Lingnan University Unveils LU Xcelerator to Drive AI + X Innovation, Supporting Technology + Humanity Commercialisation in Tapping Opportunities across the Northern Metropolis and Greater Bay Area

Lingnan University announced the establishment of the innovation and entrepreneurship platform “LU Xcelerator (LUX)” and held its Opening Ceremony today, 21 August. LUX focuses on “AI + X” and the application of agentic AI in different industries, leveraging the unique strength of Lingnan University in data science and interdisciplinary studies. Benefitting from Lingnan’s location near the Northern Metropolis, LUX will spearhead an innovative mode of collaboration between “Government, Industry, Academia, Research, and Investment” in the Greater Bay Area. This new platform will assist our students and researchers in translating innovative research into market-ready applications with tangible commercial and social value.

Lingnan University launches the innovation and entrepreneurship accelerator platform “LU Xcelerator (LUX)”. From left: Mr Ernest Chan Chi-man, Vice-President (Administration) at Lingnan University; Mr Augustine Lui Ngok-che, Chairman of the Lingnan Education Organization; Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science at Lingnan University; Prof Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government; the Hon Augustine Wong Ho-ming, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University; Dr Patrick Wong Chi-kwong, Chairman of the Court; and Prof Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation) and Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning. Photo source: Lingnan University

The Opening Ceremony was officiated by Prof Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government; the Hon Augustine Wong Ho-ming, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University; Dr Patrick Wong Chi-kwong, Chairman of the Court; Mr Augustine Lui Ngok-che, Chairman of the Lingnan Education Organization; Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science at Lingnan University; 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). More than 70 representatives of government, business, and investment partners, and the academic research community attended the ceremony.

In his remarks, Prof Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, extends his warmest congratulations to Lingnan University on establishing this dynamic innovation hub. Photo source: Lingnan University

In his remarks, Prof Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, extended his warmest congratulations to Lingnan University on establishing this dynamic innovation hub. He said, “Innovation and technology (I&T) remain at the very top of the Hong Kong Government’s policy agenda. Our universities are not only our closest partners on this front, but also the foundational bedrock of Hong Kong’s thriving I&T ecosystem. We are expanding Hong Kong I&T’s footprint to the Greater Bay Area and the wider Mainland market. Under the National 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong continues to act as a ‘Super Connector’ and ‘Super Value-Adder’, bridging the Chinese Mainland with global markets. Located near the Northern Metropolis, Lingnan University and LUX are well-positioned to be a two-way springboard, empowering international ventures entering China while enabling Mainland enterprises to scale globally.”

The Hon Augustine Wong Ho-ming, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University, says in his remarks that every day, researchers and students at Lingnan are generating innovative ideas, conducting high-quality research, and developing solutions to address pressing challenges facing our communities. Photo source: Lingnan University

The Hon Augustine Wong Ho-ming, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lingnan University, said in his remarks, “Every day, researchers and students at Lingnan are generating innovative ideas, conducting high-quality research, and developing solutions to address pressing challenges facing our communities. Yet great ideas alone are not enough. They need opportunities to grow, networks to support them, and pathways to bring them beyond the laboratory and into society. LUX has been established to provide exactly that environment. By bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, investors, alumni, and government partners, LUX will help transform promising discoveries into practical applications, commercial ventures, and scalable solutions that can contribute to economic and social development.”

Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science, says that LUX will connect Lingnan’s breakthrough research with national development and industry needs. Photo source: Lingnan University

Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science at Lingnan University, said in his remarks that LUX will link Lingnan’s state-of-the-art research to national development and industry needs, promoting innovative applications with real impact and a human-centred approach. “Lingnan adopts an ‘AI + X’ development approach that unites AI with interdisciplinary research, and nurtures talents with both technical expertise and humanistic insight. In particular, Lingnan brings together leading international scholars in industrial data science, process control, and evolutionary computation, giving the University an advantage in industry-academia-research collaboration. The University will promote the application of research outcomes in smart cities and low-carbon technologies, expand collaboration with industries in the Greater Bay Area, and develop domestic and overseas markets.”

Two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed with Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub and iFLYTEK (Hong Kong) on the same day. Both parties will work together on the co-incubation of start-ups and joint investment matching, while advancing the commercialisation of Lingnan's research. Additionally, a fireside chat titled “The New Paradigm to Scaling Start-ups: Roadmap to Successful DeepTech Solopreneurship with Agentic AI” explored how AI and emerging technologies can support the development of start-ups.

Prof Sun Dong visits the Innovation and Technology Zone at the event, where he engages with the Lingnan team and learns about a number of cutting-edge technology projects that have received international invention awards. Photo source: Lingnan University

Prof Sun Dong also visited the Innovation and Technology Zone at the event, where he engaged with the Lingnan team and learned about a number of cutting-edge technology projects that have received international invention awards.

