Lingnan University Shatters Records with 13 Awards at 51st Geneva Inventions Expo

Lingnan University has achieved spectacular results at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva with all 13 of the inventions it entered winning awards. This remarkable success includes one Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury, five Gold Medals, three Silver Medals and four Bronze Medals. The number of projects entered and awards received have more than doubled since last year, setting a new record for Lingnan, and confirming the University’s excellence in groundbreaking interdisciplinary research.

This year’s award-winning inventions integrate artificial intelligence (AI) with diverse applications (AI+X), notably AI + Creativity, AI + Humanity, AI + Pedagogy, AI + Sustainability, and AI + Trustability. These span professional domains such as data science, advanced materials, sustainable energy, art technology, and transformative education, fully demonstrating Lingnan’s achievements in interdisciplinary collaboration and human-centric innovation, which ultimately drive positive social impact and enhanced community wellbeing.

Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science at Lingnan University, expressed his delight at the University’s latest important milestone and congratulated all the award-winning teams. He said, “This year, multiple innovative inventions jointly developed by faculty and students’ teams were entered by Lingnan University. By actively breaking traditional disciplinary boundaries under the AI + concept, we have integrated AI into various academic fields, resulting in a series of human-centred research and innovative solutions that respond to societal needs, affirming the University’s mission of ‘Education for Service’. In the face of global technological innovation challenges, Lingnan continues to promote interdisciplinary research, strengthen industry–academia–research collaboration, and transform research into practical applications. At the same time, we seek to equip students with humanistic values to guide technological applications, and make a positive impact on society.”

The research project that received the Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury is “FlexiBot: Make Every Parking Spot a Charging Spot”, developed by a team led by Prof Tang Xiaopeng, Assistant Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Division of Science. FlexiBot is an intelligent robot designed to provide wireless charging for electric vehicles in any parking space. The robot automatically locates and moves to the nearest charging point. Its wireless charging module and adapter are compatible with all electric vehicles, offering park-and-charge compatible chargers. The system also features smart scheduling for charging, automatically avoiding peak electricity times to reduce grid load and cost.

A total of five projects have won the Gold Medals, including “SmartCool: Digital Twin AI, Cool Smarter with Human Feedback, Hit Carbon Zero”, developed by a team led by President S. Joe Qin; “BuildGuard: Blockchain Oracle AI for Instant Secure Compliance”, developed by Prof Wu Liupengfei, Assistant Professor of the Division of Industrial Data Science at the School of Data Science; “IDShield: AI Behavioural Fingerprinting for Anonymous Dialogue Decode”, developed by a team led by Prof Shen Jiaxing, Assistant Professor of the Division of Artificial Intelligence of the School of Data Science; “Solid-Safe Lithium Battery: Puncture-Proof, 500Wh/kg, Compatible with All Lines”, developed by a team led by Prof Chen Ze, Assistant Professor of the Wu Jieh Yee School of Interdisciplinary Studies; and “StorySketcher: A Multi-Agent AI System for Child-Led Co-Creative Narratives”, a project developed by Prof Xu Xian, Assistant Professor of the Department of Digital Arts and Creative Industries.

Three projects have won Silver Medals, including “Face Fortress: Adaptive All-In-One AI for Digital ID Safety”, developed by a team led by Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research); “Hydrogel Smart Window: Cool Without Power”, developed by a team led by Prof Chen Xi, Dean of the Wu Jieh Yee School of Interdisciplinary Studies; and “Smarter Traffic, Safer Roads: AIoT and Real-Time GeoAI Innovations for Urban Transport”, a project developed by Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun, Head and Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Division of Science.

Four projects have won the Bronze Medals, including “DynaGuard: The Smart Brain for Dynamic System Monitoring and Diagnostics”, developed by a team led by President S. Joe Qin; “Generative AI Assessment System (GAAS): A Game-Changer for Timely Student Feedback”, developed by a team led by Prof Frankie Lam King-sun, Director of the Teaching and Learning Centre; “TransLab: AI-powered Translation Learning and Evaluation Suite”, a project developed by Prof George Chan Chi-yu, Assistant Professor of Practice of the Department of Translation; and “CineSim: Interactive Cinematography Lab”, a project developed by Dr Tobby Kan Shiu-tao, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Digital Arts and Creative Industries.

The International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, held annually since 1973, is the world’s largest exhibition of innovation and invention. This year’s exhibition features over 1000 inventions from approximately 35 countries and regions.

Awards Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury

Project Title FlexiBot: Make Every Parking Spot a Charging Spot

Winning Lingnan Faculty and Staff • Prof Tang Xiaopeng, Assistant Professor, Division of Science
• Mr Wang Fangyu, Senior Research Assistant, Division of Science

Project description FlexiBot is an intelligent robot designed to provide wireless charging for electric vehicles in any parking space. Key Features include Autonomous Mobile Charging, Excellent Compatibility, and Smart Scheduling.

Awards Gold Medal

Project Title SmartCool: Digital Twin AI, Cool Smarter with Human Feedback, Hit Carbon Zero

Project description An AI-driven air conditioning management system that optimises performance through the integration of predictive algorithms and RL-MPC control technology. It features desk-side smart feedback and load forecasting for energy saving.

