The 2026 International Academicians Hong Kong Forum Held in Hong Kong, Focusing on AI-Driven Innovation in Health and Higher Education

HONG KONG, April 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 International Academicians Hong Kong Forum, jointly organised by the International Alliance of Academicians (IAA) and the Hong Kong Association of Overseas-Returned Scholars (HKAORS), was successfully held in Hong Kong on April 14. As one of the major events of the Business of Innovation and Technology Week 2026, the Forum focused on two core themes: "Aging and Chronic Disease Management: Challenges and Innovations" and "AI and Innovation in Higher Education." It brought together more than 20 speakers, including Fields Medalist, Nobel Laureate, world-renowned academicians, leading scholars, university leaders, and experts from Hong Kong and around the globe. Through plenary lectures, a university president roundtable discussion, and two thematic forums, the event attracted more than 300 participants.

As a flagship event of the IAA, the Forum builds on the exchange foundation and platform effect established since its inaugural edition, further reinforcing its role as a high-level international academic exchange platform rooted in Hong Kong and connected to the world. By leveraging Hong Kong's advantage as a hub linking the Mainland and the international community, the Forum fostered in-depth dialogue among the academic, innovation and technology, and higher education sectors on frontier issues, while providing support for interdisciplinary and cross-regional research collaboration and the translation of outcomes.

Bringing Together Global Scientific Strength to Advance a New Chapter in AI and Innovation Collaboration

The opening ceremony featured a video address by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr John Lee. In-person remarks were delivered by Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, and Professor Nancy Ip, Founding Chair of the IAA and President of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Mr Lee stated in his remarks that, under "one country, two systems", Hong Kong enjoys both national and international advantages, and possesses an open and vibrant research environment, an intellectual property protection regime aligned with international standards, a highly internationalised business environment, as well as world-leading universities and talent resources, all of which provide a solid foundation for innovation and technology development. He noted that the National 15th Five-Year Plan clearly supports Hong Kong in building an international innovation and technology centre. Looking ahead, the HKSAR Government will continue to build a more vibrant innovation ecosystem and to work with the global academic and research community to further advance the development of innovation and technology.

In the welcome remarks of the IAA's Founding Chair, Professor Nancy Ip stressed that Hong Kong is well positioned to become an important node linking global scientific strength, and this is precisely the direction in which the IAA seeks to continue moving forward. She said the founding vision of the IAA is to promote cross-regional and cross-disciplinary collaboration, bring together global scientific strength, and jointly address the major challenges facing humanity today. She noted that with artificial intelligence reshaping healthcare, education and future urban development, the importance of promoting dialogue and collaboration across disciplines, sectors and regions has become even more evident.

Professor Sun Dong stated that the IAA, as an international academic organization rooted in Hong Kong, has made full use of the city's global connectivity and strong academic foundation to create an important platform for high-level academic exchange, technology transfer and innovation collaboration. He noted that this year's Forum focused on globally significant topics such as ageing population, chronic disease management, artificial intelligence and innovation in higher education, echoing the priorities of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint, and the HKSAR Government's policy agenda. Prof. Sun stated that leveraging Hong Kong's solid R&D capabilities and its unique positioning as a "super-connector" and "super value-adder", the city will continue to play a bridging role connecting the mainland and the international community, driving cross-sectoral and cross-regional innovation and technology collaboration to deeper levels.

Set against the advancement of the National 15th Five-Year Plan and Hong Kong's first Five-Year Development Plan, this year's Forum focused not only on the latest developments in AI applications in healthcare services, elderly health management, university teaching and learning, talent development and research collaboration, but also explored the two themes of "Ageing & Chronic Disease Management" and "AI in Education", discussing how Hong Kong can further strengthen international collaboration, support deep tech research and development, and accelerate the transformation of research outcomes under the drive of AI.

From Fundamental Research to Practical Application: Diverse Topics Address the Challenges of Health and Education in the Age of AI

This year's Forum featured plenary lectures, a university president roundtable discussion, and two thematic forums with accompanying roundtable sessions, addressing the shared challenges faced by health and higher education in the age of AI from the perspectives of fundamental research, research translation, educational innovation and population ageing.

Professor Wenwei Tu, President of HKAORS and Secretary General of IAA, as the session chair of the plenary lecture session, introduced the two heavyweight speakers and their achievements: Professor Shing-Tung Yau, Fields Medallist (1982) and Director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Centre at Tsinghua University; and Professor Arieh Warshel, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2013) and Distinguished Professor at Large and Director of Warshel Institute for Computational Biology, CUHK-Shenzhen.

Fields Medallist Professor Shing-Tung Yau has delivered a plenary lecture entitled "The Development of Modern Mathematics in China and Hong Kong SAR of China's Bid for the 2030 International Congress of Mathematicians". He emphasized that technological breakthroughs and sustainable development can only be achieved by laying a solid foundation in basic sciences—and mathematics is the most core and essential component of basic sciences. Prof. Yau demonstrated that the development of Chinese mathematics has made important achievements that is why we firmly believe that hosting ICM 2030 in Hong Kong SAR of China will not only showcase the progress of mathematics in China (including Hong Kong SAR of China) to the world, but also further boost China's mathematical community and enable greater contributions to global mathematics. Hong Kong remains one of the few fully open and truly global cities, backed by the Chinese mainland, we can steadily host top scientists worldwide and build Hong Kong into a world-leading academic hub.

