We’re happy to share that the article Prof. Gedeon Limcontributed to, titled “How does interacting with other ethnicities shape political attitudes?” has been published on VoxDev! In this research, it examines how living near resettlement sites for ethnic minorities in Malaysia can shift political preferences. His findings reveal that closer proximity not only improves economic outcomes but also fosters casual interactions in shared public spaces. VoxDev serves as a vital platform for economists, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss key development issues, making expert insights accessible to a wide audience. Join us in exploring Prof. Lim’s contributions to understanding how inter-ethnic contact can drive positive social change! Read more here:https://bit.ly/3Cu2938
We are thrilled to have co-hosted the prestigious Asia BREAD conference, uniting over 60 top development economists from across Asia and leading US and UK institutions, including Nobel laureate Abhijeet Banerjee (MIT), ADB Chief Economist Albert Park, and Professor Imran Rasul (UCL).
Founded in 2002, BREAD is a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing research in development economics. This year marked a significant milestone, as it was the first time this esteemed conference was held in Asia, fostering collaboration among Asian economists and enhancing networks in the region.
Our co-organiser, Prof. Gedeon Lim , along with faculty members Prof. Bingjing Li, Prof. Yiming Cao, and Prof. Guojun He, worked closely with NUS to make this event a success. Highlights included Prof. Banerjee’s thought-provoking insights on critical issues like gender and the environment, as well as Prof. Park’s focus on evidence-based research and encouraging collaboration.
We can’t wait for the next Asia BREAD conference in 2027!
An insightful interdisciplinary Workshop on “AI in Business” was successfully held by the HKU Business School’s Institute of Digital Economy and Innovation (IDEI) on December 9, 2024 at HKU-iCube. The event brought together esteemed scholars and industry experts at the cutting edge of AI research, as well as over 100 participants engaging in the exchange of brilliant minds.
The Workshop commenced with opening remarks from Professor Yulin Fang, IDEI Director and Professor of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School, and Professor Jin Li, Zhang Yonghong Professor in Economics and Strategy and Area Head of Management and Strategy at HKU Business School, followed by a series of engaging presentations that explored the transformative role of artificial intelligence across various sectors.
Professor Lingpeng Kong, Assistant Professor of Department of Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong, and Professor Xiaodong Zhu, Area Head of Economics and Chair of Economics at HKU Business School, jointly discussed innovative approaches using textual data and large language models to assess policy effectiveness with their speech “Measuring Government Policies: A New Approach Using Textual Data and Large Language Models”.
Mr. Pascal Hua, National Managing Partner of Technology and Transformation from Deloitte China, addressed the opportunities and challenges posed by generative AI in the business landscape by delivering a speech titled “The Emergence of Generative AI for Business and the Pitfalls”.
Professor Michael C. L. Chau, the Deputy Area Head of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School, presented research on mitigating racial bias in hate speech detection through prompt-based learning through his speech “Relieving Racial Bias in Hate Speech Detection Through Prompt-based Learning”.
Professor Ye Luo, Associate Director of IDEI at HKU Business School, shared recent developments in AI technologies and their implications for learning environments with his speech “Recent Advances in AI and Learning.”
Professor Michael Xiaoquan Zhang, Wei Lun Professor of Business AI, Department of Decisions, Operations and Technology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, discussed the integration of AI in financial markets, enhancing decision-making processes by presenting “AI in Financial Market”.
Professor Yipu Deng, Assistant Professor of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School, explored how AI-generated answers influence user contributions in digital platforms in her presentation titled “When Artificial Intelligence Speaks, Humans Respond: The Impact of AI-generated Answers on User Contributions”.
Professor Jie Gong, Associate Professor at HKU Business School and Professor Jin Li, examined the intersection of AI and creativity, highlighting new possibilities for innovation with the speech “AI and Creative Process”.
Professor Hailiang Chen, Assistant Dean (Taught Postgraduate) at HKU Business School, introduced the Gov-RAG framework, aimed at improving citizen engagement through AI with his speech titled “Gov-RAG: A Retrieval-Augmented Generation Framework for Enhancing Citizen Services”.
Mr. Yong Yang, Head of Data and Security for the Huan Yuan Large Model at Tencent Cloud Computing, wrapped up the Workshop with insights on the practical applications of large AI models in enterprise management by delivering “The Practice and Application of Large Models in Enterprise Management”.
