HKU partners with tech giants to offer AI labs at expanded Shanghai campus

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has entered into partnerships with leading technology companies to establish AI laboratories at its newly expanded Shanghai campus. The campus, situated in Zhangjiang Science City, currently houses over 300 students for the new academic term. HKU anticipates further growth when its medicine and engineering programs commence at this location next year.

In a recent ceremony, HKU president Xiang Zhang emphasized the campus's strategic focus on AI and frontier technologies, highlighting Shanghai's strengths in innovation and industry. The new campus addition spans over 30,000 square meters and includes two newly inaugurated buildings. The university has signed memorandums of understanding with 17 Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies, including Unitree Robotics, BrainCo, and AgiBot, to jointly develop AI and fintech labs on-site.

Professor Ma Yi, director of HKU's computing and data science school, emphasized that the Shanghai campus would prioritize computing and AI, exploring areas such as robotics, engineering, and healthcare. He also noted the complementary nature of Hong Kong and Shanghai, with the latter boasting a robust technology industry and a thriving ecosystem covering the Yangtze River Delta and the entire country.

With more than 1,000 students already enrolled, the Shanghai campus offers students the opportunity to participate in internships and engage in frontier technology without leaving campus. HKU students can spend a semester in Shanghai and complete the remaining two and a half years in Hong Kong, alternating between the two campuses for their studies and internships.

Among the students at the new campus, Marcus Law, a computer science major, chose HKU's Shanghai program to benefit from the university's location in Zhangjiang Science City and gain access to the mainland's technology ecosystem. He expressed interest in bioinformatics and the city's greater investment in AI compared to Hong Kong.

Tunige Tuerxunbieke, a Kazakh master's student, chose HKU due to uncertainties surrounding AI program admissions in mainland universities and the university's support for student innovation. She hopes to work in Hong Kong and eventually launch her own AI-focused start-up.