In August, a large number of students arrived at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) one after another, and the campus was filled with the vitality of youth. From August 25 to 26, 2025, under the scorching sun accompanied by gentle autumn breezes, the School of Artificial Intelligence held a series of exciting orientation activities for undergraduate and postgraduate students respectively. The undergraduate orientation took place on the 1st Floor & TA101, Teaching Building A while the postgraduate orientation was held on the second floor of the Liwen Hall.

On August 27, following in-depth Face to Face Q&A with Dean and Professors, a total of 145 undergraduates and 31 postgraduates made the decision to join SAI. All these students are brimming with enthusiasm and aspirations for AI, and they will become the first cohort of students in SAI.

On the morning of August 29, 2025 the School of Artificial Intelligence Inauguration Ceremony was successfully held at the University Sports Hall. The ceremony was jointly witnessed by Prof. Lo Chi-chuen, Vice-President of CUHK-Shenzhen; Prof. Haizhou LI, Dean of SAI; Prof. GALLEGO, Dean of the SDS; Prof. Xiaogang YE, Dean of School of Music; Prof. Wengao GONG, Associate Dean for Common Core Education; Prof. Jianhua HUANG and Prof. CHANG, Tsung-Hui, Associate Deans of SAI; as well as guests from various university departments, research institutes, and guests from leading sci-tech innovation enterprises in the Greater Bay Area. Starting from SAI, a group of vibrant students are about to embark on a new journey. On this journey, they will embrace the new world of AI, explore the future, and pursue their dreams.

Dear students, welcome to School of Artificial Intelligence! Let’s embrace AI together and build the future hand in hand!

2025 Welcome Day of School of Artificial Intelligence

From August 25 to 26, 2025, SAI held Welcome Day themed "Hello AI, Hello Future". Prof. Haizhou LI, Dean of SAI, Prof. Jianhua HUANG and Prof. Chang Tsung-Hui, Associate Dean of SAI, along with a number of distinguished professors and enterprise guests, successively introduced the overview of SAI, educational features, details of the undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs in SAI as well as systematic practical courses, and shared the development and cutting-edge applications of AI in various fields.

The two-day Welcoming Event was filled with highlights and valuable insights. The "Dean Face to Face Q&A with Dean and Professors" was hosted by Prof. Zhizheng WU, an expert in Voice Interaction, Speech Generation, and Deepfake Speech Detection. Firstly, Prof. Haizhou LI, Dean of SAI, extended a sincere welcome to all new students and their parents on behalf of the school. He gave a detailed introduction to the school’s educational philosophy from the dimensions of cognition, perception, thinking, consciousness, knowledge, and intelligence. He stated that SAI is committed to building an interdisciplinary, innovative world-class hub for AI teaching and research, and to cultivating AI professionals with an international perspective, innovative spirit, and practical capabilities. At the same time, Dean Haizhou LI emphasized that interest is the key to learning. He expressed his expectation that students who are passionate about fields such as artificial intelligence, language technology, and embodied intelligence will join the school and pursue their dreams together at the forefront of AI technology!

During the event, hosted by Prof. Zhizheng WU in a lively and engaging manner, the Dean held in-depth dialogues with freshmen and their parents. They provided clear and accessible answer to questions regarding introduction to signature practice-based course series, students’ program choices, campus life, and career prospects.

To help the freshmen quickly understand the school’s overview and curriculum system, the school specially set up a Consulting Area. During this session, professors from the school conducted face to face Q&A with new students, providing detailed answers to questions of concern to new students, such as SAI’s disciplinary features, curriculum design logic, and professional development directions.

Subsequently, Prof. Zhizheng WU, an expert in Voice Interaction, Speech Generation, and Deepfake Speech Detection, delivered a sharing session themed "AI Voice Interaction, Practical and Delightful". Through diverse forms such as audio and video presentations, he systematically interpreted AI’s processing of non-linguistic information including emotion recognition, human emotional perception, and emotion understanding. With rich cases, he also intuitively demonstrated the core value of artificial intelligence technology in improving production efficiency and optimizing service experience.

Meanwhile, Prof. Chang Tsung-Hui, Associate Dean of SAI, delivered a detailed introduction to the school’s key initiatives related to academic and talent development from two perspectives: education & teaching, and talent cultivation. The content covered educational philosophy for the AI era and an overview of the AI professional practice course series and the integrated UG-MSc-PhD training program for AI majors.

