Dr Phoebe Lin Awarded JSPS Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan

Dr Phoebe Lin, Assistant Professor of ENGL, has been awarded an Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan. The Invitational Fellowships, sponsored by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), provide overseas researchers who have an excellent record of research achievements with an opportunity to conduct collaborative research, discussions, and opinion exchanges with researchers in Japan. Dr Lin will be developing an automatic speech scoring system for English learners in collaboration with Dr Keiko Tsuchiya (Yokohama City University), Dr Alex Gillmore (University of Tokyo) and Dr Neil Millar (University of Tsukuba). She will also be giving public talks and workshops at these three universities in the first semester of 2022/2023.

Hong Kong Linguistics Olympiad Team Excels at IOL 2022

Our Hong Kong Linguistics Olympiad (HKLO) team achieved outstanding results at the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) 2022 held on 25-29 July in the Isle of Man. The team took home two medals, two best solution awards and an honourable mention: 💡Best Solution Award Ian Tam for problem 4 Henry Wong for problem 5 🥈Silver Medal Ian Tam (individual contest) 🥉Bronze Medal Henry Wong (individual contest) 👏Honourable Mention Ian Tam, Henry Wong, Ryan Lo, and Samantha Yung (team contest) The team is jointly trained by the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies and the Department of English and Communication. Please visit the HKLO page for more information about the team.

Faculty Dean Prof. Li Ping Appointed to Sin Wai Kin Foundation Endowed Professorship in Humanities and Technology

Prof. Li Ping, Chair Professor of Neurolinguistics and Bilingual Studies and Dean of Faculty of Humanities, is appointed as Sin Wai Kin Foundation Professor in Humanities and Technology under the University’s Endowed Professorship Scheme for the period of 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2027. This professorship has given the Faculty a strong impetus to make further contributions to the research and education in humanities and technology. With the support of donors, the Endowed Professorship Scheme recognises the achievements of world-renowned researchers in their specialised disciplines and enables the Endowed Professors to explore and advance cutting-edge research projects for the betterment of mankind.

FH PhD Student Takes Home Best Paper Award in Regional Competition

A CBS PhD student, Zeng Weixin, won the first prize in the 7th Paper Competition of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Postgraduate Academic Exchanges in Foreign Languages and Translation Studies 2022 (粵港澳外語與翻譯研究生論文評選大賽一等獎) co-organised by, among others, the Hong Kong Translation Society and Sun Yat-sen University. The Competition attracted over 250 entries covering the areas of foreign literature, linguistics and applied linguistics, translation studies, cross-cultural studies, and national and regional studies, 12 of which were selected to compete in the final round. Miss Zeng was awarded the winner after a presentation and Q&A session. Launched in 2015, this academic event aims to promote academic and cultural exchanges in the areas of foreign languages and translation studies between postgraduate students from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Dr Chen Si Wins the University's Young Innovative Researcher Award 2022

Dr Chen Si, Assistant Professor of CBS, receives the PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2022. The University received 59 submissions across 22 departments covering all faculties/schools in this inaugural round and Dr Chen (whose research focus is robot-assisted training for children with autism spectrum disorder) is named one of the six YIRA awardees. The YIRA aims to honour young PolyU researchers under the age of 35 who have demonstrated novelty, contributed to technology advancement, and propelled transformational innovation into solutions for addressing problem in society with a vision for a positive change to the future. Each YIRA awardee will receive research funding support of HK$500,000 and personal cash prize of HK20,000 as the encouragement for their research novelty and impact.

FH Students Excel in National Translation Competition

Our students Ma Jianfei (Year 1 student of the BALT programme) and Lin Meishan (Year 3 student of the BACBS programme) won the first-class awards in the first China Young Translators’ Contest (B Category). The competition has received more than 10,000 entries from students of over 1,600 local and overseas schools and other industry participants.

