HKU Advanced Technology Fellowship Programme - Forum Highlight - HKU Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science

The Grand Inaugural Launch of the HKU Advanced Technology Fellowship Programme of HKU IDS on January 17, 2025 –
a Valuable Gateway for Entrepreneurs to Acquire Frontier AI Knowledge

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On January 17, 2025, the Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science, The University Hong Kong (HKU IDS) delightfully received its first batch of participants under the HKU Advanced Technology Fellowship Programme (ATFP) on campus at the premier Hong Kong AI and Frontier Technology Forum 2025. The Forum surrounded the theme of “AI Vision: Opportunities for a Brighter Future,” and was officiated by Professor Max Shen, Vice-President and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research) of the University; Mr. KC Leong, one of the Institute’s benefactors from the Musketeers Education and Culture Charitable Foundation; Ms. Lillian Cheong, JP, Under Secretary of Innovation, Technology & Industry, HKSAR Government; and Professor Yi Ma, Director & Professor, Chair of Artificial Intelligence, HKU IDS, at Loke Yew Hall, The University of Hong Kong.

Professor Max Shen, in his opening remarks to the first batch of ATFP Fellows, expressed joy and well wishes to HKU IDS’ strong belief in the cross-sectoral efforts it could spare to advancing the University’s status as a world’s renowned tertiary institution striving for progression in pioneering research, especially in the era of Artificial Intelligence. He hoped for the best to the ATFP Fellows, who are entrepreneurship leaders in their respective corporations and industries in the Greater Bay Area, in their pursuit of academic excellence and value-added contributions to the country as a whole.

Following the warm greetings from our other guest of honour, Ms. Lillian Cheong, JP, and her explanation on how the HKSAR Government has been sparing no efforts in boosting new quality productive forces in the business sectors, by leveraging technologies and AI, our HKU IDS Director, who is also Professor, Chair of Artificial Intelligence at the University, Professor Yi Ma, further remarked the significance of collaborations across borders of Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, Shanghai, Beijing, and even the rest of China, in cultivating a top, if not the best, breeding ground for talent nurturance in the field of AI and Machine Learning.

The ATFP Fellows, as well as members of the University, were then delighted to witness insightful discussions between area experts at the keynote speeches and roundtable sessions for exchanging ideas over aspirations to a better, smarter future. Invited speakers included Professor Yuan Xie from HKUST, Professor Zhiquan Luo from CUHK (SZ), Dr Zheng Zhang from Amazon Web Services Shanghai AI Lab, Dr Tieyan Liu from Microsoft Research Asia, Mr Duncan Chiu from the HKSAR Legislative Council, Mr Wensheng Cai who was the Founder of Meituxiuxiu, Ms Winnie Han from HKEX, and many more.

With the success of the Forum, HKU IDS drew open the prominent ATP Programme which will render valuable opportunities to ATFP Fellows to combine their expertise and wisdom from industry and enterprises, with domain knowledge acquired from the esteemed instructors under the Programme. Let’s all look forward to this rewardingly exciting journey!