Lingnan University's Research Patents Increase Sixfold, Hitting a Record High; Qin Sirui: Favourable Location Allows It to Be a Pioneer of the University Town

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Lingnan University (LU) saw a sixfold increase in the number of patents granted last academic year compared with previous years, setting a record high. A total of 49 projects received funding from the Research Grants Council, amounting to HK$27 million. President Qin Sirui said in an interview that LU is close to the Northern Metropolis and described it as being able to serve as a pioneer of the university town.

LU recently held its "Excellence in Research and Knowledge Transfer Award Presentation Ceremony." Vice-President (Research and Innovation) Yao Xin said that in the 25/26 academic year, the number of patents granted to LU scholars in Hong Kong, the Mainland, the United States and other places increased sixfold compared with previous years, reaching a record high.

A research project led by President Qin Sirui also received HK$894,000 in the General Research Fund. The research aims to address the cumulative error problem in traditional artificial intelligence (AI) models when predicting electricity consumption data for air-conditioning systems in large buildings, developing a new model to improve accuracy and designing a lightweight version to simplify computation, helping smart buildings accurately predict air-conditioning usage.

Associate Vice-President (Strategic Research) Kwong Tak-wu said that more research funding, patent outcomes, knowledge transfer and innovation and technology entrepreneurship are development trends that are expected to be continuously deepened. "Research is important, but the people who benefit from research are equally indispensable." The new Policy Address will be announced on Wednesday (the 16th), with the Northern Metropolis University Town set to be one of the key focuses. In an interview, Qin Sirui described the current situation as similar to that of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), where he previously served as vice-president, requiring a "pioneer" to lead the way. He believes that LU, being adjacent to the Northern Metropolis, is well positioned to become one of the first institutions to collaborate with Chinese and overseas universities in running programmes.

Qin Sirui also noted that LU's undergraduate student population accounts for only 4% of the eight publicly funded universities, while its funded postgraduate students account for 1%. He believes that although government support is relatively small, LU produces a great deal and could play a greater role. He also revealed that the proportion of non-local new students at LU has reached the 50% cap, with students coming not only from the Mainland but also from 11 countries, and believes that even if the quota were raised to 55%, admission scores would not decline.