News & Stories

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) celebrated the opening of the WeChat-HKUST Joint Laboratory on Artificial Intelligence Technology (WHAT LAB) on 26 November. The Joint Laboratory  is dedicated to fostering artificial intelligence and big data research to improve people’s living and advance the frontiers of knowledge, marking a milestone in the collaboration of WeChat and the higher education sector. WHAT LAB, located in HKUST, will be led by Prof Qiang Yang, New Bright Professor of Engineering, Chair Professor and Head of Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Research areas of WHAT LAB include intelligent robotic systems, natural language processing, data mining, speech recognition and understanding. The Lab will bring together top researchers in the development of innovative artificial intelligence application with the database of WeChat.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) held its 23rd Congregation today (20 November) and conferred honorary doctorates on five eminent academics and community leaders.  The Honourable Andrew Liao Cheung-sing, Chairman of the University Council, presided over today’s ceremony. HKUST honorary doctorates are awarded to five outstanding individuals in recognition of their distinguished achievements and contributions.  This year’s recipients were (in alphabetical order): Mr Hans Michael JEBSEN, BBS, Chairman of the Jebsen Group - Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa Prof Sir John PENDRY, FRS, Chair Professor in Theoretical Solid State Physics at Imperial College - Doctor of Science honoris causa Dr Raghuram G RAJAN, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India - Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa

What would happen to our lives if robots could read our emotions and act like a friend?  It may sound like some plots in science fiction movies, but Prof Pascale Fung from the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has realized this dream.  An expert in intelligent systems that understand and empathize with humans, Prof Fung’s latest project “Zara the Supergirl” is a prototype machine capable of chatting with humans in both English and Mandarin, it is expected to chat in more languages including French in the future.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has risen two places to rank #14 in the high-profile annual Global Employability University Survey and Ranking this year.  HKUST graduates have been ranked the world’s top 20 most employable and the most employable in Greater China over the past three years.

HKUST students’ innovative solutions seek to improve healthcare services for the impoverished in Cambodia. An innovative and internationally oriented community service program at HKUST is enabling undergraduates across the University to bring their knowledge and skills together to places where they are needed, and create effective, practical solutions that assist non-profit organizations in providing healthcare services. The Student Innovation for Global Health Technology (SIGHT) Program, led by Prof Ying Chau, Division of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, recently partnered with One-2-One Cambodia, a New Zealand NGO which operates mobile clinics in the slums of Phnom Penh, Cambodia with limited resources.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) signed a Hosting Agreement with The International Mathematical Olympiad Hong Kong Committee Limited (IMOHKCL) to be the Host University of the 57th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Prof Tony F Chan, President of HKUST, said IMO is more than a Mathematics competition. “I am pleased that Hong Kong will play host to organizing the IMO again next year after it was first held in Hong Kong in 1994,” he said. “We will make good use of this opportunity to build the global reputation for Hong Kong; attract young, talented students from all over the world, as well as promote mathematics and science education - especially among young local people. No platform is more ideal than the IMO to bring these messages across to the whole world.”

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) hosted the 25th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series yesterday, featuring Prof Zhong Lin Wang, Hightower Chair in Materials Science and Engineering and Regents’ Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Chief Scientist and Director at Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The event was well received by students, faculty members and guests from HKUST. Speaking on “Nanogenerators for Self-powered Systems and Piezotronics for Smart Devices”, Prof Wang reflected on how he began his research, he said, "Everything made by human was driven by electricity. And I asked myself: can we use human mechano-sensation to drive power of electronic devices instead? Can we control electronics by imagination? I see a possibility."

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and UC RUSAL (SEHK: 486, Euronext: RUSAL/RUAL, Moscow Exchange: RUAL/RUALR), a leading global aluminum producer, announce that Prof Dan Shechtman, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry in 2011 and Philip Tobias Professor of Materials Science, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, spoke at UC RUSAL President’s Forum and HKUST 25th Anniversary Distinguished Speakers Series. The Forum marked the completion of the five-year partnership between HKUST and UC RUSAL and was well attended by students, faculty members and guests from HKUST & outside the university.