Lingnan’s President S. Joe Qin welcomes the 2026-27 Budget
Lingnan University President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science Prof S. Joe Qin
Lingnan University President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science Prof S. Joe Qin welcomed the 2026–27 Budget delivered today by Financial Secretary Paul Chan, which included multiple policy initiatives related to education, innovation and technology.
Prof Qin said he was delighted with the Budget’s substantial support for the development of AI+ in the Hong Kong SAR (HKSAR). He said, “Lingnan has actively aligned itself with the national AI+ initiative, and through its interdisciplinary development strategy has integrated AI+X training into its curricula. There is true potential in areas such as smart energy, industrial AI, and low-carbon technologies, and the University applies AI in combination with energy, materials, the environment, humanities, and social sciences to address the HKSAR’s re-industrialisation and carbon neutrality goals, and to cultivate research-oriented talent with innovative capabilities and an international perspective.”
Prof Qin noted that the HKSAR government’s plan to implement the Co operation Agreement on the Development of New Quality Productive Forces and the Promotion of New Industrialisation with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and to allocate approximately HK$220 million to establish its first national manufacturing innovation centre outside the Chinese Mainland, will advance new-type industrialisation.
He explained that the core of “new quality productivity” lies in using data, AI, and advanced manufacturing technologies to upgrade the industry. The government’s initiative is strategically significant, and will give the HKSAR a more important role in national industrialisation, as well as providing local universities with valuable platforms aimed at industry, thereby accelerating the practical application of research and innovation.
President Qin pointed out that higher education institutions can assist the government as both a source of technology and a hub for talent. Lingnan itself has undergone a radical transformation, building interdisciplinary teams concentrating on data science and AI while retaining its liberal arts foundation. The teams focus on industrial data, smart energy, advanced materials, and humanitarian technology, working with industry to transform research into practical solutions that address real-world challenges rather than remaining theoretical or purely demonstrative.
Regarding the Lingnan-60 Global Talent Recruitment, Lingnan has recruited a number of top international scholars, and is continually expanding its research capabilities in foundational engineering areas such as industrial automation, AI optimisation, and scientific computation, allowing it to participate in major projects contributing to Hong Kong’s new-type industrialisation.
Lingnan will continue to back government and national development strategies, he said, using industry–academic–research collaboration to provide support in research and talent to build it into an international centre for innovation and technology, and to advance re-industrialisation.