Throughout the day, the sessions were chaired by esteemed academics, including Prof. Zhixi Wan, Area Head of IIM; Prof. Zhenhui (Jack) Jiang, Padma and Hari Harilela Professor in SIM; Prof. Junhong Chu, CIE Associate Director; Prof. Yulin Fang and Prof. Jin Li.
Photo Caption
Group photo:
Professor Yulin Fang, IDEI Director and Professor of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School, delivers the welcoming remarks.
Professor Jin Li, Zhang Yonghong Professor in Economics and Strategy and Area Head of Management and Strategy at HKU Business School, delivers the welcoming remarks.
Professor Lingpeng Kong, Assistant Professor of Department of Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong
Professor Xiaodong Zhu, Area Head of Economics and Chair of Economics at HKU Business School
Mr. Pascal Hua, National Managing Partner of Technology and Transformation, Deloitte China
Professor Michael C. L. Chau, Deputy Area Head of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School
Professor Ye Luo, Associate Director of IDEI at HKU Business School
Professor Michael Xiaoquan Zhang, Wei Lun Professor of Business AI, Department of Decisions, Operations and Technology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Yipu Deng, Assistant Professor of Innovation and Information Management at HKU Business School
Professor Jie Gong, Associate Professor of Management and Strategy at HKU Business School
Professor Hailiang Chen, Assistant Dean (Taught Postgraduate) at HKU Business School
Lastly, Mr. Yong Yang, the Head of Data and Security for the Huan Yuan Large Model at Tencent Cloud Computing
The Workshop concluded with closing remarks emphasizing the importance of AI in shaping the future of business. Attendees left with valuable insights and a deeper understanding of how AI can drive innovation and efficiency across industries.
Stay tuned for more events as we continue to explore the evolving landscape of technology and its impact on business!
Congratulations to Professor Dragon Yongjun Tang on being awarded the Faculty Knowledge Exchange Award 2024!
Prof. Tang’s research has made profoundly tangible impacts across multiple domains. Through his study on the effects of mandatory ESG disclosure regulations globally, Prof. Tang directly informed rules adopted in major jurisdictions like the European Union. This was achieved by providing robust empirical evidence supporting transparency measures. Similarly, his ground-breaking work evaluating green bonds advanced understanding and validated this emerging segment, with over 900 citations and direct influence on sustainable investment frameworks worldwide.
On the domestic front, Prof. Tang played an instrumental advisory role in shaping Hong Kong’s green finance development through capacity building programs and internships established based on his research recommendations. These schemes are successfully nurturing local ESG talent. Beyond regulation and markets, Prof. Tang extended knowledge exchange to practitioners influencing sustainable business practices internationally. He has also advised influential organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, helping craft policy responses with global outreach.
Further, recognition from awards elevates the impact of Prof. Tang’s research for the industry. Most notably, the concrete, tangible impacts demonstrated establish Prof. Tang as a pioneering scholar whose work drives real policy change on a world-leading scale.
Two current Undergraduate Students, Mr. Jason ZHANG [Year 5 – BFin(AMPB)], and Ms. Kelly Huang [(Year 4 BBA)] have been nominated by the Faculty as student representatives for attending the Beta Gamma Sigma Regional Leadership Conference – “Navigating Leadership: Adapting Styles for the Evolving Workplace” at Loyola Marymount University from November 1-2, 2024.
The 2024 Regional Leadership Conference offers valuable learning outcomes to participants, including educating themselves on the necessity of adaptable leadership in a dynamic work environment, developing skills for academic and professional success, engaging in networking with various individuals, and actively participating in activities centred around leadership and adaptability in the workplace. Below are the appreciation testimonials from Jason and Kelly, highlighting the valuable insights and takeaways they gained from their participation in this transformative conference.
“My major takeaway was the emphasis on adaptable leadership, particularly the significance of building trust, fostering passion, and balancing intrinsic and extrinsic values in the workplace. The insights shared by industry professionals, especially regarding AI’s role in business development and networking opportunities, were invaluable. Collaborating with a diverse team on a leadership project and networking with global BGS members broadened my international exposure, offering fresh perspectives applicable to my future endeavors in Hong Kong.”
Mr. Jason ZHANG | BFin(AMPB) Year 5, Academic Year 2024-25
“The 2024 BGS Regional Leadership Conference provided a wealth of insights on leadership through renowned speakers like Anne Bonney on Effective Communication, Dayle Smith on Reflective Leadership, and Jim Wagner on Embracing Challenges. Networking sessions facilitated connections with individuals worldwide, fostering personal growth and resilience. A standout moment was participating in creating a digital children’s book during the BGS Gives Back session, reinforcing the importance of giving back and nurturing future leaders. Attending the conference inspired me to pay it forward and make positive societal impacts in the future.”
