The Department of English and Communication (ENGL) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) sent a strong delegation of staff, researchers, and doctoral students to Beijing for the "Humanistic Dialogues in the Age of AI" International Conference, held from June 5 to 7, 2026, at Tsinghua University. The event brought together scholars from institutions across Asia, Europe, and beyond to explore how language, culture, literature, and education are being shaped by the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
The conference was primarily organised by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Tsinghua University, in collaboration with PolyU, the University of Exeter, Waseda University, and Newcastle University. The Exeter-Tsinghua Institute of Global Humanities also served as a co-organiser. This multinational partnership gave the conference a genuinely broad scope, drawing speakers and participants from a wide range of disciplinary and cultural perspectives. Speakers addressed themes including heritage languages and migration, generative AI and authorship, comparative literature, transcultural exchange, and the future of foreign language pedagogy.
The ENGL delegation was led by Head of Department Professor Eric Friginal and Chair Professor Tony McEnery, who delivered one of the conference keynotes. Alongside them, a number of ENGL staff and doctoral students attended and contributed to the parallel sessions — a valuable opportunity for early-career members of the department to engage with current debates on AI in education and build connections with peers from partner institutions.
The conference also carried particular significance for PolyU's Research Centre for Professional Communication in English (RCPCE). Known for its annual Talking Across the World (TAW) Symposium, RCPCE designated the Tsinghua conference as its flagship event for 2026 — a reflection of the centre's growing international reach and its commitment to fostering meaningful scholarly exchange at the highest level. The themes at the heart of the Beijing programme, spanning language education, communication, authorship, and humanistic inquiry in the age of AI, align closely with the research priorities of both ENGL and RCPCE. The delegation returned from Beijing with new collaborations to explore and conversations to build on.
