Digital Education Week 2025 Launched in Hong Kong to Champion EdTech

• EDB and EdCity launch first 'Digital Education Week 2025', unveiling $500M-worth of e-learning projects and promoting AI integration in Hong Kong schools.
• New initiatives include AI-powered teaching tools, international summits, and EdTech collaborations, aiming to raise digital literacy and teacher capacity.
• Strategic partnerships and expo events spotlight Hong Kong’s ambition to lead in innovative education and nurture future I&T talent for national development.

The inaugural ceremony of the first 'Digital Education Week 2025' was held at Central Government Offices with the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Education City Limited (EdCity), Mr Armstrong Lee Hon-cheung, etc to preside over and open the annual grand event of education lasting one week. The Education Bureau (EDB) added that the first batch of deliverables comprising the three projects of the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme supported by an allocation of $500 million under the Quality Education Fund (QEF) are published today. The EdCity also inked co-operation agreements with a technology company and two local professional bodies in technology as witnessed by Dr Choi, again advancing local development in digital education.

Honorary guests of the launching ceremony are Dr Choi, First-level Inspector of Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Permanent Secretary for Education Mr Liu Maozhou, Under Secretary for Education Ms Michelle Li, Deputy Secretary for Education Dr Sze Chun-fai, Deputy Secretary for Education Dr Gloria Chan, Chairperson of Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) Mr Armstrong Lee Hon-cheung, Founder and Honorary President of the Smart City Consortium and chairwoman of the Steering Committee Dr Anissa Chan Wong Lai-kuen, Hon Elizabeth Quat and Chairman of the QEF Steering Committee Mr Dieter Yih Lai-tak, witnessing an important milestone of Hong Kong's digital education development together.

To align with the overall national development of digital education and to cultivate talents for the innovation and technology (I&T) industry, the Chief Executive announced the establishment of the Steering Committee on Strategic Development of Digital Education in the 2024 Policy Address. The Committee has pinned down four principal focuses and strategic directions, i.e., to promote students' digital literacy and capabilities, to enhance professional education in digital education of teachers, to streamline digital education ancillary infrastructure, and to reinforce ties among local, Mainland and international innovation and technology institutions, tertiary institutions, and related industries to improve skills and advocate high-quality development of digital education.

The EDB has introduced a series of activities that include organizing several engagement sessions with stakeholders in order to explore opinions about the development of digital education in the schools of Hong Kong. The members of the Committee have visited schools to learn about the latest progress of the development and implementation of digital education in schools.

Speaking at the Digital Education Week kick-off ceremony, Dr Choi stated, "the inaugural Digital Education Week has a broad array of enriching programmes, including Learning & Teaching Expo 2025, the annual flagship event of the education sector, as well as International Summit on the Use of AI in Learning and Teaching Languages and Other Subjects and Post-Summit Workshop Series. Such functions allow teachers to keep up with the latest trends in I&T and digital education, enhance professional exchange and promote the effectiveness of learning and teaching. As a close ally of the EDB, the EdCity is intensifying its full efforts in boosting digital education and continues to ride on its strengths to promote the application and education of AI and computational thinking, and boosting students' digital literacy and proficiency". Dr Choi anticipated collaborating with the community to extend further the full integration of I&T and developing more I&T talent in order to contribute to making Hong Kong a leading country in education and a science and technology strong nation.

The Learning & Teaching Expo 2025 will integrate world-class educational technology resources, establish close to 600 booths, and deliver over 270 keynote speeches, seminars and public demonstration classes to comprehensively demonstrate the best teaching solutions and technological trends. Although the International Summit on AIinLT will bring education specialists from home and overseas together to share ideas about the practical application of AI in all fields through 100 paper presentations, teaching demonstrations and 11 in-depth workshops to facilitate teachers and students to become more AI literate.

Mr Lee stated, "The Digital Education Week is not an event, it is an important milestone in building the future of Hong Kong's education. As a government wholly owned organisation, the EdCity has been dedicated to advancing information technology education in Hong Kong, offering an interactive learning environment for teachers, students and parents, and providing diversified resources and support to enrich teaching effectiveness, enhance holistic development and lifelong learning.  This year's expo has also newly introduced a Mainland China Zone, an International Pavilion and an I&T Exchange Circle. The EdCity has the hope to further extend the AI education ecosystem to Mainland China and abroad, bringing the most innovative and effective innovative education solutions and products around the world to the Hong Kong education sector, and elevating the quality of learning and teaching".

During the event, the EDB declared that the first set of three deliverables under the e-Learning Ancillary Facilities Programme supported by a provision of $500 million in the QEF are introduced today officially. The project deliverables will also be displayed at the Learning & Teaching Expo 2025 to enable teachers and students to experience them. The program offers 22 new e-learning solutions for primary and secondary, kindergarten and special education students in Hong Kong, of which 18 are with AI technology. Three of the project leaders introduced the guests to the functions and visions of the projects.

Dr Anissa Chan said, "Teachers and schools have a crucial role to play in leading students to master and make use of new technologies in a systematic and proper way, and not be controlled by them. Thus, while adopting innovative technologies, the education sector should be empowered with the ability to harness AI too.

The first International Summit on the Use of AI in Learning and Teaching Languages and Other Subjects & Post-Summit Workshop Series, co-organised by the EDB, SCOLAR, EdCity, and the Department of English and Communication of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, seeks to provide a valuable platform for teachers, researchers and others in the education sector to learn from one another and to impart their own views on the application of AI in the education sector".

Furthermore, under the observation of Dr Choi and Mr Lee, EdCity's Executive Director Dr Tenny Lam signed cooperation agreements with the Association of I.T. Leaders in Education (AiTLE), Hong Kong Qianfan Technology and the Hong Kong Association for Computer Education (HKACE) respectively to further propel Hong Kong's digital education development.

The EDB commended the HKACE and the AiTLE for their efforts in building digital education over the years, and also extended gratitude to Hong Kong Qianfan Technology and the EdCity for their joint efforts to promote pioneering projects to facilitate digital education, with a vision to bringing innovative technologies into the academic world and assisting in the digital transformation of education.