Awards Gold Medal

Project Title BuildGuard: Blockchain Oracle AI for Instant Secure Compliance

Project description Acts like a tamper-proof inspector for remote manufacturing using AI and secure blockchain data feeds for real-time compliance audits.

Awards Gold Medal

Project Title IDShield: AI Behavioural Fingerprinting for Anonymous Dialogue Decode

Project description Designed to detect and remove behavioural signals that could lead to re-identification in AI platforms, ensuring privacy compliance.

Awards Gold Medal

Project Title Solid-Safe Lithium Battery: Puncture-Proof, 500Wh/kg, Compatible with All Lines

Project description An innovative all-solid-state lithium battery without flammable electrolytes, offering high energy density and enhanced safety for drones and electric vehicles.

Awards Silver Medal

Project Title Face Fortress: Adaptive All-In-One AI for Digital ID Safety

Project description Integrates deepfake detection and image quality filtering into a single verification pipeline for high-security scenarios.

Lingnan University achieves outstanding results at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, winning 13 awards, more than twice as many as last year.

“Face Fortress: Adaptive All-In-One AI for Digital ID Safety”, developed by a team led by Prof Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) (right), wins a Silver Medal.

“FlexiBot: Make Every Parking Spot a Charging Spot” wins a Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury. The project was developed with the participation of Mr Wang Fangyu, Senior Research Assistant of the Division of Science at Lingnan University.

“SmartCool: Digital Twin AI, Cool Smarter with Human Feedback, Hit Carbon Zero” wins a Gold Medal. Shown in the photo is Dr Liu Yiren, Postdoctoral Fellow of the Division of Industrial Data Science at the School of Data Science, who contributed to the project led by President S. Joe Qin.

Lingnan University and the Universidad de la República (University of the Republic, UdelaR), the largest public higher education institution in Uruguay, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 10 February 2026 on Lingnan campus, formally establishing an academic partnership. This is an important step in advancing academic cooperation between Lingnan and universities in South America.

Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science, welcomes the delegation, introduces them to the university, and explores opportunities for collaboration during the meeting.

Prof Héctor Cancela, President of the UdelaR, and Mr Federico Lage, Consul-General of Uruguay in the Hong Kong SAR, led a delegation to Lingnan University, where they were welcomed by Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science of Lingnan University, 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, Prof Zhang Dian, Associate Dean of the School of Data Science and Person-in-Charge of the Division of Industrial Data Science, Prof Jean-Michel Morel, Chair Professor of the Division of Industrial Data Science, and Prof Bradley R. Barnes, Special Advisor to President on Internationalization and Director of Global Education.

President S Joe Qin said, “Lingnan University is committed to supporting the vision of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in developing Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub and promoting the ‘Study in Hong Kong’ brand. In response to changing times, the University has in recent years integrated artificial intelligence and data science elements across various disciplines, advancing its distinctive ‘Liberal Arts + Technology’ development model. More than 20 per cent of our academic and research staff were recognised by Stanford University in 2025 as being among the world’s top 2% of scientists. We look forward to working with the Universidad de la República to leverage the strengths of both institutions, advancing interdisciplinary research collaboration and developing innovative solutions to pressing global challenges.”

The delegation visits the Lingnan campus and the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI).

The signing ceremony was chaired by Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu and Prof Héctor Cancela, and attended by senior representatives of both universities. Prof Chan said “Lingnan University actively establishes partnerships with leading universities worldwide. To date, we have set up academic collaborations with over 280 institutions across Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa. UdelaR is the oldest public university in Uruguay, and this will open up valuable networks, academic resources, and exchanges between researchers in Lingnan and South America, making the most of both universities’ strengths, and improving knowledge transfer.”

In the MoU, the two universities will establish a framework for academic exchange and cooperation in research, and explore potential areas of collaboration, including the exchange of academic and research staff, possible student exchange, and joint academic research and publication in fields of interest to both. The partnership aims to expand cross-regional academic networks.

The UdelaR delegation toured the Lingnan campus and the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI), gaining an understanding of the University’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, which encourages faculty and students from different disciplines to design innovative humanitarian technologies together, and teaches students to address social issues through pivotal research.

Lingnan University and the Universidad de la República (University of the Republic, Udelar) sign a Memorandum of Understanding. The ceremony is officiated by Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Vice-President (Academics) cum Provost and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Scientific Computing of Lingnan University (left), and Prof Héctor Cancela, President of the Udelar (right), with senior representatives of both universities attending the event.

Lingnan University has made considerable progress in recent years, and came first globally under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal SDG 4 (Quality Education) in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Impact Rankings 2025, the first university in the Hong Kong SAR to achieve a global first in any UN SDG. Lingnan was also in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026 for the first time, one of the top 301–350 universities worldwide out of 2,191 institutions, its international outlook rated 47th. Universidad de la República (University of the Republic, Udelar) is consistently ranked as the top university in Uruguay and a premier public institution in Latin America, holding a #650 position in the 2026 QS World University Rankings.