The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft Research Asia to enhance collaboration in medical health education and research.

Focusing on three strategic areas – nurturing talent, revolutionising smart healthcare, and developing enabling research – the MoU strives to drive the future collaboration of medical education through a holistic approach. 

According to the MoU, the two parties will use their respective strengths in research to foster exchange and collaboration in the medical health sector across three major areas. These include: (1) Pioneering innovative medical pedagogies utilizing cutting-edge technology to nurture the next generation of medical talent for future healthcare needs; (2) Exploring emerging healthcare service models to promote more efficient and intelligent medical services, seamlessly integrating medical and home care to improve patient care and quality of life; and (3) Advancing frontier medical health research, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), to facilitate the in-depth integration of basic medicine, clinical research and public health in pursuit of research breakthroughs and knowledge transfer endeavors. 

HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP said, “The emergence of AI has brought unprecedented changes for our future. As a forward-looking university, we have long collaborated with Microsoft, pushing the boundaries in different areas of research. This new initiative, which integrates AI and biomedicine, will pioneer innovative medical education and advance cutting-edge medical research, leading to improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment." 

Dr ZHOU Lidong, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft and Managing Director of Microsoft Research Asia, said, “With an extensive collaboration spanning over 24 years with HKUST, we are now expanding our collaboration beyond the realm of computer science to encompass the dynamic landscape of the medical and health sector."