HONG KONG, Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science at Lingnan University, and Prof Zeng Rong, Executive Vice President of Tsinghua University, signed an inter-university Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 10 November, during a delegation visit to Lingnan University led by Prof Zeng. The two universities will strengthen practical collaboration in areas including student and staff exchanges, research collaboration and talent development, with a shared commitment to advancing the integration of education and technology through "AI +" and nurturing innovative talent.

Prof Qin warmly welcomed Prof Zeng and his delegation. He noted that Lingnan University and Tsinghua University had maintained friendly relations over the years and had established substantive collaborations in various areas in recent years. Prof Qin also outlined Lingnan University's latest developments and achievements, noting that the University had been actively advancing its "Liberal Arts Education + Technological Innovation" and "AI+" strategies, while achieving steady improvements in various international rankings over the past year.

Prof Zeng thanked Lingnan University for its warm hospitality and introduced Tsinghua University's research progress and international development plans. He expressed the hope of further strengthening collaboration between the two universities in the future.

During the meeting, both parties reviewed their existing collaborative foundations, including the successful co-organisation by Lingnan University and Tsinghua University's Xinya College of the inaugural LUXY Lab during this summer's holiday, as well as collaborations between Lingnan University's Faculty of Business and Tsinghua University's School of Social Sciences and Academy of Arts and Design. They also explored potential collaboration in areas such as "AI for Education", "AI for Materials" and interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence.

In addition, President S. Joe Qin was invited to the opening ceremony of the 2026 Beijing Forum and a thematic forum on digital intelligence education in Beijing from 6 to 7 November, where he took part in discussions on innovative developments in higher education in the era of digital intelligence, further expanding higher education opportunities for collaboration between Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR.

During the forum, President Qin signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of Lingnan University with the Digital Intelligence International Development Education Alliance (DI-IDEA). The two signatories will look into establishing the "Lingnan?DI?IDEA Joint Centre cum DI-IDEA Asia Pacific Centre" (provisional title), and discuss setting it up in the Northern Metropolis University Town in the Hong Kong SAR at an appropriate time, focusing on key areas such as collaborative innovation in industry, academia, and research, and the application of educational technology research and development outcomes, with a view to fostering practical cooperation.

President Qin was also invited to speak at a university presidents' roundtable panel discussion, where his presentation was entitled "Exploring Four Dimensions of the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Higher Education". He then joined university leaders from the Hong Kong SAR and overseas, including the London School of Economics and Political Science, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the University of Strathclyde, and Taejae University, for in-depth discussions on the evolving value of university education and the choices facing higher education institutions in the age of AI. Initiated by Peking University, the DI-IDEA brings together more than 30 higher education institutions worldwide and is committed to jointly exploring pathways for innovation and transformation in higher education in the era of digital intelligence. Lingnan University is a founding member of the Alliance.

Lingnan and Peking Universities have a close and longstanding partnership. For the three years since 2024, Lingnan and Yuanpei College of Peking University have jointly organised the Lingnan-Yuanpei STEM Summer Academy, establishing a solid foundation for partnership, and they are now advancing mutual initiatives in innovation and entrepreneurship education and shared talent development, and actively promoting projects in the Northern Metropolis University Town.

During his visit, President Qin and his delegation also visited Beijing Normal University, where they received a warm welcome from Prof Cheng Jianping, Secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing Normal University. President Qin pointed out that Lingnan University, a pioneer in Liberal Arts Education + AI, has adopted a bottom-up approach to transformation and is at the forefront of AI transformation among universities worldwide. The two universities discussed collaboration in AI for Education, as well as in their capacity as rotating chair institutions of the Beijing-Hong Kong University Alliance (BHUA), the BHUA's ongoing work and collaboration on joint education programmes.

In addition, Prof George Chan Chi-yu, Assistant Professor of Practice of the Department of Language Industry and Technology at Lingnan University (formerly the Department of Translation) won the Silver Award in the "AI for Teaching and Learning ¡V AI-Enhanced Teaching Innovation" category at the 3rd Global Digital Intelligence Education Innovation Competition for his innovative project "TransLab: Developing a Closed-Loop Teaching Model for AI-Empowered Translation Learning and Assessment", and attended the award presentation ceremony on 8 November. Two other projects from Lingnan University were also awarded the Winning Prize.

Lingnan University is accelerating strategic transformation through its "Liberal Arts + Technology" and "AI +" initiatives, while embracing the historic opportunities arising from the development of the Northern Metropolis University Town. The University's development priorities are closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through close liaison with partners in the Chinese Mainland and worldwide, it will strive to advance "Quality Education" (SDG 4), promote "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure" (SDG 9), and continue to strengthen "Partnerships for the Goals" (SDG 17), while deepening educational collaboration between Beijing and the Hong Kong SAR, expanding partnerships with institutions in the Chinese Mainland and around the world, and contributing to the Hong Kong SAR's development as an international post-secondary education hub.