Research Mingle: A convergence of communication expertise and research innovation
Communication is taking place every day in versatile ways, substantially in the digital world with the participation of AI. Here in the real world on May 9, 2024, we were thrilled to meet in person two communication experts at our “Research Mingle” event crossing over with the HKBU School of Communication, discussing the vision of a trustworthy digital future and the implications of online videos with the HKBU research community.
“Have you ever thought of the trustworthiness of AI and online information? What if they are unreliable?” Dr Li Yupeng, Assistant Professor from the Department of Interactive Media initiated with an inspiring question. Seeing the urge to combat misinformation with robust mechanisms, Dr Li introduced his pioneering research work “Multi-source benchmark dataset for Chinese FakE News Detection (MCFEND)”, a collaborative endeavour for social good incorporating sociological concepts. His remarkable work has been awarded quite some prestigious grants over the years, enlightening the attendees.
Afterward, Dr Zou Sheng, Assistant Professor from the Department of Journalism, led the audience to another niche area of the digital world – videos on online platforms. “We now see an increasingly blurring line between political communication and popular culture,” said Dr Zou, an interdisciplinary researcher and media scholar whose research interests are digital media and society and more. The audience was fascinated with his insights from two of his exceptional projects about seeing politics and popular culture through videos on Douyin, a prevalent short-form video-sharing application TikTok.
Following the two enlightening presentations, the participants were enthusiastic about knowing more about the research projects. Other than raising more in-depth questions about the projects, the participating researchers actively offered comments, observations and suggestions including the possible applications of MCFEND, and future research directions in the field of digital media. The Q&A session was enriched by the discussion brought by Professor Francis Lau, an Honorary Professor in Computer Science at the University of Hong Kong, who is a former supervisor of Dr Li. We were excited to meet him again as he had been a speaker at our former “Research Mingle” event sharing his exclusive insights on research outputs.
Reflecting the core mission of our event series – to nurture a vibrant community of interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars – this event was particularly gratifying as it convened both longstanding colleagues and newcomers, paving the way for future collaborations. The event was elevated by the contributions of two distinguished speakers and our engaging event MC, Ms Bonnie Chen, a PhD student from the School of Communication.
For more upcoming events of the “Research Mingle” series, please stay tuned to our event page. Discover more exciting research news, events and stories of our talented HKBU researchers on our LinkedIn page.
