Language and technology make a powerful combination—and Kathy Tam Wing Ka’s career journey is proof of it.
When Kathy first studied Linguistics and Translation with a minor in Korean as an undergraduate student, she saw language mainly as a system to be analyzed and applied. Her trajectory shifted when she joined the Fund for Innovative Technology-in-Education (FITE) project at PolyU as a student assistant during her Year 3 and Year 4. Through the project's AI workshops, industry talks, and career-development activities, she explored how generative AI could support brainstorming, language refinement, grammar improvement, and message development. These experiences strengthened not only her efficiency in communication tasks but also her critical awareness of how messages are constructed, interpreted and evaluated. To further sharpen her strategic edge, she went on to pursue postgraduate studies in the MA in Bilingual Corporate Communication (MABCC), and began to recognize that effective communication is essential across industries and can significantly shape career development. At the same time, through connections via the Public Relations Hong Kong Limited (PRHK) network gained from the FITE project, she secured an internship opportunity at an international PR agency. During the internship, she used AI in practical communication tasks, including summarizing internal and external meeting recaps, generating visual materials and drafting captions for social-media promotions. This experience showed her that effective communication in the contemporary workplace requires more than language proficiency —it requires the ability to use AI critically and strategically to create clear, engaging and impactful messages. Reflecting on her experience, she described Language Science and Technology as the intersection of AI and communication. In her view, the discipline provides students not only with linguistic knowledge, but also with the capability to leverage emerging technologies to communicate more effectively in a rapidly changing digital environment. Believing that the future belongs to the convergence of AI, technology, and communication, she believes that studying this field gives students a wide range of career opportunities. After completing her MABCC degree, Kathy joined Microsoft Hong Kong as a Communication Officer, continuing to utilize advanced AI tools every day at work. Her progression—from undergraduate student and project assistant, to postgraduate student, PR intern and communication professional—illustrates how sustained industry engagement, AI-enabled learning, authentic workplace experience and career mentoring can help students develop the confidence, practical competence and professional identity needed to thrive in an AI-enabled communication industry. Demonstrating how a strong language foundation paired with modern technology can open doors to exciting new career paths, Kathy concludes: “These experiences showed me that effective communication today is no longer just about language proficiency, but about knowing how to leverage AI to deliver clear, engaging, and impactful messages.”