Dr Zhang Caicai's Project Funded by MOST National Major Project on Brain Science

Our Faculty member Dr Zhang Caicai (Associate Professor of CBS) has been awarded funding from MOST National Major Project on Brain Science – Young Scientist category (the China Brain Project) for her project in the area of language, cognition, and neuroscience. The funded project is entitled “Neurocognitive markers for typical language development and language disorders in children: A longitudinal study based on long-term memory, sleep and brain development”. The MOST National Major Project on Brain Science involves 59 research areas and directions with an overall funding beyond 31 billion. Dr Zhang’s project is the only project in Hong Kong funded in the area of brain and cognition mechanisms under the Young Scientist category.

FH Student Shares Experience and Aspiration as The Most Outstanding PolyU Student 2021

Our student Miss Ho Hiu Man, winner of the Most Outstanding PolyU Student Award 2021, shared with the media^ her learning experience and visions for the future, as well as her strong passion for Cantonese Opera. Under the Outstanding Students Award Scheme, each faculty or school selects one excellent student every year for the “Outstanding Student Award”. Among them, one student is selected as the “Most Outstanding PolyU Student” of the year. The Outstanding Student Awards Presentation Ceremony was held virtually on 21 April 2022. Click HERE for the sharing of Hiu Man. ________________________ ^Online coverage: https://polyu.me/36GYzCY; https://polyu.me/3k4g6Ix and https://polyu.me/3OztQsI

CLC to Launch Cantonese Flipped Classroom and MOOC for Learners of the Chinese Language

Our Chinese Language Centre (CLC) is launching two new online learning platforms for students who are eager to master Cantonese – whether for better understanding a significant part of Chinese culture, exploring the emerging global innovation hub of the Greater Bay Area, or simply for ordering and enjoying their favourite dimsum in restaurants. The full article is available in the April Issue of Pulse@PolyU. Click HERE to visit the online platform. Please stay tuned for the MOOC which will be launched this autumn.

Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2022

Congratulations to the following award recipients on receiving the first ever Faculty’s Outstanding Alumni Award (in alphabetical order of the last name): Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Entrepreneurial Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2022 Mr Law Wai Hung, Freddy Co-founder and CEO, Storius Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Language Studies with Business 2007 Department of English and Communication Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Professional Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2022 Dr Enrico Santus Director (AI and ML), Bayer Doctor of Philosophy 2017 Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies The Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Humanities (website) aims to recognise the graduates of the Faculty for their contribution to University and Faculty, and their diverse accomplishments in various areas, including professional achievement, scholarly achievement, and community service achievement. Read more about the awardees: Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Entrepreneurial Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2022 Mr Law Wai Hung, Freddy Mr Freddy Law Wai-hung is the Group CEO at Storius, an outdoor short podcast app for cultural tourism. Storius is operating in Hong Kong, Taiwan, US, Spain and Indonesia in 2022. Before that, he was the Director of Education For Good Community Interest Company, an innovation consultancy. He was also the CEO at Inter Cultural Education, the first company he founded. Freddy is an honourable lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. He is a Non-Official Member of the Human Resource Planning Commission, chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong SAR Government. He is the Founder of Cross Innovation, an innovation consultancy training different sectors to create new solutions effectively. He is an Advisor at AIESEC, a global platform for young people to explore and develop leadership potential, in Hong Kong and Mainland China. He is the Director of La Violet Education, advocating creativity in education. Freddy graduated from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Language Studies with Business. After that, he pursues a Master of Theological Essentials at the Gateway Seminary in the United States. Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Professional Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Humanities 2022 Dr Enrico Santus Currently the Director (AI and ML) at Bayer, Dr Santus is being honoured for his professional achievement in the domains of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). He was granted the Hong Kong PhD fellowship to pursue a PhD in Computational Linguistics at PolyU, followed by three years of postdoctoral fellowships at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has been dedicated to the research and application of AI for various purposes including sentiment analysis, fintech, healthcare and fake news detection. In his current workplace, he has contributed to the exploration, design and implementation of numerous AI solutions for pharmaceutical and crop sciences. Being recognised as a young and innovative expert in the field, Dr Santus is indeed a successful interdisciplinary talent with a strong presence in both academia and the industry. He is an active NLP champion who published over 69 papers in top-tier conferences and journals and received numerous grants and awards. He advises several laboratories, foundations and start-ups and his projects have been featured in mainstream media around the world.