News

Successful Conclusion of "Metaverse Creators of Tomorrow" Competition and Training Programme 2023

The highly anticipated "Metaverse Creators of Tomorrow” Competition and Training Programme, organised by the Department of Computing, has successfully concluded its journey at the closing ceremony held on 9 September. This groundbreaking programme provided a platform for local secondary school students to unleash their creativity and explore the unlimited possibilities of the metaverse, a concept closely intertwined with Web 3.0 that envisions the future of the internet. To bridge university education and STEM education in secondary school, participants received comprehensive training and guidance, equipping them with essential skills in 3D modelling, scene design, game programming, virtual reality, augmented reality, and blockchain technology prior to the competition. Recognising the value of learning from real-life experiences, the training program included a session where four industry experts were specially invited to share their expertise, real-life cases, and firsthand information with the students. By combining theoretical knowledge, practical application, and insights from industry professionals, students had the opportunity to broaden their horizons and enhance their ability to excel in the competition. Armed with these newfound abilities, the participants embarked on a fierce competition, where they showcased their skills and creativity through metaverse creation. The themes of elimination rounds were "Metaverse for Future Classroom" and "Metaverse for Future Mall." Out of the 70 competing three-person teams, only the top 10 teams advanced to the final round, where they needed to design a "Metaverse for Jurassic Park" to compete for the crown. In each round of the competition, teams faced the intense time constraint of 12 hours to finish their metaverse space creation and presentation deck, starting from the moment the theme was announced. Despite the time pressure, the teams persisted until the very end, delivering projects that surpassed the expected standards. The closing ceremony on 9 September marked the culmination of weeks of intense competition and learning. Distinguished guests, including Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Prof. Hon William WONG Kam-fai, MH, Legislative Council Member; and Prof. LI Qing, Chair Professor of Data Science and Head of COMP, graced the ceremony with their presence. They delivered inspiring speeches and presented well-deserved awards to the winners of the "Metaverse Creators of Tomorrow" Competition and Training Programme. Judges, representatives from supporting organisations, as well as other students who had completed the programme, all came together to witness this significant moment and share in the celebration.   The winners of the programme are as follows: Champion: Diocesan Girls' School (So Hei Ching, So Hei Tung and Yuen Faith) First runner-up: La Salle College (Ho Yiu Hei, Wilson,  Lee Long Sze, Lonz and Ng Kit Yan, Ian) Leung Shek Chee College (Huang Yunshi, Liu Suet Ying and Poon Hei Tung) Merit Award: Po Leung Kuk Lee Shing Pik College (Li Tin Yan, Li Wing Man and Seto Yu Kiu) Shung Tak Catholic English College (Chan Pui Hang, Jiang Kit Hoi and Shum Ho Yeung)   The programme received an overwhelming response since its launch, with over 120 teams registered, 70 teams were finally admitted to the programme. The success of the "Metaverse Creators of Tomorrow" Competition and Training Programme highlights the commitment of PolyU to fostering creativity, technological expertise, and forward-thinking approaches among the younger generation. The participants have not only gained valuable knowledge and skills but also paved the way for a future where the metaverse plays a significant role in various aspects of life.   For more information about the programme, please visit the official website at https://metaverse.comp.polyu.edu.hk/home For more photos, please visit: https://metaverse.comp.polyu.edu.hk/whats-new

Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2023

Congratulations to the following staff members on receiving the Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2023. This truly reflects the great efforts and contributions made by them.   Category of Award Award Awardee Research and Scholarly Activities: Outstanding Researcher Merit Award (Individual) Prof. WANG Dan, Professor Research and Scholarly Activities: Outstanding Young Researcher Merit Award (Individual) Dr YANG Lei, Ray, Associate Professor Faculty Award in Teaching Merit Award (Team) Dr LI Jing, Amelia (Team Leader), Assistant Professor Dr LUI Wing Cheung, Richard, Senior Teaching Fellow   The winners of the Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement are chosen by a Faculty Assessment Panel, comprising the Heads (or their delegates) and chaired by the Dean of Faculty of Engineering (FENG), from amongst a pool of well-qualified nominees put forward by individual departments under FENG. The selection is made with reference to the indicative criteria for assessment as laid down by the University for the exercise.