"This was followed by a lecture by Professor Arieh Warshel, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, entitled "Combining the Insight from Physical Based Simulations and Al Analyses". Drawing on developments in biochemistry and artificial intelligence, he highlighted how interdisciplinary approaches can drive frontier research by combining physics-based simulations with artificial intelligence that is transforming our understanding of enzymes. Using maximum entropy models from sequence alignments to link evolutionary information to catalytic activity, the team has identified catalytic-active remote regions on enzyme surfaces, and applied these insights to enzyme engineering and drug resistance. Integrating biophysics with AI offers a powerful roadmap for engineering better enzymes and therapeutics.

The university president roundtable discussion, themed "The New Renaissance: Forging an Intelligent Future for Health and Education", was one of the Forum's focal sessions and was chaired by Professor Alexander Ping Kong Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of Hong Kong Baptist University. Representatives from Hong Kong's eight UGC-funded universities taking part in the discussion included Professor Yike Guo, Provost of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Professor Liwen Jiang, Pro-Vice-Chancellor / Vice-President (External Affairs) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Professor Chak Sing Lau, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health) and Dean of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong; Professor John Chi Kin Lee, President of The Education University of Hong Kong; Professor Anderson Ho Cheung Shum, Vice-President (Research) of City University of Hong Kong; Professor Alexander Ping Kong Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of Hong Kong Baptist University; Professor Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation) of Lingnan University; and Professor Ben Young, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The discussion focused on university governance, teaching innovation, research collaboration and talent development in the age of AI, while also exploring how Hong Kong can align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan and the city's first Five-Year Development Plan, deepen international collaboration, and accelerate the translation of research outcomes across the intersecting fields of AI, health and education.

The two thematic forums held in the afternoon further extended the Forum's discussion on artificial intelligence, health and education from macro-level policy and academic perspectives to specific research and application scenarios.

In the session "Ageing and Chronic Disease Management: Challenges and Innovations", Professor Chak Sing Lau, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health) and Dean of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong, gave the opening introduction and later chaired the roundtable discussion. Professor John T. O'Brien of the University of Cambridge spoke on "Inflammation and Cognitive Impairment", examining new advances in research on neurodegenerative diseases. Professor Hidenori Arai, President of Japan's National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, shared the latest practices in elderly healthcare in a presentation entitled "The Prevention and Treatment of Sarcopenia and Frailty in Older Adults with Diabetes". Professor Dae Hyun Kim of Harvard Medical School discussed "Reshaping Care for Ageing Populations through Technology Enablement", focusing on how to address the care challenges brought about by population ageing. Professor Wenming Wu, Vice President of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, spoke on pathways to long-term survival in pancreatic cancer from a clinical perspective. Dr Jacqueline Kwan Yuk Yuen, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, also joined the discussion, contributing observations from the perspectives of geriatric medicine and public health. The session showed that, in the face of population ageing and the growing burden of chronic disease, the value of AI and new technologies lies not only in improving diagnostic and management efficiency, but also in how closely they can be integrated with clinical practice, public health and elderly care systems.

The session "AI and Innovation in Higher Education" was co-chaired by Professor Peng Gong, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) of The University of Hong Kong, and Professor Yike Guo, Provost of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Professor Tieyan Liu, President of Zhongguancun Academy, spoke on "Talent Development in the Age of Artificial Intelligence", discussing how higher education should respond to a new wave of technological transformation and its impact on talent development models. Professor Dragan Gasevic, Distinguished Professor at Monash University, presented "From Hype to Evidence: Human Learning in the Age of Generative AI", focusing on the evidence base in learning analytics and education research. Professor Zheng Zhang of The University of Hong Kong spoke on "The Development, Challenges and Opportunities of AIGC", sharing his views on the potential and limitations of AI-generated content in teaching and research. The session emphasises that educational innovation under the influence of AI is not only about the introduction of technological tools, but also about how higher education can rethink pedagogy, research paradigms, and talent development in the age of generative AI — while striking a balance between innovative applications and academic quality.

Looking ahead, the IAA will continue to build on Hong Kong's international advantages, promote global academic exchange and cooperation, bring together world-class scholars and innovators, and deepen cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration in science, education and healthcare.

Disclaimer:

"Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication / activity (or by project team members) do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Innovation and Technology Commission, or the Vetting Committee of the General Support Programme of the Innovation and Technology Fund."

About the International Alliance of Academicians

The International Alliance of Academicians was initiated by leaders of Hong Kong's scientific community. Its Founding Chair is Professor Nancy Ip, President of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and its Co-Chairs are Professor Pierre-Louis Lions, Sir Christopher Pissarides and Professor Xiang Zhang, President of The University of Hong Kong. As an international academic organisation based in Hong Kong, the IAA is committed to connecting leading scientists and innovation talent across disciplines and regions, promoting international research collaboration, academic exchange and the translation of research outcomes.

All sectors of the community are warmly invited to participate, engage in dialogue with academicians and leading scholars from around the world, and explore frontier developments and innovation together.

Official website: https://iaaforum.com/2026-forum-2/

SOURCE The International Alliance of Academicians (IAA)