HKUST Organizes Big Data & AI Day 2018 to Share Cutting-edge Insights from Academia and Industry

The Big Data Institute of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has partnered with NAVER / LINE to set up the HKUST-NAVER / LINE AI Laboratory. This was announced today (April 12) at the HKUST Big Data & AI Day 2018 organized by the University’s Big Data Institute.

This Joint Laboratory was set up to develop a comprehensive set of research and talent-development programs to pursue cutting-edge research for the advancement of AI technology and enrich the learning experience of both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Under the agreement, NAVER / LINE will sponsor a total of HK$2.46 million, for use over a period of three years.

The Laboratory is now a core research facility within the School of Engineering as well as the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at HKUST.

On the research side, the Laboratory will develop methods, algorithms and models, and demonstrate prototype implementations on mobile platforms such as smartphone. Possible topics include hand-tracking and posture recognition, object detection and classification, video / image segmentation, and an automatic dialog system.

On the education side, the Laboratory will fund a PhD Student Fellowship Program, under which a maximum of 5 PhD students each year – for three years – will be awarded be a PhD Student Fellowship. Also, at the discretion of NAVER / LINE, a paid internship at NAVER / LINE may be awarded to a student for 3 to 12 months. Meanwhile, the Lab will also organize AI-related workshops as well as sponsor events that contribute to its goals.

At the Laboratory’s opening ceremony, HKUST Acting President Prof Wei SHYY said, “Being the key driver to work with leading companies in making major societal contributions, HKUST is very excited to be the first partner in the history of NAVER Corporation to establish the HKUST-NAVER / LINE AI Lab. This joint effort will offer many opportunities to foster pioneering research in AI technology and launch extensive talent-development program that nurture future engineers to meet the needs of the AI industry. This strategic partnership is a testimony to HKUST’s commitment to applying intellectual power and energy with world-changing impact.“

Ms Seong-sook HAN, Chief Executive Officer, NAVER Corporation, said, “NAVER will keep on developing innovative AI technology together with HKUST, a major AI research center that focuses on changing the world. In addition to NAVER Labs Europe and our new laboratory with HKUST, we plan to expand our global connections of the AI technology.”

The HKUST Big Data & AI Day presented a global array of big data and AI experts.

They came from diverse backgrounds, including academia such as Seoul National University, Peking University and Nanjing University, and HKUST, and industry, including Alibaba, JD.com, Toutiao, Data Insights Laboratories, and NAVER / LINE.

They spoke on data intelligence and analytics, how data science is changing the face of retail, as well as the rise of conversational AI.

About NAVER Corporation
NAVER Corporation was founded in 1999, providing the Korea’s biggest Internet search portal NAVER, and also provides global mobile platform LINE through subsidiary LINE Corporation.
 

About the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 
Established in 1991, HKUST (www.ust.hk) is a world-class research university focusing on science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. HKUST offers an international campus, and a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. HKUST was ranked Asia’s No.1 in the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2017, No.17 in the QS World University Rankings in Engineering and Technology 2018, and No.14 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject in Computer Science and Information Systems.