Ms. Kelly Huang | BBA Year 4, Academic Year 2024-25
Photo recaps about BGS Regional Leadership Conference 2024
Beta Gamma Sigma is The International Business Honor Society recognising and honouring top performing students from around the world in business schools accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). The Beta Gamma Sigma HKU Chapter was established in 2012.
Members of Beta Gamma Sigma are the top 10% of undergraduate students, the top 20% of graduate students and all doctoral candidates who have successfully defended their dissertations at an AACSB-accredited business school. Besides giving recognitions to outstanding students, Beta Gamma Sigma also awards business veterans with exceptional leadership as Chapter Honorees in the annual Induction Ceremony.
Since its founding in 1913, Beta Gamma Sigma has inducted more than 900,000 outstanding students into membership worldwide. With more than 600 collegiate chapters and lifetime members from over 190 countries, Beta Gamma Sigma is truly a global network.
Delivering quality education to nurture future leaders is an integral part of the Faculty’s mission. Every year, the Faculty recognises teachers with outstanding achievements and significant contributions in teaching and student learning through the Faculty Teaching Award Scheme. The award-winners for the academic year 2023-24 are:
Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award (Undergraduate Teaching)
“I am deeply honored to receive the Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award (Undergraduate Teaching) this year. Teaching has been a driving passion in my career, where I strive to create a learner-centered environment that encourages students to engage actively and think critically. Through interactive discussions, case analyses, and engagement with industry practitioners, I aim to empower students to tackle complex real-world challenges and make meaningful impact in their fields. This award reflects the shared efforts and collaborative spirits of my students, colleagues, and mentors, from whom I continue to draw inspiration. I am grateful and excited to keep growing as both an educator and a lifelong learner.”
“I am honored to receive the Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award. I believe everyone should gain from a course, despite differences in preparation and learning profiles. I redesigned the compulsory course Intermediate Microeconomics to help students connect mathematics, diagrams, and economic intuition, and gradually familiarize with mathematical models. I teach with rigor while scaffolding in various ways. I modify many question formats to reduce the computation burden significantly. I revamp the assessments so that students can demonstrate their knowledge through a verbal explanation, an informative diagram or a mathematical argument. I continuously take note of the common obstacles and improve my teaching materials accordingly.”
“I am deeply honored to receive this award. By creating a student-centered learning environment and combining case studies with real-world applications, I aim to help students acquire the tools they need to master. The encouragement and feedback from my students have been invaluable in refining my approach and reaffirming the value of a relaxed yet engaging teaching style.
Patience and a supportive atmosphere remain central to my teaching philosophy. This award is a testament to the collective contributions of my students, teaching assistants, and colleagues, who inspire me every day. I am excited to continue improving students’ learning experiences and supporting their growth.”
“I am deeply honored to receive the Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award at the undergraduate level. My teaching philosophy was built around connecting complex marketing concepts with real-life examples that students encounter daily, making learning both relatable and impactful. I also emphasize hands-on learning by all kinds of in-class interactive activities, such as storytelling and live experiments, allowing students to experience and understand marketing in person. Additionally, I believe in the power of effective communication and providing timely feedback to support and guide students throughout their academic journey. This award inspires me to continue enhancing my methods and fostering an engaging and supportive learning environment.”
Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award (Postgraduate Teaching) – for MSc programmes
“Postgraduate students typically come from diverse educational backgrounds and possess substantial work experience. Each student has unique strengths, needs, and career aspirations. I strive to recognize and understand each student’s learning progress and needs. A thorough understanding of students is essential for a teacher to provide personalized support and encouragement, enhancing their learning interests and commitment. Building relationships with students based on mutual respect and trust is the foundation for creating an effective teaching and learning environment. This approach guides students through a rewarding learning journey, helping them achieve their career goals.”
“It is my great honor to receive the Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award this year. Teaching is an important part of my academic career. I enjoy teaching and seeing students grow in their knowledge and maturity, and become successful in their career and life. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to teach and interact with thousands of high-quality students at the University of Hong Kong over the years and I have learned and gained a lot myself along the journey.”
