BRIDGING KNOWLEDGE & PRACTICE
THROUGH OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT
HKU IDS Opens AI Agent Learning to the Wider Community
IDS Summer Workshop 2026: From Curiosity to Hands-on Learning
HKU IDS took a first step in opening AI agent learning to the wider community with IDS Summer Workshop 2026, held at HKU on 19–21 August. Led by IDS Member Prof Chao HUANG, the workshop brought together students, researchers, academics, and professionals.
Learners started with what large language models can and cannot do before trying AI agents for themselves. The aim was to help them choose useful applications, question the results and avoid common mistakes. This experience will help shape future workshops for professional and institutional audiences.
From social work and education to finance and transport, participants explored where an agent might help—and where human judgement still matters.
“Prof Huang’s team significantly enhanced my AI literacy and guided me on the proper route to explore the use of AI in social work.”
Dr Esther MUI
Registered Social Worker & Applied Researcher
Best Presenter Award recipient, IDS Summer Workshop 2026
HKU IDS will build on this start with more AI learning opportunities for professional and institutional audiences. Stay tuned!
Learning with Emerging AI Talent
IDS Student Xubin REN participated in the course as the student assistant. His research, which spans large language models and AI agents, has been selected for the 2025 AI25 “AI Innovation Pioneers Under 25” list. The award, jointly initiated by Sequoia China and MIT Technology Review China, recognizes young researchers, engineers, open-source contributors, and entrepreneurs contributing to the development and application of artificial intelligence.
From Summer Researchers to HKUPS Awardees
HKU IDS Continues to Cultivate the Next Generation of Interdisciplinary Research Leaders
HKU IDS has been a strong supporter of the Graduate School’s Summer Research Programme (SRP), providing outstanding undergraduate students with immersive research experiences under the mentorship of IDS Members and other scholars. In 2026, six students from leading universities, including Tsinghua University, University College London, and New York University, joined HKU IDS to undertake 10-week research projects across disciplines ranging from computing and electrical engineering to pharmacology and systems engineering.
To enrich their experience, HKU IDS organised a dedicated discipline-specific workshop featuring Prof Jianjun SHI of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Two students subsequently received conditional offers for the HKU Presidential PhD Scholarship (HKUPS).
Over the past four years, HKU IDS has hosted 20 SRP students, with eight receiving HKUPS conditional offers and three recognised as Best Poster Presenters.
Besides academic exchange, our SRP students found the learning experience highly fruitful and memorable. Throughout their training at HKU IDS, they benefited from a supportive working environment and developed meaningful friendships with fellow participants, making the programme both academically enriching and personally rewarding.
HKU IDS Co-organises
Beijing–Shanghai–Hong Kong AI Forum 2026
The Forum brought researchers, students and industry representatives to Tsinghua University on 10–11 October. Co-organised by Tsinghua’s College of AI and HKU IDS, its main forum and seven parallel sessions covered foundation models, AI agents and safety, AI for mathematics, and embodied intelligence. IDS Members contributed as organisers, speakers, and session chairs. The exchanges connected theoretical advances with practical challenges and industry applications, strengthening links across institutions and disciplines.
Bridging Academia and Industry
HKU IDS Launches the Third Cohort of ATFP
Launched by HKU IDS in 2024, the Advanced Technology Fellowship Programme (ATFP) connects academic expertise in data science and emerging technologies with industry needs. The programme helps participants translate new knowledge into business strategies while fostering collaboration between academia and industry.
The third cohort commenced in September 2026 at HKU, featuring distinguished speakers from academia and industry, including renowned scholars and business leaders. Since its inception, ATFP has contributed to the establishment of three joint laboratories under the School of Computing and Data Science in 2026, demonstrating its growing impact in promoting innovation and industry-academia partnerships.
RESEARCH NEWS
IDS PhD Candidate Xubin REN
Receives HKU Foundation PhD Award
Receives HKU Foundation PhD Award
IDS Year 3 Phd Student Xubin REN under the supervision of Professor Chao HUANG, received the HKU Foundation First Year Excellent PhD Award 2025/26. Watch the award video to hear his supervisor and the HKU IDS Director reflect on his research journey.
