WORLDCUISINES Project Participated by Prof. Emmanuele Chersoni Wins Best Theme Paper Award at NAACL 2025

The WORLDCUISINES Project, a collaborative project involving our Faculty member Prof. Emmanuele Chersoni, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, and a team of international researchers including our alum Dr Enrico Santus, has been honoured with the Best Theme Paper Award at the prestigious NAACL 2025 conference. This innovative project has produced a dataset featuring a large-scale collection of images and questions/answers aimed at testing large language models (LLMs) on their ability to identity and describe dishes from 30 different languages and cultures. Prof. Chersoni and Dr Santus were responsible for the Italian cuisine section of the dataset. Click HERE to read the full paper. The Annual Conference of the NAACL (Nations of the Americas Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics) is a premier event in the field of natural language processing and computational linguistics. It brings together researchers from around the world to share the latest advancements and innovations in these fields.

47 Local Secondary School Students Compete in the 7th Hong Kong Linguistics Olympiad

A total of 47 students from 22 local secondary schools competed in the 7th Hong Kong Linguistics Olympiad (HKLO) on 23 February 2025 at PolyU. The competition concluded with the awarding of one gold medal, two silver medals, six bronze medals, and 10 honourable mentions on 9 March 2025. These students will participate in the 7th Asia-Pacific Linguistics Olympiad (APLO) on 20 April 2025. The top four students from APLO will represent the HKLO team at the 22nd International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL), which will be held from 21 to 26 July 2025 in Taipei. Congratulations to the awardees!

Faculty Hosts Forum on ”Career Opportunities for Humanities Students in the Age of AI”

The Faculty hosted an engaging forum on “Career Opportunities for Humanities Students in the Age of AI” yesterday. The event successfully brought together industry leaders and academic experts to discuss the evolving landscape of career opportunities for humanities students in the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence. The forum featured six distinguished guests including Dr Charles K.C. Cheung, Senior Data Scientist and Deputy Director of NVIDIA AI Technology Center Hong Kong; Mr Kevin Chu, Chief Marketing Officer and co-founder of Datax Limited; Mr Billy Hui, co-founder and CEO of Laurry AI; Mr Almon Kwan, Director of FDMT Consulting; Prof. Peter Ng, Assistant Professor of PolyU Department of Computing and Department of Rehabilitation Sciences; and Mr Phil Woo Pak-fai, co-founder of allcareAI and FH Outstanding Alumni Awardee. The event provided a platform for engaging discussions on how humanities students can leverage their unique skills and perspectives in the age of AI. It also featured interactive sessions, allowing students to engage directly with the speakers and gain valuable guidance on navigating their career paths in the AI and technology-pervasive world. Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Prof. Li Ping, extended his gratitude to all speakers and participants for making the event a resounding success. Prof. Li remarked, “The integration of AI into various fields represents both challenges and opportunities, and it is through forums like this that we can help our students better understand and prepare for the future.” The Faculty looks forward to continuing this important dialogue and supporting students as they explore new frontiers in their careers.

Tohoku University Visits the Faculty of Humanities

A delegation from the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University visited the Faculty of Humanities (FH) on 12 March. Prof. Li Ping, Dean of FH warmly welcomed Prof. Hiroyuki Eto, Dean and Professor of Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, along with the delegates from Tohoku University. Prof. Hang Xing, Associate Dean (Global Engagement) of FH presented an overview of FH’s current development, programmes and research achievements. Both parties engaged in meaningful discussions about extracurricular English language learning in Hong Kong, student exchange initiatives and academic collaboration. The delegates also visited the Centre for Independent Language Learning, where they were impressed by PolyU’s diverse range of state-of-the-art, learner-centered methodologies that support students in developing their language skills.

Dr Özgehan Uştuk Receives TESOL Outstanding Advocate Honor Award

Dr Özgehan Uştuk, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Communication, has been honoured with the TESOL Outstanding Advocate Honor Award 2025. The award presentation ceremony will be held at this year’s TESOL International Convention and Expo in California. Established in 1999, this award celebrates an exceptional leader and professional who has demonstrated outstanding advocacy efforts in the TESOL field that are aligned with the vision, mission, values, and commitments of the association. Click HERE to read Dr Uştuk’s global advocacy story.

PolyU Linguistics Ascends to 51st in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025

The Faculty has risen notably in the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject. Linguistics, where the majority of FH staff members specialise, has climbed 49 places to 51st place in the latest ranknigs. The significant leap highlights the Faculty’s dedication to advancing research and education in the field. Additionally, the broad subject area of Arts and Humanities at the University has also moved up to the 83rd place this year. Covering over 1,700 universities from around the world, the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject evaluates universities across 55 academic subjects and five broad subject areas, based on their academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per paper, the H-index and international research network.