PolyU and Accel Group establish Metaverse+ Joint Laboratory to promote the development and innovation of smart cities related fields

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Accel Group Holdings Limited (Accel Group) have established the “PolyU-Accel Group Metaverse+ Joint Laboratory” (Joint Lab). The Joint Lab aims to foster the research and application of metaverse technology in various sectors, accelerate the ongoing development of Hong Kong as a green and smart city, strengthen industry-academia-research collaboration and cultivate professional talents. The Accel Group plans to donate HK$10 million to PolyU in the next five years to support the project development and operation of the Joint Lab.   The kick-off ceremony was held on 8 Aug on the PolyU campus, officiated by Ms Lillian CHEONG, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry; Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU; Mr KO Lai-hung, Chairman and CEO of Accel Group; Ms Iris Ping-fan WONG, Hong Kong delegate to the National People’s Congress; Mr CHAN Han-pan, LegCo Member; Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Prof. LI Qing, Chair Professor of Data Science and Head of the Department of Computing; together with other guests.   Prof. Jin-Guang Teng said, “To better equip students for societal needs, PolyU has taken the lead in launching new Master’s degree programmes in areas including blockchain technology, metaverse technology, and artificial intelligence and big data computing. ‘Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics’ (AIDA) and ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ (IE) have also been incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum. PolyU is committed to becoming an innovative world-class university and its contributions to blockchain technology and Web3 development have been widely recognised. The University topped the ‘Best Universities for Blockchain 2022’ list by CoinDesk, and our scholars recently won the international ZPRIZE award to recognise the breakthroughs achieved by the team in zero-knowledge crypto technology in Web3.”   Dr KO Lai-hung said, “The establishment of the Joint Lab with PolyU will benefit the diversification of our business development and as such is a milestone in the Group’s process of technological innovation. We will cooperate with academia by integrating our extensive industry experience and leveraging our financial resources into research in order to propel the construction of a more competitive and sustainable Hong Kong with the utilisation of metaverse technology. Our Group will also seize the enormous business opportunities brought by the metaverse and actively apply innovative outcomes in our business so as to increase our competitive advantage and support our long-term development.”   Dr ZHANG Chen Jason, Assistant Professor of COMP and the principal investigator of the Joint Lab, introduced the three initial directions that the Joint Lab are taking – new energy materials, industrial training, and financial technology. He explained that the plus sign (i.e. +) in the Joint Lab’s name is symbolic of the integration of metaverse technology into various kinds of industrial application.   The Joint Lab will conduct diversified research, including into the metaverse’s role in enterprise cooperation, industrial applications, green and smart city initiatives, energy management, and sustainable supply chain systems. It is expected that the establishment of the Joint Lab will improve production efficiency and quality while at the same time reducing risk and cost, accelerating the ongoing development of Hong Kong as a green and smart city, and cultivating professional talents. Weaving together the knowledge and research capability of academia with the experience and resources of industry, this collaboration between PolyU and Accel Group will further strengthen cross-disciplinary cooperation and explore the potential and value of metaverse technology in industrial applications and environmental protection.

BlockSec Blockchain Security Award Presentation Ceremony 2022/2023

On 24 July 2023, the BlockSec Blockchain Security Award Presentation Ceremony 2022/2023 was held by COMP. This award, sponsored by BlockSec, recognises the exceptional performance of students enrolled in the MSc in Blockchain Technology programme, particularly those who have excelled in the COMP5566 Blockchain and Smart Contract Security course and demonstrated exceptional overall academic performance.   This year, COMP confers the award on seven extraordinary students. The awards ceremony was presided over by Dr Henry Chan, Associate Head (Partnership and Collaboration) of COMP, Prof. Yajin Zhou, co-founder and CEO of BlockSec, and Prof. Daniel Luo, Programme Leader of the MSc in Blockchain Technology.   Prof. Zhou stated in his opening speech, “BlockSec is excited about the potential that web3 technology holds for the future of blockchain security, and we are committed to supporting and nurturing the next generation of blockchain security experts. This award represents our commitment. We hope that this award will not only recognize the outstanding achievements of the winners, but also inspire and motivate students to pursue their academic goals and contribute to the development of a more secure and decentralised future.”   Two of the awarded students, ZHENG Chaoyou and DENG Jiali, took the stage to share their academic journey in the MSc in Blockchain Technology programme. They reflected on the rewarding path they undertook and the practical knowledge they acquired in the programme.   ZHENG Chaoyou expressed his gratitude, saying, "the University has provided us with first-rate educational resources and an advanced scientific research environment. It has allowed us to focus on our studies and explore new areas of knowledge. I am proud and honoured to have studied in such an environment. The days and nights we spent here, our hard work, our challenges, and successes, are the most precious parts of my life."   DENG Jiali added, "I could gain a deeper understanding of technology in blockchain security and acquire invaluable knowledge with their guidance. Throughout my journey in this subject, I learned a lot about the vulnerabilities of the blockchain and smart contracts and dealt with them with the corresponding solutions in practice."   COMP extends heartfelt congratulations to all the recipients of the BlockSec Blockchain Security Award. Their commitment and diligence serve as examples for their peers and future students in the programme. COMP anticipates seeing their contributions to the blockchain field in the years to come.   About BlockSec: Founded in 2021, BlockSec (blocksec.com) has since played an essential role in providing infrastructures for blockchain security. Their research work and implementation have empowered countless individuals and organizations worldwide. Their dedication to fostering new talent and innovation in blockchain security is embodied in their sponsorship of this award.