IDS PhD Student Jiahang CAO
Wins Tencent Hunyuan Scholarship
IDS Year 1 Phd Student Jiahang CAO studies robot learning, deep generative models and models inspired by human cognition, exploring how machines perceive, understand language and make decisions. He is one of three HKU awardees and one of 44 doctoral students selected from 329 applications nationwide wins this Tencent Hunyuan Scholarship of RMB 100,000. CAO is supervised by Professor Andrew Luo, IDS member and Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology.
HKU IDS Teams Win Awards at
CVPR & ICML Workshops
Teams led by IDS Members, working with IDS Students and collaborators, earned recognition at CVPR and ICML workshops. CodePlot-CoT uses code-generated images to support mathematical reasoning, while the physics-informed diffusion study incorporates physical constraints into generative modelling. These honours reflect the breadth of research and student contributions across the IDS community.
HKU IDS-Supported Research on AI Infrastructure Featured in Fortune
Visiting researcher Nikola ILOVSKI joined HKU IDS through its IDEAS initiative to study AI infrastructure with Prof Boris BABIC, Associate Director of IDS/IDEAS. Their work contributed to a Fortune commentary on ASEAN’s choices amid US–China AI competition. Supported by HKU IDS, the collaboration brought an international affairs perspective into interdisciplinary AI research.
Around HKU IDS
A Touch of Green at HKU IDS
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A little greenery can go a long way. At HKU IDS, we have been adding more plants around the office to create a brighter, calmer, and more welcoming environment for staff, students, and visitors. From the elegant Gold-edged Snake Plant (金邊虎尾蘭) and colourful Dragon Tree (龍血樹) to the lush Split-leaf Philodendron (春羽), Monstera (龜背竹), Fiddle-leaf Fig (琴葉榕), and White Bird-of-Paradise (白鳥蕉), each plant brings its own charm to our open office.
Beyond adding a touch of nature, these leafy companions help create a relaxing atmosphere for work, conversation, and new ideas. As green offices become an increasingly popular workplace trend, studies suggest that incorporating plants can help reduce stress, improve focus, and even boost productivity.
The next time you visit HKU IDS, take a moment to enjoy our growing collection of greenery. We hope these plants make you feel as refreshed and inspired as they do for us every day.
Spotted the New Lift and Footbridge?
Route Map
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Route Map
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Getting to HKU IDS at Graduate House: MTR Exit A2 to IDS Office P307
Wondering where the new pathway leads? As Tech Landmark takes shape, the lift and footbridge offer an easier way to HKU IDS at Graduate House—for your next talk, visit, or conversation.
More Favourite Finds,
Now on the Shelves
Another batch of HKU IDS take-homes has arrived.
Panda cushions, tote bags, T-shirts, fans, charging stands, and stationery bring more of our community into everyday life.
Explore the latest collection at the HKU Visitor Centre and online!
Join the Next HKU IDS Seminar
The talk will revisit two recent directions in computer vision: understanding and improving artifacts in pretrained Vision Transformers, and using reinforcement learning to enable more precise and reliable image editing.
New Appointment at HKU IDS
Professor Yizhou YU has been appointed Associate Director of HKU IDS.
His research spans AI and visual computing. He is an IEEE Fellow and ACM Distinguished Member.
A New Chapter for HKU IDS
As HKU advances its University-wide AI Hub initiative, HKU IDS is being repositioned as a key component of this strategic endeavour. As part of this transition, a restructuring exercise was undertaken in 2026, during which IDS HKU100 Scholars and their postgraduate students were transferred to their new home units to continue their research and studies.
Looking ahead, HKU IDS will launch a range of new initiatives under the AI Hub framework, including building new X+AI centres, a new membership scheme, jointly funded seminars and workshops with members’ Faculties, and expanded funding opportunities to foster interdisciplinary research, innovation, and collaboration in data science and related disciplines. Through these initiatives, HKU IDS aims to serve as a platform that brings together researchers from diverse disciplines to address complex challenges and create impactful solutions.
We warmly welcome new ideas, suggestions, and opportunities for collaboration. We encourage you to connect with us at datascience@hku.hk.