“As both a researcher and an educator, I aim to bridge the gap between academic research and practical application by making the latest knowledge readily accessible to students. I constantly update my teaching materials to incorporate the most up-to-date academic research. In addition, I provide students with current examples, relevant case studies, and actual data for analysis to facilitate knowledge internalization. This approach greatly enhances students’ involvement, which is a key determinant of my course’s success. By guiding students to explore and discover knowledge, I achieve significantly better learning outcomes than by merely allowing them to passively absorb information.”
“I love teaching and cherish the opportunity to interact with our talented students. As to teaching philosophy, I deeply believe in the importance of teachers’ passion in teaching and adopt student-centered approach to course and programme design in helping students achieve meaningful learning outcomes.
I am glad to make a difference in students’ learning. A student commented, “Professor Meng’s course was very interesting, who gave a lot of examples to help us understand. And in the process, this course has expanded my international perspective and inspired me to give speeches on stage. I really like Prof Meng!” I will strive to continue making a positive impact on the students’ learning and life.”
“I am honoured to receive the Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award (Postgraduate Teaching), after receiving the accolade last year for the Undergraduate Teaching. I am grateful that my dedications are recognized not only by the Faculty and undergraduates, but also my postgraduate students with diverse academic and cultural backgrounds, job aspirations and work experiences.
It has been my privilege to teach and share my experience with my students for almost three decades, who are from the top accounting and business programmes in Hong Kong. I am always eager to share my knowledge and insights with my students, who will be our business leaders in the future, and empower them with up-to-date knowledge and practical skills.
It has always been rewarding and motivating to inspire and witness my students to grow and succeed in the accounting, legal and business fields. I will adhere to my teaching philosophy and keep up with my momentum to deliver quality teachings.”
Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award (Postgraduate Teaching) – for MBA Hong Kong programme
“My approach to teaching is emphasize critical thinking through discussing latest practices and up-to-date knowledge in an interactive learning environment. When designing the MBA course “Business Analytics for Managers,” I recognize that balancing essential data concepts with practical relevance is key, as most students are managers who won’t be coding daily but need to understand data analytics’ objectives and power. Therefore, each class begins with a real-world business problem, such as designing mobile games with A/B testing or predicting wine auction prices. I also use examples from media and reports to underscore the importance and common errors of data analysis. Additionally, I leveraged the university’s free access to GPT-3.5 and taught students how to “program with English.” I introduced how to use prompts effectively to generate usable code without uploading data. This empowers students to combine business acumen with advanced data analytics techniques to make better decisions.”
Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award (Postgraduate Teaching) – for GBA (HK-SZ) MBA programme
“It is my great honour to receive that Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award (Postgraduate Teaching). The award will spur me to work harder to become an even better teacher. I attribute my success to my longstanding efforts to continually improve my courses. In my teaching, I focus on delivering edutainment. I believe that my students learn best if I teach in ways that help them develop their own potential and learning style, as well capture the attention and stimulate their learning interest. I look forward to continuously improving my educational techniques to educate future generations of students and in the process, win more teaching awards.”
Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award (Postgraduate Teaching) – for EMBA programme
Professor Haipeng SHEN Patrick S C Poon Professor in Analytics and Innovation Chair of Business Analytics and Innovation
“The opportunity to teach, to me, is a blessing, an opportunity, and a gift. I cannot thank my PhD advisor – Professor Larry Brown – enough for opening the door for me twenty-six years ago. I cannot thank my students enough for making teaching so enjoyable and rewarding for me. There are three principles that I follow dearly in teaching: enjoyment and passion, relevance and application, communication and interaction. Try to impress upon the students your enjoyment and passion about the subject, with enthusiastic attitude, humorous lectures, and active body language. In return, your students will become more active and engaged. Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Make your lectures more relevant and illustrate how to connect with applications. In return, your students will teach you with their real world cases. Everything is about story telling. There are a story teller, a group of story listeners, and the story. Be communicative, be interactive, be humorous, tell a good story!”
Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award (Postgraduate Teaching) – for IMBA programme
“I am honored to receive the Faculty Outstanding Teacher Award of the IMBA programme. The award suggests that students agree and support my teaching philosophy. I believe that teaching is not only a form of transferring knowledge, but also an opportunity to cultivate students’ self-learning interests and ability. While any given teaching can be a one-time assignment for a teacher, learning is a life-long journey for students. For such a journey, teaching is not the ending, but the beginning of every crucial turn and advancement; therefore, as a teacher, I’d love to help students navigate their journey to the success.”
