“Asian Deans’ Forum 2025 – The Rising Stars Women in Engineering Workshop” Fostered Women Academic Leaders

Early career female researchers and PhD students in different engineering disciplines from 13 universities worldwide participated in the Asian Deans’ Forum 2025 – The Rising Stars Women in Engineering Workshop, which was held at NTU, Taipei on November 16-18, 2025.

The workshop was co-organized by the engineering schools of seven top universities: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), National University of Singapore (NUS), The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), NTU, Tsinghua University (THU), Seoul National University (SNU) and The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney).

Launched in 2018, the workshop has come to its sixth edition this year. It brings together young women researchers and engineers who are interested in exploring and advancing academic careers in Asia, and facilitates scientific and career-oriented discussions relevant to the development of women academic leaders in Asia. The three-day program includes plenary and keynote lectures, panel discussions, poster presentations, and mentoring sessions.

At the Asian Deans’ Forum, HKUST Dean of Engineering Prof. Hong K. LO gave a presentation on “AI for Engineering Education”, highlighting how AI transformed teaching, learning and assessment in engineering. He emphasized the University’s major investment in AI infrastructure, including the establishment of the Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Center and a large-scale H800 GPU cluster. Prof. Albert CHUNG, Associate Dean of Engineering (Research and Graduate Studies), also participated in the forum.

Prof. Alicia AN, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, participated in the workshop as a keynote speaker and panel speaker. Under the theme of “Bridging Academia, Industry, and Society”, she delivered a presentation titled “Rising Together: Women Engineering Impact Beyond Boundaries Across Academia, Industry, and Society”.

Prof. ZHANG Weijia, Assistant Professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering, served as a mentor, offering participants valuable tips and insights on succeeding in academia as junior faculty members.

The 2026 workshop will be hosted by HKUST, marking a return since the University first organized the event in 2018.