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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) recently held the “Prize Presentation Ceremony of the Professor Charles K. Kao Student Creativity Awards 2025” (PCKKSCA) to recognise CUHK students for their outstanding innovative achievements. The awarded projects span areas such as data science, medical innovation and artificial intelligence applications, highlighting the University’s commitment to nurturing a new generation of talent in innovation and entrepreneurship, and injecting momentum into Hong Kong’s innovation and technology development.

Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, CUHK’s Vice-Chancellor and President, officiated at the ceremony and expressed his heartfelt congratulations to the winners: “As a leading comprehensive research university in Asia, CUHK is dedicated to nurturing innovative talent which can contribute significantly to Hong Kong and the nation. This competition provides an ideal platform for CUHK students to showcase their creativity and entrepreneurship potential, enabling them to gain practical experience to shed light on their innovation journey. We are proud of our students’ outstanding achievements and look forward to their outstanding success.”

The event attracted 94 undergraduate and postgraduate students from the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Science, who submitted a total of 55 entries. Following two rounds of keen competition, 11 projects stood out for their outstanding innovations, showcasing CUHK students’ creativity and practical spirit in technological innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Champion for postgraduate group entry: Next-generation Data Center Interconnects with Integrated Neuromorphic Photonic Processor

The champion for postgraduate group entry was won by Fan Li, Liu Shaojie, Wang Benshan, Xiao Qiarong and Xu Tengji from Faculty of Engineering’s Department of Electronic Engineering. Large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) training requires uniformly ultra-low latency and energy-efficient data interconnects to let massive graphics processing units (GPUs) function as a unified system. Traditional digital signal processor (DSP)-assisted optical interconnects suffer from high latency and inefficiency, limiting AI development. This project presents an integrated neuromorphic optical signal processor (OSP), achieving the world’s first all-optical, DSP-free, real-time 1.6 Tbit/s data link. Compared to 3-nm CMOS DSPs, the OSP reduces latency by >10,000× (<60 ps) and energy consumption by >1,000× (few fJ/bit). Its ultra-low latency is invariant to data rate scaling, making it ideal for future interconnects. Fabricated in silicon photonics, the OSP is monolithically integrable with photonic transceivers, enabling seamless interconnection across millions of GPUs with near-zero latency. This scalable, energy-efficient, high-speed, all-optical interconnect enables a paradigm shift for next-gen AI infrastructure.

Champion for postgraduate individual entry: Worm-like Nucleic Acid Nanostructure for Gene Delivery and Endosomal Escape

The champion for postgraduate individual entry was received by Xiao Yu from the Faculty of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. Nanoparticle-based gene delivery offers lower cytotoxicity than viral vectors, but its efficacy is often hampered by endosomal entrapment. This work presents a nucleic acid nanotechnology approach to overcome this delivery bottleneck using a three-dimensional worm-like nucleic acid nanostructure. It robustly escapes from the endosomes upon incubation with cells and injection into animals, empowering safe and effective gene therapies.

Champion for undergraduate group entry: CancerCompanion

The champion for undergraduate group entry was awarded to Chan Shu-ying, Lee Shing-him and Lee Shing-hei from the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Business Administration and Faculty of Engineering respectively. “CancerCompanion” is an AI chatbot designed to support the emotional needs of cancer patients. Built on Adjuvant Psychological Therapy (APT), an evidence-based framework that helps cancer patients develop a fighting spirit, “CancerCompanion” focuses on delivering structured, cancer-specific emotional support. It features a multi-agent architecture that integrates therapeutic frameworks into responses generated by large language models (LLMs), ensuring tailored, active support. With features like empathetic conversations, activity planning and personalised suggestions, it is designed to provide compassionate and practical companionship throughout each person’s cancer journey.

About the Professor Charles K. Kao Student Creativity Awards

Co-organised biennially by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and the Center for Entrepreneurship (CfE), the PCKKSCA is a technological innovation competition for CUHK students and a tribute to the remarkable achievements of the late Professor Sir Charles K. Kao. The PCKKSCA aim to promote a culture of innovation among CUHK students and to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration among undergraduate and postgraduate students as they innovate in technologies relating to engineering, medicine, science and social science. Additionally, student teams that have performed exceptionally at the PCKKSCA will be supported to represent CUHK at various regional, national and international competitions, providing invaluable opportunities to showcase their talents and ideas on larger platforms.