[HKU-ITS] AI and Data Science Summer Workshop

AI and Data Science Summer Workshop

Organized by: Institute of Transport Studies, HKU

What to expect: This is a 5-day workshop designated for undergraduate students or above who wish to strengthen their theoretical knowledge and practical skills in AI and data science. In the 5-day workshop, participants will engage in a diverse range of activities, including English lectures by HKU professors from various departments, hands-on sessions with consultation and supervision, and a technical visit. The lectures will cover a broad spectrum of topics in AI and data science, such as big data analytics, machine learning, deep learning, large language models, forecasting, optimization, and research skills. To earn a certificate of completion, participants are required to pass a written test and a group project. Each group project will be supervised by an HKU professor and assessed by a group presentation plus a written report. The group demonstrating the best performance in their project will be presented with the best project award.

Instructors:	Potential project supervisors:
Prof. W. Y. Szeto	Prof. W. Y. Szeto
Prof. Yong-Hong Kuo	Prof. Jiayang Li
Prof. Jintao Ke	Prof. Xintao Yan
Prof. Xintao Yan	Prof. Junshi Xu
Prof. Zhan Zhao

Dates: Aug 17 – Aug 21, 2026 (Mon - Fri)

Venue: HKU Main Campus

Tentative Schedule:

	Aug 17 (Mon)	Aug 18 (Tue)	Aug 19 (Wed)	Aug 20 (Thu)	Aug 21 (Fri)
AM Session (9 am-12 noon)	Lecture: Big data analytics	Lecture: Deep Learning	Lecture: Large language models and forecasting techniques	Lecture: Optimization	Test and consultation hours for group projects
PM Session (2-5pm)	Lecture: Machine learning	Consultation hours for group projects	Technical tour: TBD	Lecture: Communication and research skills	Group Presentation and closing ceremony

Registration link:

https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=105158  

Registration deadline: August 10, 2026

Quota: Limited quota. First-come-first-served.

Tuition fee:

• Normal fee: HK$11,800 (excluding accommodation, transportation, and meals)

• Discounted fee: HK$7,800 (only for HKU students, excluding accommodation, transportation, and meals)

Payment method: VISA, MASTERCARD, WeChat Pay, Alipay

Payment link:

https://onlinepytsysprd.feo.hku.hk/event/111750?code=0d845483567c43fcaa757e5c8b0f749e (normal fee)

https://onlinepytsysprd.feo.hku.hk/event/111898?code=de59c60081d243dab8fa3047bb498775  (for HKU students - HKU portal login required; discounted fee)

Enquiries: hkits@hku.hk

Student Seminar by Ms. Qingying He on May 28, 2026, 3:00PM

Title: Coordinated path planning of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) for maritime monitoring

Speaker: Ms. Qingying He (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Date: May 28, 2026 (Thursday)

Time: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Venue: Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing Two, HKU

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/r/YuBwcqw9y2

ITS Student Committee will provide a beverage for registered participants.

Abstract: Maritime monitoring often involves dispersed tasks over open water, where fixed support infrastructure is limited and costly to deploy and maintain. UAVs provide fast aerial sensing, while USVs can operate for longer periods and support UAV launch, recovery, and energy replenishment. The key planning challenge is to coordinate UAV sorties and USV routes so that monitoring tasks and launch--recovery operations remain feasible. This talk presents optimization models and scalable algorithms for UAV--USV coordinated path planning. The study starts from a deterministic setting, where coordination and synchronization are captured through a mixed-integer linear programming model and solved by customized exact and heuristic algorithms. It then considers travel time uncertainty caused by weather, waves, and currents, and develops a robust optimization framework to improve synchronization reliability. It further addresses real-time planning with imperfect operational information, where a cluster-wise robust optimization method is used to update decisions while accounting for heterogeneous forecast errors. Numerical experiments in the context of Guangdong--Hong Kong--Macao Greater Bay Area show that the proposed methods are effective, computationally efficient, and reliable under uncertainty. The framework provides a practical decision-support tool for operating heterogeneous autonomous systems in uncertain maritime environments.

Bios: Qingying He is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, under the supervision of Prof. Wei Liu. She holds a BSc in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from Northeastern University and an MSc in Computational Mathematical Finance (with Distinction) from University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on transportation network modeling, optimization, and data-driven decision-making, with an emphasis on multi-modal coordination across unmanned aerial, surface, and ground vehicles. Her research has been published in world-leading journals in the field, such as TR Part B, TR Part E, IEEE T-ITS and Transportmetrica B.

Student Seminar by Mr. Ka Yiu NG on May 22, 2026, 11:00AM

Title: More-than-Human Urban Accessibility: Veterinary Care and Pet-Friendly Public Transport

Speaker: Mr. Ka Yiu (Benjamin) NG (Department of Geography)

Date: May 22, 2026 (Friday)

Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 nn

Venue: Room 1010, CLL, Department of Geography, 10/F, The Jockey Club Tower, The University of Hong Kong

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/r/ehQUVw9vAM

ITS Student Committee will provide a beverage for registered participants.

Abstract: Traditional urban accessibility research largely focuses on people’s access to resources, offering only a limited account of how more-than-human beings may restrict or enable human accessibility. Scholarship in New Animal Geography calls for closer attention to the agency and subjectivity of more-than-human beings, and to the ways their encounters with humans shape reciprocal relationships. Against a backdrop of rising pet ownership globally and recent debate in Hong Kong about pet-friendly public transport initiatives, this seminar introduces: (1) the current literature on spatial access to veterinary care worldwide; (2) spatial access to veterinary care in Hong Kong; and (3) a preliminary exploration of public perceptions of pet-friendly public transport in Hong Kong.

Bios: Mr. NG holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences (First Class Honours) in Geography & Urban Governance and an MPhil in Geography from HKU. He has gained academic and applied research experience in transport and health through training at HKU, working at UNICEF Hong Kong (Advocacy Officer, Policy & Research) and at the Science Unit at Lingnan University (System Officer) before joining the PhD programme in 2025. His research interests sit at the intersection of GIScience, transport, and health, with a current focus on: (1) applied 3D GIS and accessibility modeling; (2) the built environment and health; and (3) pet-friendly public transportation.