Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science of Lingnan University.
HKSAR Government plans to further accelerate the development of Northern Metropolis
President Qin noted that the Policy Address devoted considerable attention to supporting the future development of the education sector, which Lingnan welcomes. As the university is located near the industry-academia-research ecosystem of the future Northern Metropolis, it is the closest of Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded universities to the Shenzhen Bay Port. Lingnan will continue to leverage this geographical advantage to actively explore the Northern Metropolis’s future development, focusing on nurturing interdisciplinary and critically thinking liberal arts talents, while strengthening partnerships with industries, research institutions, and communities within the Greater Bay Area to promote practical application of innovation and technology.
President Qin further stated that Lingnan aims to extend the concept of “quality education” across the Greater Bay Area and other provinces and cities in Mainland China, continuously enhancing its academic and research capabilities to support the nation’s goal of becoming a global education leader. The university is accelerating development in interdisciplinary research areas related to data science and artificial intelligence (AI), actively cultivating internationally minded and innovative talents to provide creative solutions to the economic and social challenges of the Greater Bay Area.
In June this year, the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Impact Rankings announced that Lingnan University became the first Hong Kong university to rank first in the “SDG 4: Quality Education” category, reflecting the university’s substantive contributions to holistic education, liberal arts integration, knowledge and technology transfer, and societal impact. President Qin expressed Lingnan’s aspiration to play a distinctive role in building a strong national education system and nurturing STEM and innovation talents, working alongside the government and industry to promote Hong Kong as an international hub for education and innovation.
Establishment of the AI Efficacy Enhancement Team
Regarding the government’s intention to advance AI applications within public departments, President Qin stated that Lingnan has actively promoted diverse “AI + education” applications in recent years, demonstrating achievements in both teaching and research while aligning with societal and workplace needs. Recently, Lingnan’s research team led the development of an inter-university research project—an innovative teaching design platform called IDEAL-Gen.AI, now freely available to educators. The platform assists teachers in rapidly creating personalised teaching activities, course plans, and assessment tools, enhancing teaching effectiveness. President Qin believes that the platform has further potential to expand into an “institutional version”, helping public and private organisations manage large datasets, conduct data analysis, and optimise presentations and decision-making processes, becoming a key “AI assistant” for improving work efficiency and accuracy.
In addition, Lingnan is among the first universities in Hong Kong to fully integrate AI into different disciplines. Since 2023, all students and staff have had free access to ChatGPT, and this year the DeepSeek option was added to further cultivate AI literacy, promoting a “society-wide AI capability.” The university has also officially launched its first High-Performance Computing (HPC) Data Centre, Lingnan HPC NexT this year, with computational power comparable to the world’s top 100 supercomputers. This facility provides strong support for interdisciplinary research and equips students to use high-performance computing and AI tools to solve societal problems, stimulating innovative thinking.
President Qin emphasised that Lingnan will continue to advance the integration of AI and interdisciplinary studies, contributing to building a smart Hong Kong and driving digital transformation.
Promotion of AI and data science industry development
President Qin expressed that Lingnan looks forward to contributing to the government’s efforts to advance AI research and talent development. The university is actively implementing the “Lingnan-60 Global Talent Recruitment”, aiming to recruit 60 world-class scholars by 2027—the 60th anniversary of Lingnan’s reestablishment—to strengthen Hong Kong’s talent pool in emerging research areas. As of mid-September 2025, Lingnan has successfully recruited 31 distinguished scholars across AI, data science, mechanical engineering, new materials, carbon neutrality, and other “new productivity” sectors, cultivating top-tier talent for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area’s technological development.
Regarding the government’s plan to establish the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute in 2026 to promote upstream AI research and downstream applications, Lingnan scholars have recently won multiple international awards for research inventions in AI, data science, new materials, and new energy batteries, including at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival (SVIIF) and the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva. These achievements demonstrate excellence in both fundamental research and applied practice, supporting the upgrade of Hong Kong’s industrial chain and leveraging the advantages of the “One Country, Two Systems” framework to convert knowledge into commercially valuable technologies and products, in line with the government’s “new productivity” initiatives.
President Qin also welcomed the government’s support for local universities hosting international academic and professional conferences. Lingnan has actively organised international conferences, including the Digital Universities Asia 2025, attracting participants from over 90 universities and approximately 140 institutions worldwide, including more than 300 top scholars and industry leaders, fostering exchange and collaboration between Hong Kong and the global higher education sector.
Increasing quotas for non-local students
On the government’s plan to lift non-local student quota to 50 per cent from the 2026/27 academic year, and the over-enrolment ceiling for self-financed research postgraduate enrollment to 120 per cent, President Qin welcomed the measures. He noted that this will help Hong Kong become a world-class international education hub, attract global talent, and strengthen the international competitiveness of local higher education.
