10% OFF Early Bird Discount before July 10, 2026!
10% OFF Early Bird Discount before July 10, 2026!
Workshop Description
HKU Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science (HKU IDS) proudly hosts IDS Summer Workshop 2026 – Build the Brains Behind the Bots – AI Agents: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions, which will be held from 19–21 August 2026.
This three-day workshop introduces students to the rapidly evolving fields of Large Language Models and AI agents. Participants will first build a foundation in how LLMs are designed, trained, and evaluated, and what they can and cannot do. The workshop will then explore AI agent architectures, including planning, reasoning, memory, and multi-agent collaboration. Through lectures, discussions, and capstone project activities, students will learn to understand, design, and critically assess AI agent systems for research, industry, and real-world problem solving.
Key Information
🗓️ Dates
19–21 August 2026
🏫 Venue
IDS Seminar Room
P603, Graduate House, HKU
🧑 Target participants
- Undergraduate / postgraduate students
- All AI-curious learners
📋 Prerequisites
Basic Computer Science or AI knowledge will be a plus
💬 Language
English
🎖️ Certificate
Certificate of attendance will be issued to participants who complete the workshop
🎭 Areas of Interest
#LLMs | #AIAgents | #PlanningandReasoning |
#ToolUseandMemory | #MultiAgentSystems | #RealWorldApplications |
#LLMs
#AIAgents
#PlanningandReasoning
#ToolUseandMemory
#MultiAgentSystems
#RealWorldApplications
Workshop Objectives
-
Learn the Foundations
Understand the fundamentals of Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI agent architectures. -
Explore How AI Agents Think
Gain insight into how AI agents are built with planning, reasoning, memory, and coordination capabilities. -
See Real-World Impact
Discover practical applications of AI agents and the latest breakthroughs shaping the field. -
Understand Multi-Agent Systems
Learn how multiple AI agents can work together to solve complex real-world problems. -
Know What AI Agents Can and Cannot Do
Explore what AI agents can do, cannot do, and where key challenges remain. -
Think Critically About the Future of AI Agent Technologies
Assess the opportunities, limitations, and future directions of AI agent technologies.
Workshop Instructor
Prof Chao HUANG
Assistant Professor
HKU Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science and
Department of Computer Science, School of Computing and Data Science, HKU
Professor Chao Huang is an Assistant Professor and PhD supervisor at the Institute of Data Science and School of Computing and Data Science, HKU. His research focuses on Large Language Models (LLMs), AI agents, and Graph Machine Learning, with over 14,000 citations on Google Scholar. Professor Huang leads the Data Intelligence Lab at HKU, specializing in AI open-source technology research. The team has launched projects including LightRAG, RAG-Anything, DeepCode, AutoAgent, AI-Researcher, AI-Trader, MiniRAG, and VideoRAG, accumulating over 77,000 GitHub stars and ranking in the global Top-200, making it to GitHub Trending 59 times. Due to his open-source contributions, Professor Huang received the “Bright Star” award at WAIC 2024, the “2024 Frontier Science Award in Theoretical Computer Science and Information Science (ICBS)” and was selected for “2025 AI100 Young Pioneers” and “2025 Global AI 2000 Most Influential Scholars.” His research has been recognized among the most influential works at KDD, WWW, and SIGIR conferences, with best paper nomination awards at ACM MM 2024, WSDM 2022, and WWW 2019.
More information about Prof Huang can be found at https://datascience.hku.hk/people/chao-huang/
Workshop Fee
Workshop fee: HK$9,800
10% discount will be available for:
- Early Birds enrolments on or before 10 July 2026
- Previous IDS Summer Institute participants (limited quota)
A handling charge of HK$150 applies to all successful applicants.
Day-by-Day Breakdown
| Day 1 | Foundations of Large Language Models (LLMs) |
|---|---|
|
|
Core architecture and training principles |
|
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Capabilities and limitations of current LLMs |
|
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Emerging trends and developments in language modeling |
|
|
Social event |
| Day 2 | Foundations of AI Agents |
|---|---|
|
|
Agent design principles and architectural frameworks |
|
|
Planning and reasoning capabilities |
|
|
Memory systems and context management |
|
|
Multi-agent coordination and collaboration |
| Day 3 | Applications and Capstone |
|---|---|
|
|
Real-world applications |
|
|
Future research directions and open challenges |
|
|
Capstone project presentations and discussions |
How to Apply
Please complete the application form. Payment instructions will be issued via email to eligible applicants within five working days after IDS has reviewed the submitted applications.
Deadlines
Early-bird discount deadline: 10 July 2026, 23:59 HKT
Application deadline: 10 August 2026, 23:59 HKT
Disclaimer
Programme contents and formats are subject to change. The programme is subject to cancellation if there are insufficient applications.
Remarks
Discount Verification
Refund Policy
Attendance Requirement
Self-arranged Accommodation
Travel and Medical Insurance
Discount Verification
The 10% discount applies to the workshop fee only and cannot be combined with other discounts.
The early bird discount is only available to applications made on or before 10 July 2026.
The discount for previous HKU IDS Summer Institute participants is subject to verification and quota.
Refund Policy
Both the tuition fee and handling charge are non-refundable in any case.
Attendance Requirement
A certificate of attendance may be issued to participants who attend at least 80% of the workshop, subject to final confirmation by HKU IDS.
Participants should inform HKU IDS in advance if they expect to be absent from any session. Unapproved absence or repeated lateness may affect certificate eligibility.
HKU IDS reserves the right to make the final decision on certificate issuance.
Self-arranged Accommodation
Accommodation will not be provided by HKU IDS. Participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodation during the workshop period.
For reference, participants may refer to the accommodation reference provided by IDS. The information is for reference only. Participants should make their own enquiries and booking arrangements directly with the accommodation providers.
Travel and Medical Insurance
All students need to have valid travel and medical insurance as a mandatory condition for participation in our programmes. We strongly recommend that students secure their insurance policies well in advance of their departure to ensure continuous coverage.
Enquiry
- idatasci@hku.hk
- 39102324