Lingnan University’s research teams have achieved exceptional success at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival 2026, with all 14 of their projects winning eight gold and six silver medals. One of the projects, the “GaitGPT: Evidence-Grounded AI for Bidirectional Clinical Gait Translation”, developed by a team led by Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science at Lingnan University and Prof Yu Lisha, Assistant Professor of Teaching of the Division of Artificial Intelligence of the School of Data Science, also received IFIA Best Invention Award issued by International Federation of Inventors' Associations and \"Thailand Award for the Best International Invention and Innovation\" issued by the National Research Council of Thailand, winning a total of 16 awards. This is the second consecutive year Lingnan has entered this international innovation event, and it is the Hong Kong SAR higher education institution with the greatest number of awards and gold medals.

The “GaitGPT: Evidence-Grounded AI for Bidirectional Clinical Gait Translation”, developed by a team led by Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science at Lingnan University and Prof Yu Lisha, Assistant Professor of Teaching of the Division of Artificial Intelligence of the School of Data Science, receives IFIA Best Invention Award and Thailand Award for the Best International Invention and Innovation. Prof Yu Lisha (middle) and Dr Yeung Hiu-yan (right), Associate Director of the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer, accept the awards.

The award-winning entries span diverse fields such as energy and environmental protection, medicine, data privacy protection, blockchain and Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) technology, education, and game creation, actively driving the development of “Liberal Arts + technology” and “AI +”.

Prof S. Joe Qin, President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science at Lingnan University, congratulated the interdisciplinary teams for making their mark on the global stage, saying “Silicon Valley is one of the world’s leading technology and innovation hubs, bringing together research and development institutions and potential investors from across the globe. Lingnan aims to leverage this platform to gain insight into the North American science and technology ecosystem, connect with industry representatives, and showcase the Hong Kong SAR’s unique advantages as an international hub for education and innovation. By presenting our latest breakthroughs in ‘AI + X’ interdisciplinary research projects, we seek to expand our partnership networks worldwide, accelerate technology transfer and commercialisation, and promote industry-academia-research collaboration to generate greater social and economic impact.”

The “GaitGPT: Evidence-Grounded AI for Bidirectional Clinical Gait Translation” receives two special awards.

A total of eight projects have won Gold Medals, including “GaitGPT: Evidence-Grounded AI for Bidirectional Clinical Gait Translation”, developed by a team led by President S. Joe Qin and Prof Yu Lisha, Assistant Professor of Teaching of the Division of Artificial Intelligence of the School of Data Science; “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); “Water-Retentive Hydrogel Smart Windows: Cooling Without Power”, developed by a team led by Prof Chen Xi, Dean of the Wu Jieh Yee School of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Assistant Professor Ke Yujie; “PCG.ME: Infinite Game Co-Creation Platform with Behaviour-Adaptive AI”, developed by a team led by Prof Liu Jialin, Associate Professor of the Division of Industrial Data Science of the School of Data Science; “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; “MedCenterDet: AI System for Accurate Lesion Detection in 3D Medical Images”, developed by a team led by Prof Pan Fei, Assistant Professor of the Wu Jieh Yee School of Interdisciplinary Studies; “StorySketcher: A Multi-Agent AI System for Child-Led Co-Creative Storytelling”, developed by Prof Xu Xian, Assistant Professor of the Department of Digital Arts and Creative Industries; and “IDEAL-Gen.AI - Instructional Design Enhanced Active Learning through Generative Artificial Intelligence”, developed by Dr Ronnie H. Shroff, Principal Project Fellow of the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning.

Six projects have won Silver Medals, including “GeoAI Mosquito Risk Prediction Platform — Kill, Monitor, Identify & Forecast”, developed by a team led by Prof Paulina Wong Pui-yun, Head and Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the Division of Science; “Generative AI Assessment System (GAAS): A Game-Changer for Timely Student Feedback”, developed by Prof Frankie Lam King-sun, Director of the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning; “BuildGuard: Blockchain Oracle AI for Instant Secure Compliance in Offsite Manufacturing”, developed by Prof Mike Wu, Assistant Professor of the Division of Industrial Data Science of the School of Data Science; “IDShield: A Privacy Firewall Against Behavioural Re-identification in AI Dialogues”, developed by a team led by Prof Shen Jiaxing, Assistant Professor of the Division of Artificial Intelligence of the School of Data Science; “TokenSaver: Context-Aware Semantic-Structured Document Retrieval System via Visual Memory”, developed by a team led by Prof Li Zongxi, Assistant Professor of the Division of Artificial Intelligence of the School of Data Science; and “TransLab: AI‑powered Translation Learning and Evaluation Suite”, developed by Prof George Chan Chi-yu, Assistant Professor of Practice of the Department of Translation.

Lingnan University wins 16 awards at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival, and it is the Hong Kong SAR higher education institution with the greatest number of awards and gold medals.

The Silicon Valley International Invention Festival (SVIIF) provides an international exchange platform for promoting innovation, creativity, and technological development. This year, it brought together over 500 inventors from more than 30 countries worldwide.