Furthermore, a number of AI industry experts gave AI themed sharing sessions that combined depth with engagement, presenting the audience with multiple intellectual feasts.

Dr. Guanghua ZHANG from the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and the Longgang District Human-Machine Agency delivered a speech themed "Building a Human-AI Symbiotic Future". Starting from technology development trends and social application scenarios, he conducted an in-depth analysis of the core paths and future prospects of human-machine collaborative development.
Subsequently, Kaijun FAN, a technical art expert from the Tencent IEG Interactive Entertainment Photon Art Department, focused on the theme "Multidimensional Applications of AI in the Gaming Industry". Combining practical cases in the gaming industry, he provided a detailed interpretation of the innovative applications and value of AI technology in game design, scene rendering, player interaction and other links.
Hong YI, a senior solution expert from Alibaba Cloud, centered on "New Paradigms of Education and Scientific Research in the AI Era". He discussed how AI technology empowers scientific research innovation and provided new ideas for the digital transformation in the field of scientific research.
The speeches presented by three experts were both professional and forward-looking, bringing diverse perspectives on the applications of AI and Robotics technology to the on-site audience.

AI Practice-Based Course Series

On the afternoon of August 26, Prof. Jianhua HUANG, Associate Dean of the School, Director of the Academic-Industry Collaboration Center, with Prof. Xi ZHU, Chairman of the Academic-Industry Collaboration Center, and Prof. Zhanzhan ZHAO, Members of the Academic-Industry Collaboration Center, drew on their practical experience in the fields of AI education. They conducted an imaginative and reflective sharing and discussion covering multiple dimensions: from the construction logic of the AI practical course system and the distinctive features of AI exploration courses, to the specific paths for teaching method innovation and learning concept transformation; from the new requirements for the capabilities of interdisciplinary talents in the AI era, to practical suggestions for students on participating in course learning and planning university life, and further to the direction of the school’s cultural construction and its future development plan.

AI Experience Zone

At the event site of the school, a series of tech-savvy AI interactive devices stood out as bright highlights:
Students could learn about and experience the Medical Diagnosis and Treatment Robot from Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence And Robotics for Society (AIRS). The robot, relying on advanced sensing technology and AI algorithms, enables precise operation and diagnosis of peripheral pulmonary nodules and early-stage lung cancer. Yungao Zhilian's AI Themed 3D Interactive Large Screen Delivers an Outstanding AI Audio-Visual Feast to Students and Parents Through Engaging Content Including the Game Black Myth: Wukong and AI Earth Tour. Additionally, the "Cloud View of the World" experience project from the Shenzhen Research Institute of Big Data, Huatuo GPT, RAG models, and AI photo check-in machines fully engaged the audience, who couldn't help but marvel at the charm of the new AI world.
 

School of Artificial Intelligence Inauguration Ceremony 

School of Artificial Intelligence Inauguration Ceremony held in University Sports Hall on the Morning of August 29. At the Start of the event, Prof. Haizhou LI, Dean of SAI and X.Q. Deng Presidential Chair Professor, delivered an address. He stated that School of Artificial Intelligence serves as a crucial platform for students to step into the new world of AI. He expressed his expectation that students would discover their interests here, proactively explore cutting-edge AI technologies, and actively refine their professional capabilities. "Over the next four years, I hope you will gain insights through learning, achieve progress through practice, live up to the times, and live up to your prime. Writing your own new chapter in artificial intelligence here!

Professor Chang Tsung-Hui, Associate Dean of SAI, Presidential Fellow, took the Stage to Share Insights. He gave a detailed briefing on aspects including the university's educational norms, academic supervisor system, key points for course selection, and access to learning resources. This not only provided students with clear guidance to quickly adapt to the academic pace and clarify their learning directions, but also effectively laid a solid foundation for their academic development.

Professor Jianhua HUANG, Associate Dean of the SAI, Center Director, delivered a Speech Focusing on the School's Features of Industry-Academia-Research Integration. He pointed out that the industry-academia-research platform serves as a bridge connecting classroom knowledge with industrial practice, and can provide students with a broad stage for innovative practice. He expressed his expectation that SAI students would attach importance to teamwork, fully release their potential here, conduct bold exploration and hands-on practice, and contribute their youthful strength to the development of the AI field.

