News & Stories

In your daily communications with colleagues, friends, family members, or even strangers, do you ever find it challenging to interpret their unspoken thoughts? For cognitive scientists, there are observable clues that can help decode people’s minds and behaviors—clues that even the individuals themselves may be unaware of. Professor Janet HSIAO, a new Professor at the School of Humanities and Social Science under the prestigious “30 for 30” talent acquisition campaign, is one such scientist uncovering the keys to “reading” minds.“Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary discipline that blends expertise from diverse academic areas, such as artificial intelligence (AI), neuroscience, psychology and linguistics, allowing us to decode people’s minds from various perspectives,” she explained with passion. A computer scientist’s journey into psychology

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) have signed a collaborative framework agreement to drive innovation in meteorological science and education. By leveraging the complementary strengths of CMA and HKUST, the collaboration aims to enhance early warning systems, strengthen disaster preparedness, and build climate-resilient communities, underscoring the shared commitment of both institutions to tackle global climate challenges and support the initiatives of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 

The Inaugural International Forum on Interdisciplinary Education (the Forum), organized by the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS) of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), was successfully held on November 16, 2024 on the Clear Water Bay campus. The Forum brought together university leaders from around the globe to exchange innovative practices in interdisciplinary education and foster collaboration across diverse fields of study. 

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) warmly welcomed H.E. Shaikh SAOUD ALI AL MUALLA, the Consul General of the UAE in Hong Kong, to a cultural event celebrating the 53rd Eid Al Etihad (also known as the UAE Union Day) on November 28 at the HKUST campus.  Organized by the university's Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions Office in collaboration with the UAE student community and generously supported by the Consulate General of the UAE in Hong Kong, the event showcased traditional Emirati costumes, authentic dishes, and a photo exhibition featuring the iconic monuments of the UAE, bringing the spirit of the Emirati culture to the HKUST campus.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) recently shared its education innovation insights at the Times Higher Education (THE) Campus Live SE Asia forum held in Malaysia from November 26-27, 2024. Representing HKUST, Dr. Sean MCMINN attended the event which convened over 300 leaders in higher education, industry partners and policy experts from across Southeast Asia. The event explored innovative ways to remodel university systems to ensure a resilient future for individuals, institutions and wider society.

A collaborative research team led by Prof. Ding PAN, Associate Professor from the Department of Physics and the Department of Chemistry at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has made significant progress in studying the abiotic synthesis and stability of biomolecules in C-H-O-N fluids under deep Earth conditions. This research offers new insights into potential locations for the origin of life. The findings have been published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society*.

Faculty members of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) community represented the university at the Dubai Future Forum, hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) on November 19-20. Known as the world’s largest gathering of futurists, the event brought together scientists and experts from over 100 countries to forecast critical trends and address global challenges. Prof. Janet HSIAO from HKUST’s Division of Social Science took the stage on the panel “Towards Symbiosis: How is Our Relationship with Algorithmic Life-Forms Evolving?” where she shares insights on AI's impact on human cognition, the comparability of human and AI intelligence over time, and the importance of governance.

Following the successful development of InvestLM — Hong Kong's first open-source large language model (LLM) for financial generative AI (GenAI) applications, the School of Business and Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST Business School) has just launched the InvestLM Generative AI Platform, which will be opened for free registration to the financial services industry in phases. The platform is capable of handling finance-related GenAI tasks and generating human-like responses comparable to those of well-known general-purpose chatbots.