Prof. Kay Chen TAN Received the 2024 IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine Outstanding Paper Award

We are pleased to announce that the paper titled “Evolutionary Transfer Optimization – A New Frontier in Evolutionary Computation Research” co-authored by Prof. Kay Chen TAN, Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence and Associate Head (Research & Development), has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine Outstanding Paper Award. The IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine, which has an Impact Factor of 9.0, publishes peer-reviewed articles that present emerging novel discoveries, important insights, or tutorial surveys in all areas of computational intelligence design and applications.   Abstract of the paper: The evolutionary algorithm (EA) is a nature-inspired population-based search method that works on Darwinian principles of natural selection. Due to its strong search capability and simplicity of implementation, EA has been successfully applied to solve many complex optimization problems, which cannot be easily solved by traditional exact mathematical approaches, such as linear programming, quadratic programming, and convex optimization. Despite its great success, it is worth noting that traditional EA solvers start the search from scratch by assuming zero prior knowledge about the task at hand. However, as problems seldom exist in isolation, solving one problem may yield useful information for solving other related problems. There has been growing interest in conducting research on evolutionary transfer optimization (ETO) in recent years: a paradigm that integrates EA solvers with knowledge learning and transfer across related domains to achieve better optimization efficiency and performance. This paper provides an overview of existing works of ETO based on the type of problems being solved by these methods, which are ETO for Optimization in Uncertain Environment, ETO for Multitask Optimization, ETO for Complex Optimization, ETO for Multi/Many-Objective Optimization, and ETO for Machine Learning Applications. The paper also highlights some of the challenges faced in this emerging research field of computational intelligence and discusses some promising future research directions in ETO. It is hoped that the study presented in this paper can help to inspire the development of more advanced ETO methods and applications.   Read the paper: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9321762

COMP Best Project Award Competition 2023

COMP successfully organised the Best Project Award Competition on 17 June 2023 to recognise students’ outstanding performance in their Capstone Projects. Six shortlisted students joined the final contest and competed for the awards. The panel of judges was formed by our faculty members and representatives from the technology sector, including Hong Kong Cyberport, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, and InfoTech Services (HK) Limited.   Each student was given fifteen minutes to present the project, demonstrate it, and answer questions. All of the projects showcased in-depth background research, broad design, and methodology, as well as excellent implementation and evaluation. Moreover, the student’s presentation skills were impressive.   After careful and thorough consideration, the judges selected the winners, and an award presentation ceremony was held accordingly. In addition to the Best Project Awards, two contestants were selected to receive the InfoTech Job Market Driven Scholarship, based on the quality and relevance of their projects in adopting in-demand skills sought by the IT industry. We are proud to present the awardees here and let’s take this opportunity to congratulate them on receiving the awards.   Awardee Project Title Award Luo Dongpu Semantic Image Colorization: Sketch Colorization Champion Chu Tsun Him Virtual Laboratory First Runner-up and InfoTech Job Market Driven Scholarship Wang Yifeng Dude, Where’s My Coffee? Camera Localization That Works in Coffee Robot Manipulation Second Runner-up Wang Xiangzhi Automatic Slides Publication for PowerPoint InfoTech Job Market Driven Scholarship

Mentorship Kick-off Ceremony cum Alumni Reunion

Co-organised with The Computing Alumni Association (CAA), more than 80 COMP alumni, faculty members and juniors assembled at the Mentorship Kick-off Ceremony cum Alumni Reunion held on 16 June 2023 at PolyU Alumni Atrium. Since 2019, COMP has been collaborating with CAA to offer a mentorship programme for our undergraduate students which aims to enhance students’ holistic learning experience. This academic year, 12 COMP alumni committed their time to mentor nearly 30 students. To facilitate the mentoring activities, this Mentorship Kick-off Ceremony provided a perfect occasion for mentors and mentees to mingle with each other. The ceremony started with a warm welcome from the Honorary Secretary of CAA, Ms Silvia IHENSEKHIEN, who is also one of the mentors of the programme, followed by the ice-breaking activities conducted by Dr Henry CHAN, Associate Professor and Associate Head (Partnership and Collaboration). Mentors received certificates from our faculty members for appreciating their contribution to the mentorship programme before the closing of the ceremony. The Alumni Reunion immediately began following the ceremony. Youth members of CAA successfully spiced the atmosphere up by hosting a series of engaging activities that brought together the participants who had not yet connected. It is honoured that Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU, also attended the Alumni Reunion. She expressed her excitement about seeing so many COMP alumni reunited, and she looked forward to more alumni events in the future. Despite different graduating classes, nationalities or career backgrounds, participants broke boundaries, shared a relaxing weekend with new and old friends, and enjoyed delicious refreshments together.

