Big Data

With the global rise in electric vehicles’ popularity, the demand for lithium-ion batteries has surged, leading to a considerable increase in discarded batteries. The issue of how to efficiently use “retired” batteries has become urgent, and to address this Prof Tang Xiaopeng, Assistant Professor of the Science Unit at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, recently published a groundbreaking research paper titled "Lifespan-based Battery Classification towards Second-life Utilisation", which won the Best Paper Award at the prestigious 2024 IEEE 25th China Conference on System Simulation Technology and its Application (CCSSTA). It was one of only four papers out of 278 submissions to receive recognition.

Lingnan University hosted the QS Higher Education Post-Summit: Asia Pacific 2024 today (8 November) on its campus under the theme "Navigating Futures – Empowering Higher Education for Social and Sustainable Impact". This international education conference brought together about 400 leading academics and key stakeholders from universities in Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China, Australia, and Japan to consider the most pressing challenges and transformative opportunities facing higher education in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lingnan University welcomed Ms Wang Yuyan, Deputy Party Secretary, Head of the Organization Department of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and her delegation on their visit to the Lingnan University campus in Tuen Mun on 4 November. Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science, Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Vice-President (Academics) cum Provost and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Scientific Computing, Prof Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation) and Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning), Mr Ernest Chan Chi-man, Vice-President (Administration), Associate Vice-Presidents and the University management met with the guests, and held a seminar, chaired by Prof S. Joe Qin, to explore closer cooperation in research and innovation, and expanding talent cultivation.

Lingnan University co-hosted the QS Higher Education Summit Asia Pacific 2024 from 5 to 7 November at the Macau University of Science and Technology, with the theme “Shifting Landscapes, Collaborative Solutions: Pioneering Innovation in Asia Pacific Higher Education”. The summit marks its 20th anniversary in 2024, and aims to forge valuable partnerships within the higher education sector. Attended by about 1,500 educators, leading thinkers and academics, the three-day summit held dynamic panel discussions on a wide range of pertinent issues, covering key topics such as leveraging the power of AI, fostering lifelong learning ecosystems, and navigating the unfolding higher education landscape.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are how combining a drone and a platform can make heavy groceries easier to manage, the smallest dinosaur eggs found to date, and how to assemble DNA to store large amounts of data.

SUTD researchers behind SGHateCheck created MultiHateClip, a novel multilingual dataset that enhances the detection of hateful video content in both English and Chinese languages.

Twenty-nine Lingnan University scholars are listed among the World’s Top 2% Scientists published in 2024 by US Stanford University. The annual rankings highlight leading scientists across a wide range of fields, based on their career-long citation impact or single-year citation impact in 2023. The recognition underscores the research excellence and academic strengths of Lingnan scholars, and the significant contributions they have made to both academia and society.

2024 Taiwan Innotech Expo takes place from October 17 to 19 at the Taipei World Trade Center. Witness cutting-edge inventions and innovations from Taiwan and around the world.

Lingnan University held its Postgraduate Student Orientation 2024 today (29 August), welcoming over 3,300 new students. The incoming students for the 2024/25 academic year are pursuing taught postgraduate/doctoral degrees and MPhil/PhD programmes from around the world, and show an approximate 40 per cent increase over last year's 2,400 students, setting a new record. This diverse group hails from many countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Mainland China, Macau, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, Ghana, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Myanmar.

Incoming freshmen for the 2024/25 academic year at Lingnan University were warmly welcomed today (26 August) to the New Student Orientation (NSO) Programme 2024 and Official Welcome on campus. This year, over 1,300 local, Mainland and overseas undergraduates joined the Lingnan family, and the average Gaokao score of Mainland Chinese students admitted to the first year has increased from last year by 15 points. The University continues to attract outstanding students from around the world, and select the best with the goal of becoming a comprehensive university in arts and sciences in the digital era, focusing on impactful research and innovations.

The competition in managing short video content on social media platforms and executing online marketing has intensified in recent years. Crafting eye-catching video titles and thumbnails to increase viewer engagement has become a crucial marketing strategy. A recent study by the Department of Marketing and International Business at Lingnan University titled “Clicks for money: Predicting video views through a sentiment analysis of titles and thumbnails” used artificial intelligence (AI) to show that thumbnails expressing strong sentiments tend to attract more views, while strong sentiments conveyed in video titles may have the opposite effect. Additionally, videos with punctuation, capital letters, and emojis in their titles tend to receive more clicks. The Lingnan research team suggests these findings indicate that specific strategies in producing video content can fully leverage their videos’ potential to boost viewership and enhance online marketing efforts.

