Peking University delegation led by Party Secretary He Guangcai visits Lingnan University to strengthen Beijing-Hong Kong higher education collaboration

A delegation from Peking University (PKU), led by Mr He Guangcai, Secretary of the CPC Peking University Committee, visited Lingnan University yesterday, 27 August 2026, and was warmly received by senior administrators, including Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science; Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Vice-President (Academics) cum Provost and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Scientific Computing; Prof Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation) and Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning; and Mr Ernest Chan Chi-man, Vice-President (Administration).

President Qin noted that Lingnan and PKU have maintained close exchanges in recent years, with bilateral collaboration deepening and achieving positive results. The two institutions have organised the Lingnan-Yuanpei STEM Summer Academy for three consecutive years now, and the programme has received an enthusiastic response from students of both universities and become an exemplar of Beijing-Hong Kong educational exchange. Lingnan has also joined the Digital Intelligence International Development Educational Alliance (DI-IDEA) initiated by PKU. With frequent high-level reciprocal visits and effective cooperation between the two universities, a multi-tiered, wide-ranging, and regularised framework has been established. President Qin shared that Lingnan has been developing rapidly and has advanced significantly in international university rankings, evidence of the foresight and leadership of its "Liberal Arts + Technology" and "AI+" strategies, and that as Lingnan lies adjacent to the Northern Metropolis it looks forward to a closer relationship with PKU on this vital platform, and to using their respective strengths to explore new pathways for university-locality synergy and industry-academia-research integration.

Secretary He thanked Lingnan for its hospitality, and spoke highly of the University's rapid development and successful transformation, affirming that PKU attaches great importance to exchanges and collaboration with higher education institutions in Hong Kong, and that the Northern Metropolis offers vast development prospects as a new economic growth engine and a hub for Hong Kong’s high-calibre talent. He also pointed out that PKU actively supports the development of the Northern Metropolis University Town, and is keen to pursue coordinated development with Hong Kong universities to achieve mutual benefits. Secretary He looks forward to this opportunity to elevate bilateral collaboration to greater heights, and seize the historic opportunities presented by the development of the Northern Metropolis.

Both parties engaged in in-depth discussions on inter-institutional collaboration, talent cultivation, research synergy, and opportunities arising from the Northern Metropolis, followed by a guided tour of the Lingnan campus to experience its cultural atmosphere firsthand before visiting Hung Shui Kiu to learn about the on-site progress of the Northern Metropolis University Town.

The heads of several faculties and administrative departments were members of the PKU delegation. Lingnan representatives at the meeting included Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research), J.K. Lee Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies; Prof Emilie Yeh Yueh-yu, Associate Vice-President (Academics), Lam Wong Yiu Wah Chair Professor of Visual Studies,  Head of the Department of Digital Arts and Creative Industries; Prof Song Yongduan, Dean of the School of Data Science; and Ms Shen Tingting, Head of the Office of National Engagement.