PolyU and Red Date Technology Sign MoU to Foster Blockchain Development

On 14 June 2023, PolyU and Red Date Technology have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities for collaboration in the field of blockchain. Uniting the strengths of the two innovative and forward-thinking organisations, the MoU serves as a framework for further discussion on blockchain research, application and education, addressing practical needs and the popularisation of blockchain. This collaboration will be led by COMP and Research Centre for Blockchain Technology. Prof. LI Qing, Chair Professor and Head of COMP, and Mr Tim BAILEY, Vice President of Global Sales of Red Date Technology, signed the MoU at the ceremony, witnessed by Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Ir Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU; Mr HE Yifan , CEO of Red Date Technology and Dr David CHUNG, founder of ImpactD. Ir Prof Christopher CHAO said in the welcome remark, “PolyU and Red Date share a commitment to advancing blockchain technology and its applications. This MoU is an excellent opportunity for us to explore potential cooperation between academia and the industry.” In Mr HE Yifan’s congratulatory speech, he stated that “Red Date is proud to collaborate with a leading institution such as PolyU to advance important technologies like blockchain and help develop future talent for Hong Kong.” Prof. LI Qing also pointed out in his speech that this partnership would undoubtedly leverage the strengths and expertise of both parties to drive innovation and progress in this field. The MoU signing ceremony concluded with a panel discussion on the BSN (Blockchain-based Service Network) Spartan experience sharing, moderated by Dr Henry CHAN, Associate Professor and Associate Head (Partnership & Collaboration) of COMP. Other panel speakers included Prof. Allen AU, Professor of COMP, Mr Tim BAILEY, and representatives from Prenetics and Fujifilm. By integrating knowledge and experience of PolyU and Red Date Technology, this MoU will definitely foster the development of blockchain and make a significant contribution to the field.

Best Paper Award from ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games

A research paper titled “NeRFahedron: A Primitive for Animatable Neural Rendering with Interactive Speed” has been awarded the Best Paper Award at the ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games (i3D 2023). This paper was the outcome of the collaboration between Dr Hong Va LEONG, our associate professor and associate head, Dr Peter NG, our assistant professor, and Dr Zackary SIN, our research assistant professor.   Neural rendering is a hot topic in computer graphics injecting machine learning techniques into classical rendering pipelines. It has been shown to be able to produce photo-realistic results that mirror scenes in reality. An issue, however, is that previous approaches have limitations in speed or animation. This paper proposes a novel neural rendering primitive, NeRFahedron, that can enable animatable content for neural rendering in real-time. It is believed that this work can lay the groundwork for deploying neural rendering to interactive applications like VR apps and games. It is expected to be beneficial for rendering photo-realistic environments for the metaverse in the future as well. Read the paper here.   SIGGRAPH i3D is a leading conference that brings together researchers and practitioners working on real-time 3D computer graphics and human interaction. The conference provides a platform for presenting and discussing new research results, techniques, and applications related to interactive 3D graphics, games, and virtual environments. For more information about SIGGRAPH i3D: click here.

PolyU JUPAS Consultation Day: Admission Strategies 2023

PolyU JUPAS Consultation Day was successfully held on 20 May 2023 at the university campus, offering up-to-date programme information to JUPAS applicants. The departmental event featured an info seminar, guided lab tours, and hands-on workshops.   During the info seminar, Dr LEONG Hong Va, Associate Professor and Associate Head of COMP, gave a detailed presentation on the bright prospect of the tech industry that benefited from the surge of generated AI and Web3. He highlighted the features of the BSc (Hons) Scheme in Computing & AI, explained entrance requirements and provided helpful tips for JUPAS applicants. Dr YIU Man Lung Ken, Associate Professor, then shared information on various learning opportunities at COMP, including programmes for exchange, internships and mentorship. Additionally, a Year 4 student, LAM Wai Kit Alex, talked about his personal experiences at COMP, as well as the interesting and challenging sides of studying computing.   To give participants a glimpse of the research and teaching facilities of COMP, guided laboratory tours were hosted at our Game Lab and Research Centre on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, where they could try out the mixed reality applications designed by our students and staff. The last activities of the day were two workshops on the topics “AI-generated Arts” and “Crypto wallet in MetaMask”, conducted by Dr Richard LUI and Dr Dennis LIU, our Senior Teaching Fellows, respectively.   The event provided a platform for prospective students to learn more about our undergraduate programmes and gain hands-on experience in cutting-edge technologies.