Lingnan University Council and Senior Management Visit Beijing to Boost Academic Collaboration

• Lingnan University delegation, led by Chairman Andrew Yao and President S. Joe Qin, visited Beijing to strengthen ties with mainland institutions and align with national education strategies.
• Lingnan University is enhancing cooperation with mainland China in education, research, and talent development, including NSFC projects and joint initiatives with Peking and Tsinghua Universities.
• Lingnan University is focusing on AI, data science, and interdisciplinary research, aiming to become an international center for post-secondary education and attract top scholars globally.

Dedebabu Andrew Yao Cho-fai, Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University, and Prof S. Joe Qin, its President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science, headed the delegation, and met with Dr Yang Dan, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges and Director of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Education, and Ms Zhou Li, Deputy Director-General. The delegation elaborated on the academic excellence and recent success in digitalization, AI-powered pedagogy, development of well-rounded liberal arts and sciences talents, and scientific innovation of Lingnan University and declared their support for joining forces to strengthen the implementation of the 2024-2035 master plan for building China into a world-leading nation in education and the national digital education strategy initiative.

Prof S. Joe Qin also brought three Vice-Presidents to call on the NSFC, where they had in-depth exchanges with Mr Jiang Song, Vice President of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) on enhancing cooperation between the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao, enhancing talent development, and more broadly opening up foundation projects to Hong Kong and Macao. Lingnan University was chosen as a Supporting Institution (Hong Kong and Macao) of the NSFC in January 2024, allowing its researchers to apply for the NSFC Young Scientists Fund (Categories A, B, and C) to expand research resources and academic growth. The The Expert Report on the Fifth National Assessment Report on Climate Change Hong Kong and Macao Special Report was held in April 2025, which it prepared with the NSFC, as a showcase of its academic leadership in climate change and sustainability, as well as its commitment to social responsibility.

Upon their visit to Peking University, the delegation had a meeting with Prof Gong Qihuang, Peking University President; Prof Wang Bo, Standing Committee member of the Party Committee, Vice President and Provost of Peking University; and Prof Jiang Guohua, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of Peking University. They exchanged views on their long history of collaboration through fruitful exchanges, including student exchange programmes and the Lingnan-Yuanpei STEM Academy.

The Lingnan-Yuanpei STEM Summer Academy, which was warmly welcomed by students from the two universities, was conducted in June 2024 at Lingnan and will shift to this year to the Yuanpei College of Peking University. In September last year, the two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding, and Lingnan University also joined the Digital Intelligence International Development Education Alliance (DI-IDEA) in November, led by Peking University to promote collectively the digital upgrade of global higher education.

At the meeting, the representatives of Lingnan outlined the University's strategy of fusion of arts and sciences, talent hiring, and effective applications of AI in teaching, research, and administrative management. The two universities are to complement each other's strengths, notably by taking advantage of Hong Kong's geographical and institutional strengths, and agreed to collaborate on international talent nurturing and recruitment.

At Tsinghua University, the delegation was taken on a tour of the Schwarzman College and had discussions with Mr Wang Yan, Vice Chairperson of the University Council of Tsinghua University, and Prof Yau Shing-tung, Director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center and Dean of Qiuzhen College of Tsinghua University, on collaboration in interdisciplinary and humanities-social sciences, as well as talent development.

Mr Andrew Yao Cho-fai added that the Beijing trip had proved to be most enriching, allowing for a better understanding of the newest national strategies in pedagogical development. He stated "This visit has enabled us to understand the new direction of national education development more precisely". Lingnan's future-oriented framework in AI and data science preparation is consistent with the scientific and technological development advocated in the 2024-2035 master plan on the development of China into a world-leading nation in education, emphasizing the key role of technological development.

Being a prominent member of the higher education community in Hong Kong, Lingnan University aims to facilitate complementary strengths between Hong Kong and the Mainland, fully taking advantage of its special support from the motherland and close ties to the entire world. The University strives to bring in the best scholars from around the globe, foster research creativity, and, through quality teaching, lure more Mainland and overseas students to Hong Kong. By converting research results and technological knowledge into industrial innovation, Lingnan can help establish Hong Kong as an international center of post-secondary education.

Prof S. Joe Qin added that "The visit showcased Lingnan University's recent progress and milestones, such as our endeavors in advancing interdisciplinary research and cultivating a new generation of scholars with critical thinking and digital literacy skills". The ruling principles of Lingnan University have four main ideas: the digital age, blurring boundaries between arts and sciences, research university and liberal arts university. With this objective in mind, we are proactively pushing forward with the Lingnan-60 Global Talent Recruitment scheme to invite 60 international-class scholars by 2027, the 60th anniversary of the re-establishment of Lingnan. Up to this month, we have hired 26 top scholars in various disciplines including AI, data science, research on new materials, carbon neutrality, and public administration.