Social sciences

Whispers in the gut, "Memory foam" for space 🚀, Potassium power 🔋& Intelligent multitasking. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice

- DGIST is a place that knows no boundaries between academic disciplines in Korea and around the world

In Hong Kong’s fast-paced lifestyle, many people need to multitask in order to get things done, and whether this ability is innate or can be developed through training has long been a subject of academic debate. A recent study by the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has found that multitasking is not a singular skill, but rather a composite of various cognitive abilities, and the research team suggests that systematic training has the potential to enhance performance across work and learning contexts. Their findings have been published in the prestigious international Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance and were selected as an editor’s choice article.

The Horizon Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (JHSSR) proudly announces the release of its Special ASAIHL Edition – Volume 7(S), August 2025, themed “University’s Role in Advancing Climate Crisis Reduction.” This commemorative edition captures the pioneering spirit of Southeast Asian academia in addressing one of the 21st century’s most urgent global challenges—climate change. Curated from the prestigious 2024 ASAIHL Conference, hosted by Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia (Nov 19–22, 2024), this issue brings together a diverse body of scholarly contributions from researchers, policymakers, and educators across ASEAN and beyond. It marks a significant milestone in the academic community’s mission to inspire sustainable education, ethical leadership, and climate-responsive innovation.

How mHealth app incentives drive health and transit in Japan’s Senboku New Town

- Hosted DGIST Future Insight Forum on Jul 23 (Wed) at EL Tower in Seoul, Korea - Expected to deliver innovative achievements in three future strategic areas: physical AI, human digital twins, and quantum sensing

- Cooperation on education to raise awareness about integrity among undergraduate and graduate students and improve integrity among faculty and staff members

As Japanese society increasingly gets global, a new study finds that its education system has not kept pace. Students with foreign roots face cultural and linguistic hurdles in schools that still operate on assumptions of homogeneity. Findings suggest a lack of teacher training on multiculturalism is contributing to isolation and missed learning opportunities for these students.

Echoes of grief, Unexpected mineral, Insulin on edge, Fingerprinting bacteria, Beefing up taste & Power of glass. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice

- S-Innovations innovates manufacturing sites with cyber-physical AI - BROZ continues to demonstrate performance with spatial AI technology

- Held at DGIST to mark the 10th anniversary of the SOI International Conference - Over 150 papers presented by scholars from 20+ countries, advancing as a global academic platform - A hub for open innovation covering AI, digital transformation, and ESG

- Finland’s Ambassador to Korea, Jyri Järviaho, explores avenues for global collaboration at DGIST. - Specific plans for joint research and talent exchange were discussed, with expectations for strengthening the global network.

A study by The University of Osaka and the National Institute for Environmental Studies aimed to understand how different rewards influence citizen contributions to biodiversity data. Using the Biome app, 830 users joined a one-week experiment offering either cash, donation-based, or no incentives for posting nature photos. Cash increased total posts, while donations encouraged sharing of rare species. The study reveals how tailoring incentives can improve both the quantity and quality of biodiversity data collected through citizen science.

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed a novel framework for measuring occupancy in open-plan offices with unprecedented precision. This innovative system uses computer vision and AI to analyze occupancy at a micro-scale level, focusing on specific functional zones within the office. This addresses a significant gap in current occupancy tracking methods, which typically only provide macro-level data and struggle to capture detailed usage patterns within shared spaces.

Lingnan University has delivered its best-ever performance in the latest 2025/26 funding exercise carried out by the Research Grants Council (RGC), covering the General Research Fund (GRF), Early Career Scheme (ECS), and Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS). Forty-nine Lingnan research projects have been supported, a 26 per cent increase from last year’s 39 projects, and the total subsidy has risen by 22 per cent to nearly HKD$30 million, an unprecedented achievement in both the number of grants awarded and total funding.

Researchers from The University of Osaka have developed a method to visualize and reconstruct individual urban plants in different seasons using AI and street view images. The novel Seasonal Species-Specific Plant View Index allows urban designers to enhance the ecological sustainability and the well-being of city dwellers by incorporating diverse plant configurations, colors, and seasonality into current and future urban green spaces.

- DGIST’s proximity to Harvard’s and Caltech’s rankings demonstrates world-class research power

Researchers from The University of Osaka observed the reactions of Japanese macaques to the deaths of their companions. They found that some macaques remained near and even groomed the dead, especially if they had been close companions. These findings suggest that macaques, like humans, may exhibit emotion-based responses to death.

The School of Graduate Studies (GS) at Lingnan University hosted the opening ceremony of the Postgraduate Summer School 2025 on campus today, 24 June. This highly regarded and prestigious annual flagship event has been organised with Hertford College of the University of Oxford and is a UK-based exchange programme that reflects Lingnan’s resolve to broaden students’ international exposure and global research commitment. More than 100 postgraduate students from both local and international universities are attending the Summer School this year, including 24 nominated Lingnan students who have received top scholarships. This is the first time that students have been selected through a nomination process, enabling all postgraduate students to participate in the University of Oxford summer programme.

- Beginning on July 14th, the practice-oriented “Fragrance Industry Professional Training Course” will be offered at no cost - Faculty members from Côte d'Azur University in France will come to South Korea to provide olfactory training and analytical techniques

- Curbing brain drain and drawing future talent to Korea…the Ministry of Science and ICT begins full-scale recruitment and settlement support for global postdoctoral researchers

Bringing top Korean and foreign scholars and companies together to present a roadmap for next-generation AI technology

- Customized science classes for students in Dalseong-gun, from 6th grade of elementary school to 2nd grade of middle school - Outstanding students selected through a three-stage screening process; three information sessions to be held

With youth mental health commanding increasing attention in recent years, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Psychological Counselling Alliance, composed of the Wofoo Joseph Lee Consulting and Counselling Psychology Research Centre in the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University and 16 higher education institutions in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), held a conference at the Lingnan@West Kowloon learning hub today, 16 June. The universities in the Alliance agreed to integrate Lingnan University’s Wellness Ambassador Programme (WAP) training modules into their peer counselling programmes in order to support students’ psychological development and improve mental health on campuses and in communities.

Moved by how Hiroshima’s memorials transformed unspeakable loss into a global call for peace, a Hiroshima University historian turns his gaze to Southeast Asia—unpacking what stories their war monuments enshrine, what they leave out, and what that means for peace and justice, as the world marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing this year.

To increase academic exchanges and collaboration between the two psychology institutions, a delegation from the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University visited the School of Psychology at Shenzhen University on 4 June, and was warmly received by Prof Chen Qi, Dean of the School of Psychology of Shenzhen University, and members of the faculty. They discussed new directions for disciplinary development,and decided to begin preparatory work officially for a joint master’s double-degree programme in applied psychology.

The Mindoro Archaeology Project has found compelling evidence of the pivotal role of the Philippine archipelago in ancient maritime Southeast Asia.

- DGIST to host the Distinguished Lecture Series on the topic of molecular principles of neural circuits

- Department of Brain Sciences MS/PhD student Jung Da-hae wins the Young Investigator Award at IC-KDA & ASAD 2025 - Research commended for the early pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease

Will receive KRW 11.5 billion in government funding and lead human-centered physical AI research