The University of Hong Kong (HKU) held the HKU Talent Forum and the Second Anniversary Celebration of the HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Academy (TEA) in Qianhai, Shenzhen, on 5 September. The event brought together government, academia, industry, investors, entrepreneurs and young innovators to discuss talent development in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and ways to translate research into innovation through deeper Hong Kong–Shenzhen collaboration.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) announces the appointment of Professor Xiao-Jing Wang, a pioneer in theoretical and computational neuroscience, to its faculty as a Chair Professor. Professor Wang will hold a joint appointment between the School of Computing and Data Science (CDS) and the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine (HKUMed) starting September.

Developing radiosensitizing agents to amplify tumor-eradicating effects on primary, regional recurrence, and distant metastases plays a transformative role in modern cancer care. Here, we report the de novo design of biocatalytic artificial metalloenzymes with an IrMn-cluster-based redox center (IMM) to achieve radiosensitized systemic antitumor responses for preventing malignant tumor metastasis and recurrence. Notably, our findings indicate that Mn-organic ligands substantially enrich the electron density of Ir clusters, thereby optimizing their interaction with oxygen species and markedly enhancing the production of both reactive oxygen species and molecular oxygen. When combined with radiotherapy, the IMM effectively amplifies DNA damage and induces pronounced apoptosis by alleviating intratumoral hypoxia. This shift reprograms the tumor microenvironment, enhancing radiosensitivity and facilitating the infiltration and activation of intratumoral CD8⁺ T cells and dendritic cells. Moreover, when integrated with anti-PD-1 therapy, this coordinated therapeutic regimen elicits potent systemic immune responses and durable antitumor memory, effectively suppressing tumor recurrence and metastasis while markedly improving therapeutic efficacy and long-term survival. We anticipate that this conceptual design could offer a promising and translationally relevant nanomedicine platform for radiotherapies.

The HKU Robocon team from the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) represented Hong Kong and won the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union’s Asia-Pacific Robot Contest 2026 (ABU Robocon 2026). The team triumphed over university teams from 15 countries and regions, including Japan, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam, marking its first-ever victory in this prestigious international competition.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) organised the Asian Science Camp 2026 (ASC 2026 or the Camp) on campus from August 2 to 8, 2026, bringing together over 300 pre-collegiate and college students from nearly 30 countries and regions. In a historic first for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the seven-day programme has now concluded successfully, providing participants with an inspiring week of scientific learning, meaningful cultural exchange, and engagement with world-class experts, among whom were several Nobel Laureates.