An experimental approach based on universal multi-branch general-purpose convolutional neural network

Lingnan University in Hong Kong participated in the Times Higher Education’s Digital Universities Asia 2024 conference, held from 1 to 3 July in Bali, Indonesia, where Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science of Lingnan University, delivered a keynote talk and took part in a roundtable discussion, contributing valuable insights to this prestigious annual event. This year, the conference focused on transforming academic institutions into more accessible and inclusive environments, and pointed out the current groundbreaking innovations at the intersection of academic progress and technological advancement. The conference is an important platform where leaders in higher education, industry, and policy exchange ideas on leveraging cutting-edge digital tools and technologies.

Lingnan University recently held an agreement signing ceremony on campus to mark the donation of HK$100 million by the Hopson Education Charitable Funds Limited towards establishing a university development fund and supporting Lingnan University to cultivate research-oriented talents.

On the occasion of World Environment Day today (5 June), the Science Unit of Lingnan University and Friends of the Earth (HK) (FoE (HK)) have signed a partnership agreement to launch the first Executive Certificate in Sustainable Finance & ESG Analytics for executives of higher education institutions in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and aligned with the CESGA global certification. Acting in response to our era of digital transformation, this executive certificate training programme not only explores the concepts of Sustainable Finance, but also incorporates Lingnan’s expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) analytics, reflecting the global shift towards Sustainable Finance and the increasing integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in financial decision-making.

Lingnan University signed multiple significant strategic cooperation framework agreements yesterday (28 May) with Rizhao City, Shandong Province, Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co, Ltd. (Shandong Hi-Speed Group), Shandong Huge Dental Material Co., Ltd., and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI). These collaborations aim to leverage each party’s unique strengths in talent, research, and industry. Lingnan will conduct research projects with partner institutions, promote collaborative innovation, develop new quality productive forces, establish new research and development (R&D) institutions, accelerate the commercialisation of technological achievements, and cultivate a new generation of exceptional talent.

Springer Nature’s latest survey, focused on Japan, shows a high proportion of Japanese researchers have access to research integrity training and builds on results from previous surveys that highlight data training as the greatest unmet need.

To improve innovation and technology education, Lingnan University and Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, have announced a partnership and recently held a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony at Lingnan University. The MoU, a milestone in their collaboration, was signed by Prof Leng Mingming, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Chair Professor of Operations and Risk Management of Lingnan University, and Mr Leo Liu, Vice-President of International Business and General Manager of North APAC Region at Alibaba Cloud.

Time series data and causal impact algorithm reveal the effectiveness of a new transit station over a four-year period

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are where music affects our bodies, a battery powered by the oxygen inside our bodies, and the largest bird family tree to date.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are tiny tattoos for fish scales, how jellyfish can inspire forensics, and our intrinsic affinity for music.

Analysis of materials can be done quicker and with less expertise with the help of proven machine learning techniques established in biomedical fields.

MozzHub, a user-friendly dengue hotspot detector, could significantly assist the management and control of dengue.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University assessed the correlation between human mobility restrictions and the medical costs associated with lifestyle-related diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. A cross-sectional study revealed that an increase in walking and public transit use was associated with reduced medical costs of lifestyle diseases. These findings implicate governments to take measures other than restricting walking and public transit during pandemics and emphasize the importance of walkable cities.

Prof Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science of Lingnan University, and Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) and Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence, have been elected Fellows of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (HKAES) for the year 2023. This recognition highlights their exceptional contributions and expertise in the field of engineering.

Lingnan University and Manchester University co-hosted a two-day China and Higher Education Conference 2023 on 13-14 December, exploring the theme "New Spaces and Places in Education: Technology and Innovation in Chinese Higher Education". The conference brought together distinguished representatives from the global academic community. The keynote address by Prof S. Joe Qin, the President of Lingnan University, at this event was particularly noteworthy, adding a touch of brilliance to the entire proceedings.

Researchers at Tohoku University and the University of California, Santa Barbara have shown a proof-of-concept of an energy-efficient computer compatible with current AI.

Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Lingnan University's Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) and Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence, has been elected as a 2023 class Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Prof Kwong is one of only two Hong Kong scholars to receive this prestigious recognition. The NAI Fellows Selection Committee chose Prof Kwong for induction for his spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society. Prof Kwong will receive his medal at the NAI 13th Annual Meeting on 18 June 2024 in the US.

The Distinguished Scholars Seminar Series organised by Lingnan University’s School of Graduate Studies presented its fourth session on 7 December “Creating a better future: harnessing AI for social and environmental responsibility” was delivered by Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence and Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) at Lingnan University. Prof Kwong was recently on the “Highly Cited Researchers 2023” list and in the seminar, he analysed how the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and robots in recent years will affect human work and daily life.

According to the latest report by Clarivate, Lingnan University's Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) and Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, has been named on the list of "Highly Cited Researchers 2023”. Out of the 6,849 scholars from 67 countries and regions worldwide who were named as Highly Cited Researchers for 2023, this recognition is given to those whose work ranks in the top 1 per cent by citations for their fields and publication year over the past decade.