently found that universal face mask wearing is an urgent non-pharmaceutical intervention to suppress the spread or second waves of the disease before effective vaccines or treatments are available.

Autonomous Vehicles Developed by HKUST Engineering Professor Serve the Community during COVID-19 Outbreak in Mainland China

Researchers of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a novel geo-fencing technology, offering a smart core solution that helps save the government’s manpower in monitoring those under compulsory home quarantine amid the novel pneumonia (COVID-19) outbreak. With the pandemic spreading quickly across the globe, the Hong Kong government has issued quarantine order on people entering the city from all overseas countries and territories.  As a compliance measure, people under quarantine have been required to regularly report their current real-time locations via instant messaging applications or answer surprise video calls from communication centers.  This approach incurs high monitoring cost to the government, and brings much inconvenience to the home confinees.

Video game enthusiast Wei Lili has turned her childhood interest into cutting-edge research that sets to produce reliable high-quality software for mobile phone users.

Brain-machine interface - or the technology to synergize the brain with an external device so the latter can carry out orders, has been frequently featured in sci-fi movies as futuristic fantasy. Instead of maneuvering with our fingertips, individuals connected to such devices can transmit their thoughts, and the machines would do their bidding like magic. Recently, an American start-up promised to make this scenario a reality. A small chip would be surgically inserted into one's brain, which is then connected to a receiver with or without a wire, allowing the user to control things like a mouse or a keyboard. The company is even aiming to make the implant surgery equivalent to a simple surgical procedure like LASIK where one can walk away within hours. While this sounds revolutionary for people with disabilities, is the general public ready to sign up for its service?