Over 30 Staff Members Recognised for Practical AI Applications at Work

The University of Hong Kong held its AI Recognition Ceremony 2026 on October 21, presenting Visionary Awards to 33 staff members for their thoughtful and practical applications of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

Professor Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU, presented the awards and described the recipients as pioneers in the University's broader AI journey. "You are going to be the seed for the future of AI administration of this university," Professor Zhang told the awardees. "We want you to continue, not only on your own desk doing AI, but also tell your other colleagues how you use this, and inspire them."

The awardees represented a broad cross-section of the HKU community, spanning academic, research, technical, IT, professional, and administrative roles across multiple faculties and central units.

They were selected following the AI Innovation Challenge Day in March 2026, where over 300 colleagues applied AI tools to workplace challenges involving communications, data handling, workflow planning, and visual content creation. The Challenge Day is part of AI for Work @HKU, the University's multi-year workplace AI learning initiative, which has involved over 1,200 staff in the past 12 months.

Mr Paul Choi, Director of Human Resources, said the programme's next phase would focus on translating knowledge into practice. “Last year, this program helped our colleagues understand AI and build their confidence. In the coming year, our goal is to help colleagues put that knowledge into practice.”