Signing MOU with Nanjing University to set up the “Joint Laboratory for AI-enabled City Development and Safety Governance”

In response to the escalating risks in urban development and governance, the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the School of Government at Nanjing University have formalised a partnership by signing an agreement to establish the Joint Laboratory for AI-Enabled City Development and Safety Governance on 21 April, 2026 on HKU campus. It is the first research platform under the “Nanjing University Hong Kong Advanced Research Institute” set up in October 2025.

The ceremony was witnessed by Academician Tan Tieniu, Party Secretary of Nanjing University, and Professor Peng Gong, Vice-President and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic Development) of HKU. The agreement was signed by Professor Zhang Haibo, Dean of Nanjing University’s School of Government, and Professor Chang Yung Ho, Dean of HKU’s Faculty of Architecture.

The Joint Laboratory will be co-led by Chair Professor Wilson Lu, Head of HKU’s Department of Real Estate and Construction and Director of iLab@HKU, alongside Professor Zhang Haibo, Dean of School of Government at Nanjing University. The Expert Advisory Committee’s chief advisors include Professor Anthony Yeh, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chair Professor of Urban Planning and Design at HKU, and Dr Zheng Guoguang, former Deputy Minister of China’s Ministry of Emergency Management.

為應對城市發展與治理日益增加的風險，香港大學（港大）建築學院與南京大學政府管理學院於2026年4月21日在港大校園簽署合作協議，成立「城市建設與安全治理人工智能聯合實驗室」，是去年十月揭牌的「南京大學香港高等研究院」旗下首個研究平台。

儀式由南京大學黨委書記譚鐵牛院士與港大副校長（學術發展）宮鵬教授共同見證。南京大學政府管理學院院長張海波教授與港大建築學院院長張永和教授代表雙方簽署合作協議。聯合實驗室主任由港大房地産及建設系系主任、智能城市建造實驗室iLab主任呂偉生講座教授與南京大學政府管理學院院長張海波教授共同擔任。專家委員會首席專家爲香港大學中國科學院院士、城市規劃及設計系葉嘉安講座教授，以及中國應急管理部原副部長鄭國光博士。

For more information, please refer to HKU Press Release:

https://www.hku.hk/press/press-releases/detail/c_29071.html

https://www.hku.hk/press/press-releases/detail/29071.html