Lingnan University has embarked on a revolution, fusing liberal arts education with emerging technology to create a “unified personality” among humans, and making the academy a model among educational institutions in Hong Kong in the new era. President Joe Qin Sizhao talks to Oasis Hu. 

Editor’s note: Education is playing a key role in nurturing talent, fostering intellectual discourse, and driving progress in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. China Daily will present a series of interviews with university heads in the region on their perspectives, wisdom, and vision for future education development.

As artificial intelligence transforms the world of education, Lingnan University — a Hong Kong institution renowned for its century-old liberal arts tradition — has been at the forefront in embracing the new technological wave.

Strolling around the institution’s campus in Tuen Mun District in the northwestern New Territories, one can easily sense an atmosphere that blends tradition with modernity. In the buildings adorned with traditional Chinese-style architecture, students gather to discuss adopting AI and its implications, using the most updated version of ChatGPT to search for information.

With many overseas universities still hesitating or refusing to accept ChatGPT, Lingnan University gave all students and faculty members free access to it shortly after its launch in November 2022 and, from the 2024/25 academic year, the institution made AI a mandatory subject for first-year students.

In early May, Lingnan inaugurated the School of Data Science — the sixth faculty of the time-honored university, which is empowering traditional liberal arts courses with new technologies.  

The key driver behind this critical transformation is Joe Qin Sizhao, who has been at the helm of the institution since September last year.

Qin — an esteemed professor renowned for his expertise in automation, engineering and data science — is Lingnan’s first president with a scientific and technological background since the institution’s elevation from college to university status in the 1990s. All his three predecessors specialized in economics or sociology.

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Lingnan is widely recognized as the bastion of humanism in Hong Kong. Founded in 1888, it boasts a history spanning more than 130 years and is known as the region’s oldest university. It’s distinguished for its exceptional humanities majors, particularly in philosophy and Chinese language. It upholds a long-standing tradition of providing liberal arts education, emphasizing the importance of nurturing students’ personalities.

Qin sees his most important mission as leading the university in the digital revolution, enabling traditional liberal arts education and emerging technology programs to nourish each other and grow together.

After completing his studies at the nation’s prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, Qin obtained a doctoral degree from the University of Maryland in the United States. Over decades of research, he has published more than 470 papers and presentations and secured 12 patents in the US. He is a fellow of many academies of science, including being a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in the US — one of the highest honors for academic innovation and invention.

Besides his engineering prowess, Qin has a deep appreciation for humanities classics, which further strengthens the alignment between his expertise and Lingnan’s values.

Speaking calmly and slowly, Qin has a gentle demeanor, reflecting the qualities found in ancient Chinese literati. He’s fond of reading Chinese classics, has a profound understanding of Chinese history, and can recite a slew of stories from China’s modern era.

With a profound comprehension of the arts and sciences, he has figured out a definition of liberal arts education in the digital era since assuming the presidency of Lingnan University. In his view, the essence of liberal arts education in the digital age entails the integration of arts and sciences, the fusion of technology and humanities, and the development of human-centric technology. With the progress of liberal arts and digitalization in schools, Qin believes Lingan can be an education model in the new epoch, serving as a reference for other institutions.

The ‘unified personality’

According to Qin, the definition of liberal arts education is often misunderstood. Some people mistakenly see liberal arts education as general education, which aims to provide students with a well-rounded understanding of various disciplines, while liberal arts education’s focus is on fostering a “unified personality”, nurturing humans who possess responsibility, a sense of purpose and independent world views.

The term “liberal arts” often leads people to associate it solely with humanities subjects. However, liberal arts education encompasses both arts and sciences, with strong emphasis on interdisciplinary learning, thus fostering well-rounded students with both literary and rational capabilities, says Qin.

In the realm of liberal arts and quality education, Lingnan has achieved notable recognition. It joined the Global Liberal Arts Alliance in 2012 and was named by US business magazine Forbes as one of the “Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges in Asia” in 2015. In 2023, it ranked second globally for “quality education” in that year’s Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

In the modern era, the definition of liberal arts education must evolve to align with the times, Qin says. The advancements made in digitalization and AI have not only led to a technological revolution, but also sparked a cognitive transformation. While past technological breakthroughs, such as the invention of rockets, may have seemed distant to the general public, the digital breakaway has affected every aspect of people’s lives.

