HKUST received a gold medal with its UAV first-responder system "AeroRelief" at the 51st Geneva Inventions Expo. The system makes good use of AI analysis and automatic planning to quickly deliver supplies such as AEDs and address "blind spots" in suburban areas, which will improve the rescuing capacity in emergency response in severe weather in the future. Jimmy HU, BSc in Innovation, Design and Technology (IDT) graduate, explained how the system ran on a radio program.

HKUST and Goldwind Science & Technology entered into a strategic partnership on Apr 20, 2026, announcing plans to promote the deep integration of "AI meteorology + new energy". The collaboration will focus on industry issues such as numerical weather prediction, extreme weather warnings, and AI meteorological models. Prof. Alexis LAU, Head of Division of Environment and Sustainability (ENVR) and Director of Institute for the Environment (IENV), signed the MoU on behalf of HKUST.

A study by MMLab@HKUST, which led by Prof. RAO Anyi, Assistant Professor in the Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC), has uncovered the phenomenon of pseudo-unification in AI models, revealing that text and image generation remains unintegrated. It has developed a new tool for analyzing and improving the integration capabilities of mainstream multimodal models.

In an article on whether AI makes or breaks the film industry, it was mentioned that the first 100% AI-focused film festival in Greater China was curated by Prof. RAO Anyi, Assistant Professor in the Division of Arts and Machine Creativity (AMC). During a media interview, Prof. Rao noted that controlling the spatial and temporal consistency is one of the key challenges in the video generation process.

In a column article, Prof. Erwin HUANG, Adjunct Professor in the Division of Integrative Systems and Design (ISD), challenged the traditional "linear logic" of Hong Kong’s education and career planning – focusing on stable professions like finance or medicine – arguing that this model is becoming obsolete in the face of rapid global change.

A column article by Prof. Christine LOH Kung-Wai, Chief Development Strategist in the Division of Environment and Sustainability (ENVR), on the necessity for HK to evolve from a traditional, "siloed" administrative model to a mission-oriented governance as the city is preparing its first five-year plan. To succeed in a complex global environment, Prof. Loh noted that the government needs to act as a transforming systems architect rather than just a regulator.

In an article on HK's baby bonus scheme, Prof. Stuart GIETEL-BASTEN, Professor in the Division of Public Policy (PPOL), was quoted as saying that the scheme should be maintained with its rationale reframed. He suggested that the Government should pitch the subsidy as a means of easing the burden of raising a child, rather than resolving the shrinking population problem.

Facts and Policies held by Our HK Foundation and HKU Research Hub of Population Studies on Apr 14, 2026, where Prof. Stuart GIETEL-BASTEN, Professor in the Division of Public Policy (PPOL), pointed out that the low birth rate reflects the work-life imbalance. He noted that a thorough social restructuring is required to completely address the issue.

An article by Prof. Erwin HUANG, Adjunct Professor in the Division of Integrative Systems and Design (ISD), on the development of AI education. He explored the intersection of the Japanese concept of Ikigai (reason for being), modern education, and Artificial Intelligence, questioning whether technology can truly understand human happiness if we do not understand it ourselves.

Associate Provost (Teaching & Learning) and Chair Professor in the Division of Environment and Sustainability (ENVR) Prof. Jimmy FUNG Chi-Hung, who is also an alumnus of Pui Kiu Middle School, along with other guests, was invited to attend "Xiangjiang Nobel Forum - dialogue with scientists" at the school yesterday. Three top scholars were invited to the forum as keynote speakers: Nobel Prize winner in Physics Prof. Konstantin NOVOSELOV, Nobel Prize winner in Medicine Prof. Harvey ALTER and Turing Award winner Prof. Avi WIGDERSON.