FH Celebrates Student Achievements in National Competitions

Students from the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS) have achieved outstanding results in two national competitions. CATTI’s National News Editing and Translation Competition Wang Jingwen, an MA in Translating and Interpreting student, won the Second Award in the University (English) category. Sun Jiakun, an undergraduate in our BA(Hons) in Linguistics and Translation (BALT) programme, secured the Third Award in the same category. The Competition was held earlier in December 2024. Unlike traditional translation competitions, this event emphasised innovation in its format and content selection. Participants were required not only to accurately understand and translate the original text but also to process and edit the content. National English-Speaking Contest for University Students Zhao Yunci and Sun Jiakun, a Year-2 and a final-year BALT student respectively, won Second Awards in the National English-Speaking Contest for University Students. Organised by the China General Chamber of Commerce, the competition featured two categories: English Major Group and Non-English Major Group, with preliminary and final rounds. The event attracted students from universities across the country. Dr Maggie Hui, Teaching Fellow in the CBS, provided professional guidance to these students. Dr Hui was awarded the title of “Outstanding Instructor” in the National English-Speaking Contest.

CBS PhD Student Awarded ARWA 2025 Top Student Researcher

Our PhD student, Miss Xu Xintong, from the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (supervised by Prof. Ke Sihui) has won the Top Student Researcher award in the 9th Annual Conference for the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia (ARWA 2025) held in the Philippines between 27 and 28 February 2025. The Top Student Researcher Award is a prestigious recognition given annually to three outstanding student researchers in Asia who present their work at the ARWA conference. Each awardee receives a cash award and a certificate during the conference ceremony. This year, Miss Xu was one of the awardees, representing the Chinese-speaking region, and was invited to present her research on reading and writing development at the conference.

Northwestern Polytechnical University Visits the Faculty of Humanities

A delegation from the School of Foreign Studies, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) visited the Faculty of Humanities (FH) on 4 March. Prof. Hang Xing, Associate Dean (Global Engagement) of FH warmly welcomed the delegates and presented an overview of FH’s programmes and achievements. Additionally, Prof. Wang Gaozu, Head of the Party Committee at NPU's School of Foreign Studies provided a comprehensive update on NPU's current development. Both parties engaged in meaningful discussions about student exchange initiatives and opportunities for academic and research collaboration.

PolyU and EdUHK Co-Host the 2nd CILME Workshop on Metaverse and AI for the Future of Education

The 2nd Centre for Immersive Learning and Metaverse in Education (CILME) Workshop on Metaverse and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Future of Education co-hosted by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), and co-organised by the PolyU-Hangzhou Technology and Innovation Research Institute (HZRI) was successfully held on 21 February 2025. The workshop brought together leading scholars and experts from around the world to discuss the transformative impact of AI and immersive technologies on education. Prof. Wong Kwok-yin, Vice President for Education and Chair Professor of Chemical Technology at PolyU, welcomed the speakers and guests. The workshop featured two keynote speeches delivered by Prof. Sangmin-Michelle Lee from Kyung Hee University, Korea, and Prof. Yew-Soon Ong from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Their talks provided insights into the future of AI-powered education, including the development of digital human teachers that integrate virtual reality (VR) and AI-assisted learning environments. In addition, plenary sessions highlighted cutting-edge research with both theoretical and real-world impacts. Prof. Hu Xiangen (PolyU) and Prof. Henry B.L. Duh (PolyU) explored AI’s roles as instructors in enhancing interactive learning of various subjects like language and design. Prof. Song Yanjie (EdUHK) and Prof. Philip L.H. Yu (EdUHK) examined how VR platforms powered by large language models (LLMs) can improve students’ language skills, communication skills, and general knowledge. At the end of the workshop Prof. Li Ping chaired a highly engaging and dynamic round-table discussion, which sparked lively debates and critical insights, with both in-person and online participants actively contributing their perspectives. Discussions focused on critical topics in the field of technology-enhanced learning, including pedagogical design principles to enhance student engagement, roles of AI in education, applications of AI to augment students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills, and personalised education. The workshop concluded with closing remarks by Prof. Chetwyn Chan (Vice President, Research & Development, EdUHK), who emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary and inter-university collaboration in advancing AI-driven education. As PolyU continues to push the boundaries of educational innovation, CILME will play a key role in fostering knowledge transfer and shaping the future of AI and metaverse applications in education. Click HERE for the press release.