February 2025

TechTalk – Urban Water Security and Smart Management in a Changing World: Case Study in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

February 24, 2025 (Monday) 10:30-11:30pm
Under the impact of global climate change, tremendous land use land cover changes, and extensive human interventions, urban areas face grand challenges in water security and green development. Ensuring urban water security requires ensuring quality and quantity of drinking water, sanitation, human well-being, water productivity, socio-economic values, ecosystems and environmental health, and mitigating water-related hazards. To resolve urban water security-related issues, a systematic framework by linking natural and social water cycles is urgently needed. Xia proposed the “Urban Water System, version 5.0” featuring “water quantity-quality-ecology” system approach by linking urban systems with natural river basin systems and applied it to the smart basin management, flash flood forecasting, and disaster mitigation. Besides, Xia led the development of the “Yangtze River Simulator,” which integrates sky-to-ground monitoring and comprehensive numerical simulation of hydrological-related processes in the Yangtze River Basin to foster the early warning and decision making of water security and water governance.

HKAE TechTalk – Breakthroughs from ChatGPT to DeepSeek and Higher Education Revolution

February 28, 2024 (Tuesday) 4:00-5:00pm
The rapid development of generative AI has ignited a new wave of technological innovations. Breakthroughs like ChatGPT and DeepSeek are opening doors to democratize and accelerate adoption across various industries and countries. This new era presents both challenges and opportunities for institutions of higher education, such as Lingnan University, where research and creativity are integral to daily life. The university acknowledges that knowledge is dynamic and evolving, not static, and disruptive technologies can displace existing professions while creating new ones.
Several open questions to be addressed include:
• Breakthroughs from ChatGPT to DeepSeek
• How will generative AI affect the curriculum?
• What education subjects would be sustained or diminished?
• How can we help students enhance critical thinking skills with generative AI?
• How does the digital revolution affect higher education in terms of skills-based and holistic education?