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RECENT FOCUS

PolyU, with strong support from the Joseph Needham Foundation for Science and Civilisation, announced the establishment of the Joseph Needham Professorship in Science and Civilisation in its Faculty of Humanities, honouring Dr Needham’s pioneering contributions to the history of science and civilisation. Click HERE for more details.

The International Workshop on Cross-linguistic Databases and Norms was successfully held between 31 May and 1 June 2025 in Shanghai, bringing together over 100 scholars, students, and relevant stakeholders from leading institutions across Australia, Belgium, Singapore, the United States, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Jointly initiated by our Faculty Dean Prof. Li Ping and Prof. Cai Qing from the East China Normal University (ECNU), the Workshop aimed to explore fundamental questions in language and cognitive science and promote interdisciplinary research through collaboration in building and sharing cross-linguistic resources. Click HERE for more details.

The 10th Cross-Strait Interpreting Contest Grand Final was successfully held at the Chiang Chen Studio Theatre of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on 10 May 2025. This prestigious event brought together 30 outstanding contestants from renowned universities across Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, as well as Singapore and the United States. After three intense rounds of competition, Hung Chien Hui from National Taiwan Normal University emerged as the champion, winning the Grand Prize. Click HERE for more details.

The Department of Chinese History and Culture hosted the interdisciplinary workshop “Memories of Sensualities in the AI Era: Media Technologies, Materiality, and Beyond” Workshop on 12 May 2025, bringing together scholars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United States to explore how AI and media technologies are reshaping human perception, memory, and cultural expressions. Click HERE for more details.

By exploring the similarities between LLMs and human representations, researchers at PolyU led by Faculty Dean Prof. Li Ping and their collaborators have shed new light on the extent to which language alone can shape the formation and learning of complex conceptual knowledge. Their findings also revealed how the use of sensory input for grounding or embodiment – connecting abstract with concrete concepts during learning – affects the ability of LLMs to understand complex concepts and form human-like representations. Click HERE for more details.

The Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies has forged an exciting partnership with global academic publisher Springer Nature. The collaboration was celebrated with a signing ceremony and forum on 12 May, featuring Prof. Li Ping, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Sin Wai Kin Foundation Professor in Humanities and Technology, and Ms Myriam Poort, Vice President of Humanities Publishing at Springer Nature, alongside faculty members and distinguished guests. Click HERE for more details.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new podcast series, "Exploring the Humanities: Voices from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (理大人文)"! Tune in as we showcase the groundbreaking and innovative work of our Faculty members, along with insights from distinguished speakers visiting the Faculty. Our episodes will explore humanities at the convergence of language, communication, history, culture, and technology.

Stay tuned for inspiring conversations that highlight the dynamic and diverse research happening right here at PolyU FH. Subscribe now and be part of our journey.

The PolyU JUPAS Consultation Day 2025 was concluded successfully on 24 May. This event provided an excellent opportunity for students and parents to learn about the undergraduate programmes offered by the Faculty of Humanities and explore their study options through our consultations and student-sharing sessions. They also engaged with academic staff and student ambassadors from FH departments, gaining a deeper understanding of the programme's unique features and programme details, as well as the learning experience.

Click HERE for more details about PolyU's JUPAS programmes.

We are pleased to announce that the Faculty is now calling for nominations for the Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2025. The award aims to give public recognition to FH graduates for their diverse accomplishments and contributions. The nomination deadline is 25 July 2025. Click HERE for more details.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Faculty Dean Prof. Li Ping has been awarded the Gold Award in the UBSN Best Paper Award 2025. His winning paper, co-authored with two PhD students Gu Chanyuan and Peng Yingying, titled “Onscreen presence of instructors in video lectures affects learners’ neural synchrony and visual attention during multimedia learning,” was published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Click HERE for more details.

Dr Bruce Wang, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Communication, has been awarded the Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2025 by the University.

The YIRA recognises outstanding young faculty members who have demonstrated originality, contributed to technological advancement, and propelled transformational innovation into solutions addressing global challenges through their research. Click HERE to read more details.

The Faculty hosted its 3rd Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition on 18 June 2025, showcasing the research prowess of our PhD students. The event challenged participants to present their complex research projects in just three minutes, emphasising clarity, conciseness, and effective communication. The winners are as follows:

Champion: PENG Yingying (CBS)
First runner-up: SRIVASTAVA Vasundhara (CBS)
Second runner-up: LI Xinrui (ENGL)

Click HERE for more details.

465 contestants from 13 Asia Pacific countries/regions participated the Asia Pacific Linguistics Olympiad 2025 (APLO) held on 20 April 2025. They competed to solve problems on diverse languages, including Misantla Totonac, Looma, Tangsa, Mako, and Khasi. Among them, 15 participants were from Hong Kong’s local secondary schools.

Eight contestants from Hong Kong were recognised among the top 72 by the International Jury. The team achieved an impressive 6th place among the 13 participating countries/regions, earning one gold, three silver, three bronze medals and one honourable mention. They are trained by and selected from the Hong Kong Linguistics Olympiad, which is organised by the Faculty of Humanities at PolyU. Click HERE to read more details.

EVENTS

• (4-7 July 2025) International Summit on the Use of AI in Learning and Teaching Languages and Other Subjects (AIinLT)
• (15-17 November 2025) 9th International Conference on Multicultural Discourses