Ms. Joanna CAI, Deputy Director, delivered a Warm Sharing Session, she systematically introduced to the students the center’s core support services, including psychological counseling and emotion management. Meanwhile, she explained in detail the appointment process and confidentiality principles, building a solid defense for freshmen’s physical and mental health with professionalism and warmth.

Xiaoni YE, Director of the University's Career Planning and Development Office, shared insights from the perspectives of career planning and further study guidance. She clearly outlined the pathways connecting academic studies and careers for freshmen, helping them clarify their development goals in advance and laying a solid foundation for their future career and further education pursuits.

Mr. Paul KE, Director of the University's Academic Exchange Office, delivered a Sharing Session Themed "Introduction of the Further Study & Career Development (University) ". He focused on the university's strengths in internationalized education, and gave a detailed explanation of resources such as student exchange programs, overseas summer study programs, and joint training programs cooperated with top global universities. These resources build a bridge for freshmen to step into the world, and he encouraged them to expand their academic boundaries and enhance their cross-cultural communication capabilities.

Mr. Hui PANG, Lecturer of  School of Humanities and Social Sciences Introduced the SALL Center to Students from Dimensions Including SALL Center Activities and Online Learning Courses.

During the Library Introduction Session, Professor Jianxiong GE, Chief Librarian, Offered Practical Advice: "We should not only make good use of the library's abundant digital resources and databases to improve learning efficiency through convenient platforms, but also persist in reading classic masterpieces and important documents to cultivate humanistic literacy through in-depth reading". He emphasized that digital resources and classic reading complement each other, and only in this way can they contribute to the joint growth of academic performance and spiritual development.

Professor Lan LI, director of the University Academic Ability Enhancement Research Center and faculty member of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, gave freshmen a detailed explanation of the university's quality assurance mechanism, student feedback channels (CLEAR), and the role students can play in improving educational quality, enabling freshmen to gain a clearer understanding of the university's educational quality.

Amidst the joyful laughter during the group photo of all attendees and the rounds of applause in the theme sharing session, the inaugural opening ceremony of SAI came to a successful conclusion.

M.Phil.-Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence Programme Orientation

On the afternoon of August 29, SAI held an introduction session for the Artificial Intelligence Master's and Doctoral Programme for the 2025 cohort of master's and doctoral freshmen, helping them quickly integrate into the scientific research and academic atmosphere.

The Orientation Was Presided Over by Professor Jianhua Huang , Associate Dean of SAI and Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee. Firstly, Professor Haizhou LI, Dean of SAI, delivered an opening speech. He pointed out that researching artificial intelligence is a journey full of fun, and encouraged the new master's and doctoral students to "Find your interest"-that is, to discover their true academic passions and delve deeply into their professional fields.

Subsequently, Professor Yixiang FANG, Director of the School's Master's and Doctoral Programs, focused on the core aspects of talent development for master's and doctoral students. From a systematic and comprehensive perspective, he delivered an in-depth interpretation of key content, ranging from course introductions and course selection rules to candidate assessment criteria, graduation procedures, and preparation requirements.

Professor Jie WANG, Chair of the Teaching Assistant (TA) Committee, emphasized the importance of safeguarding the university's degree programs and cross-institutional course needs to the students present through TA training. He also introduced the responsibilities of the TA Committee, providing clear guidance for the conduct of TA work.

Finally, the teaching team of the AIE course and their corresponding Teaching Assistants (TA) held a thematic seminar focusing on the course. They conducted in-depth discussions with the TAs present, jointly building consensus for course optimization and teaching advancement.

Sincere gratitude is hereby extended to all professors, postgraduate students and Research Assistant (RA) volunteers who took part in the SAI Welcome Day, as well as representatives from partner institutions and enterprises, including the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, the Shenzhen Institute of Big Data, the Institute of New Medicine, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent and Yungao Zhilian. Thank you for your full support, which has made the school’s orientation events more vibrant, engaging and splendid!

We would like to thank every new student for choosing SAI. We believe that in your future academic journey, you will take wisdom as your brush and innovation as your ink—cherishing your prime years, applying what you learn, courageously exploring amid the fast-changing tides of technology, forging ahead with resolve in the face of the unknown, challenges and difficulties. May you strive to write your own youth chapter and grow into AI pioneers who possess top-tier AI expertise, a global perspective, and humanistic compassion!