“Empowering future leaders through education is a privilege. I continuously adapt my teaching to cultivate a dynamic classroom environment that engages and inspires students with diverse learning preferences. My approach to teaching is designed to foster students’ critical thinking and problem-solving while equipping them with the necessary skills to thrive in a rapidly changing global environment. By immersing in innovative methods, students are better equipped to confront real-world challenges, build resilience, and nurture a lifelong love of learning. I am deeply grateful to receive this prestigious award.”
“It’s my great honor to receive this reward. It has been my aspiration that my teaching will make a significant contribution to my students’ growth, thereby facilitating their future career paths. I believe that teaching innovation is epitomized by providing students with unique learning content that encompasses rare and invaluable knowledge. Such knowledge should have direct applicability to their future academic and professional endeavors, thus conferring upon them a competitive advantage. Moreover, teaching innovation involves the utilization of novel methodologies, including cutting-edge technologies and practical insights, to furnish students with a seamless integration of theoretical knowledge and practical experience. In summary, my goal in teaching is to provide students with a comprehensive learning experience that enables them to become creative individuals capable of solving novel problems.”
“To allow students to experience the dynamics in economics and game theory, I adopt the interactive game approach by integrating a simulation platform into my course. During my lectures, I conduct approximately 15 to 20 live game sessions, where a student’s payoff typically depends not only on their own choices but also on the choices made by all other players in the group, mirroring real-life scenarios. Although each session is very short, lasting only two or three minutes, the games provide a valuable opportunity for students to experience firsthand the need to accommodate diverse interests while pursuing personal gains. They also appreciate the refreshing break from the usual mode of lecturing and discussion.
The choices made by players reveal a rich array of human characteristics: greed, arrogance, cheating, as well as fairness, generosity, and pragmatism. Many students remark that the most significant lesson they learn is the importance of cooperation for effective strategy. I believe this lesson will not only make them better managers in the future but also more empathetic and caring individuals.”
The Inauguration Ceremony of the HKU Business School Mentorship 2024-25 Programme was successfully held on 5th November 2024 at Loke Yew Hall. This year, nearly 80 pairs of mentors and mentees have been matched. Moreover, mentors and mentees from the Executive Mentorship Programme (EMP) hosted by the Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Finance Programme were also invited to the ceremony to commence their journey together.
Professor Hongbin Cai, the Dean of HKU Business School, initiated the event with a welcoming address to our mentors and mentees. He expressed appreciation to mentors for their dedicated support to the Faculty over the years and affirmed that the encouragement and guidance from mentors would inspire mentees with fresh perspectives, empower them to realize their full potential and lead them towards success. Since the programme’s inception in 2014, it has nurtured and inspired over 600 students, instilling in them the values of leadership, growth, and perseverance. The success and steady expansion of the programme relies on the unwavering commitment and selfless dedication of all members, particularly batches of professional industry mentors who pass on their wisdom and serve as companions to their assigned mentees.
During the inauguration ceremony, two esteemed long-serving mentors, Mr. Teddy Liu and Mr. Vincent Tam, shared their past experiences serving as mentors for the Programme, both relishing the rewarding experience of transforming a professional connection into a lifelong friendship with their assigned mentees. Vincent has also teamed up with two of his former mentees – Ms. Bona Tsui and Ms. Jamie Leung. Through their testimonials, they emphasized how a strong mentoring relationship can significantly impact one’s personal and professional development.
This year, our School also recognized mentors* who have supported the HKU Business School Mentorship Programme for over a decade. During the ceremony, Professor Hongbin Cai presented each of these mentors with a Certificate of Appreciation to acknowledge their contributions to the Business School mentorship community.
Mentors with Service for 10+ years
(In alphabetical order of surnames)
Mr. Francis Cheng
Mr. Barry Ho
Mr. Tim Koo
Dr. Kate Kwan
Dr. Michael Leung, MH
Mr. Teddy Liu
Mr. Vincent Tam
Mr. Alvin Tse
Mr. Eric Yu
Ms. Minmin Zhan
As the youngest and most dynamic faculty member at the university, the HKU Business School has made remarkable progress in enhancing our academic and research excellence. The Faculty’s achievements reflect a commitment to excellence and long-term development, including the nurturing of young talent for the future by connecting them to the real business world. We firmly believe that the Mentorship Programme plays a crucial role in shaping the younger generation’s future, providing invaluable opportunities for students to broaden their horizons and develop essential skills.”
