Discover HKBU

Exploring opportunities within and beyond academic research

29 Feb 2024

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Professor Alex Wai (4th left), President and Vice-Chancellor, and guests attend the Employers’ Cocktail Party 2024 for Research Postgraduates held on 31 January 2024.
HKBU research postgraduates introduce their innovative projects to leaders and employers from a wide range of business fields.
The event brings together around 200 industry leaders, employers, HKBU faculty members and research postgraduates.

Around 200 people gathered at the Employers’ Cocktail Party 2024 for Research Postgraduates organised by the Office of Student Affairs on 31 January. Research postgraduate students from different faculties and schools at HKBU introduced poster displays of the projects they have developed to bring positive impact to society.

The event not only connected research postgraduates with leaders and employers from a wide range of business fields, but it also shone a light on the innovative projects conducted by HKBU postgraduates as well as demonstrated the open, creative, and nurturing research culture of the University.

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Yip Hiu-fung, a PhD candidate of the School of Chinese Medicine, has carried out a research project to enhance the accuracy of ChatGPT in handling medical enquires.
Benjamin David Pelletier from the School of Creative Arts measures how extended sleep improves musicians’ rhythmic and sight-reading skills, as well as their musical memory.
Simranjeet Kaur, a research postgraduate from the Faculty of Science, appreciates the research opportunities at HKBU and the collaborative research culture in Hong Kong.

At the event, more than 40 research projects were presented, covering the themes of Creative Media, Medical Services and Healthcare, R&D and Science, Social Impact, and Technology and IT Services. Among them was the project developed by Yip Hiu-fung, a PhD candidate of the School of Chinese Medicine, to enhance the accuracy of ChatGPT in handling medical enquires.

“While Large Language Models like ChatGPT are proficient in responding to general enquiries, the models’ accuracy in generating information in domain-specific topics need to improve,” said Hiu-fung. “My research aims to enhance the accuracy and reliability of Large Language Models in addressing such questions by integrating the use of a knowledge graph, which contains highly accurate data.” His research focuses on using data related to the field of small molecule drug discovery, and the techniques he has developed can be applied to other healthcare and medical topics. With an academic background in computer science and mathematics, Hiu-fung is particularly interested in making use of his knowledge to drive innovation in the medical field.

The research project by Benjamin David Pelletier from the School of Creative Arts was inspired by his experience of touring with the singer Jacky Cheung. “Being on tour was very tiring, but when I started to change my sleep habit, I noticed my performance quality improved dramatically. To systematically explore the effects of sleep patterns on musicians’ performance, my research measured how extended sleep improves musicians’ rhythmic and sight-reading skills, as well as their musical memory,” said Ben. His findings also reveal that the participants who slept more demonstrated an improvement in psychological flexibility, which refers to an individual’s ability to respond to changes. The research has practical implications for music professionals to substantially enhance musicians’ performance and welfare.

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Inspired by his interest in martial arts video games, Zhu Zixuan from the School of Creative Arts explores how the genre has evolved and how human-machine relationships have changed in the AI era.
Md Abdullah Al Mamun from the Faculty of Social Sciences studies how climate change impacts crop productivity in Bangladesh, providing insights into resource allocation and water management in agricultural production in the region.
Zhang Huitian from the School of Business investigates how interface layouts of shopping websites affect consumers’ switching likelihood, providing useful implications for marketing practitioners and website designers in the online shopping industry.

Simranjeet Kaur, a research postgraduate from the Faculty of Science, reflected on her work exploring the modifications and regulations of ribonucleic acid (RNA), a biological molecule that plays a vital role in the expression and regulation of genes in the body. Simranjeet believes that understanding the role of RNA-modifying enzymes is instrumental to identifying the causes of various types of cancer. The young scientist appreciates the research opportunities at HKBU and the collaborative research culture in Hong Kong. She said: “I plan to stay here and develop my career around applied chemistry research, where I can make use of my knowledge and research tools to benefit society. By taking part at today’s event, I hope to meet employers from the industry and learn more about how I can make a difference.”

This sense of readiness to contribute to different sectors of society is evident among HKBU research postgraduates. The Employers’ Cocktail Party has marked an important milestone in our students’ academic journey, while also providing them with a good opportunity to share their passion for research and innovation.