Recognizing these changes, Lingnan aims to be a liberal arts institution that can thrive in the digital space. Last year, the university began providing students with free access to ChatGPT and equipped its staff with Microsoft AI tools like Copilot to automate office tools. Concurrently, the institution has made generative AI a compulsory subject for first-year students starting from the 2024/25 academic year.

Students should learn to harness AI, a revolutionary tool that can greatly improve work efficiency and life quality, from its early development stage, says Qin. While the use of AI in education has sparked controversies, including concerns about misuse, cheating and plagiarism, he sees these challenges as reasons why AI should be integrated into the education system. “As to how to use AI appropriately and comprehend the ethical considerations, the answers lie in the process of using it,” he says. This process of discovery itself is exactly an indispensable part of education, not only for students but also for educators.

The initial output generated by AI models is often of low quality and cannot be used directly, requiring students to interact multiple times with AI to obtain the desired content. Through this iterative process, students can sharpen their skills in tool usage, innovation and critical thinking. These higher levels of thinking and cognitive abilities are the focus of teaching in the future. By honing these skills, students can unleash their full potential as human beings rather than competing with machines, Qin says.

There are also certain courses at Lingnan, such as morality and ethics, personal judgment and value systems that restrict the use of AI. Building up a student’s world views should rely on a more traditional and classical manner. Hence, nowadays, the university’s teaching process encompasses two parts — the utilization and non-utilization of AI tools, which presents a more complex task for teachers.

Schools and teachers should welcome this challenge, says Qin. “Education should equip students with the skills they will need rather than outdated knowledge from decades ago.”

Human-centered technology

Qin visited universities in the US and Europe and attended several international forums earlier this year. He found that many international institutions still lack the conditions to implement data reforms and comprehensive AI tools usage on their campuses.

Lingnan is well positioned to embrace digitization due to Hong Kong’s rapid development in higher education and the relatively unhindered access to resources enjoyed by the city’s eight public universities. Furthermore, Lingnan’s smaller size — around 6,000 students and 1,000 staff — allows for swift transformation.

Another significant initiative in the university’s digital reform process is the setting up of the School of Data Science in May to cover disciplines like AI, programming, machine learning and data science. The new school is the university’s sixth faculty, joining the existing departments of arts, business, social sciences, interdisciplinary studies, and the Graduate School.  

What sets Lingnan’s Data School apart from those of other universities is that it actively helps other colleges at the university to promote traditional disciplines, Qin explains. For example, the Master of Artificial Intelligence and Business Analytics program seamlessly integrates data analytics skills with traditional business disciplines. Additionally, the Master of Science in Smart City Technologies and Applications program empowers traditional sectors, such as transport and energy, by incorporating smart city technologies.

Another aspect that makes Lingnan’s Data School distinctive is its focus on human-centered technology, integrating data science and AI into humanities fields, including philosophy, society and public policy.

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Qin envisions a future where technology seamlessly integrates with other humanities disciplines. For example, students studying Chinese literature can restore images from various dynasties in the digital world; those studying Western culture can leverage AI to create a digital Roman Empire; arts students can explore new avenues of self-expression by employing AI; while philosophy students can delve into the intricate relationship between humans and AI beyond human-to-human interactions.

The development of AI may render certain professions with repetitive skills obsolete, but it does not threaten the humanities, says Qin. Technology can enable humanities subjects to accomplish previously unattainable tasks, enhancing learning experiences and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Furthermore, as people are freed from repetitive work, they will have more time to engage with classic humanities and develop their personality and higher-level thinking.

On the other hand, the humanities can provide valuable insights and guidelines for technology, setting ethical and moral standards in the digital world.

Arts and sciences, or humanities and technology, can mutually reinforce and enhance each other. This is the trend of the times and underscores Lingnan’s commitment to liberal arts education in the digital age, says Qin.

Contact the writer at oasishu@chinadailyhk.com