Dr. Doo Leads WAIC UP Presidents' Roundtable on the Future of Higher Education in the AI Era

HONG KONG - Jan. 20, 2026 - PRLog -- The World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2025, held in Shanghai in July, brings together one of the strongest global lineups in the AI sector, convening heads of state (H.E. Mr. Li Qiang, China Premier etc.), Nobel laureates (Prof. Geoffrey Hinton etc.), Turing Award winners (Andrew Yao etc.), CEOs of world-leading technology companies, presidents of top universities, UN agency leaders, and WDTA representatives.

At the 2026 WAIC UP Global Year-End Summit held in Hong Kong in January, Dr. Doranda Doo, International Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (I·CAIO) of the World Digital Technology Academy (WDTA), chaired a high-profile roundtable titled "From Academic Heights to Leaders of the AI Innovation Ecosystem."

She was joined by senior leaders from four top Hong Kong universities:

• Prof. Cao Jiannong, Vice President, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Prof. Shen Zuojun, Vice President, University of Hong Kong
• Prof. Wang Yang, Vice President, University of Hong Kong
• Prof. Yang Mengsu, Vice President, City University of Hong Kong

Together, they discussed how higher education should respond to the rapid rise of AI and how universities can shape future innovation ecosystems.

Key Discussion Highlights

• Tackling Hong Kong's "strong research, weak industry" challenge: The panel addressed gaps in research translation, talent retention, and entrepreneurial support—calling for a shift from "super-connector" to "innovation originator."
• Three shared conclusions emerged:
  1. Education reform is essential—universities must build students' ability to solve complex real-world problems through industry engagement and project-based learning.
  2. Deep Hong Kong–Mainland integration—moving toward joint problem definition, joint R&D, and joint industrialization.
  3. University self-renewal—AI demands more agile, cross-disciplinary institutions with flexible pathways for research commercialization.

WDTA's Contribution

The themes align closely with WDTA's global mandate. Its flagship DigiBridge program offers a capability-based, project-driven model for digital talent development, providing universities with practical pathways to integrate learning, practice, assessment, and career opportunities.

By bringing an international perspective and the WDTA talent-development framework to the discussion, Dr. Doo highlighted actionable strategies to upgrade Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area's innovation and talent ecosystems.

Looking Ahead

The roundtable underscored a shared global challenge: how universities can better drive social innovation in the digital age. WDTA will continue working with global partners to build an inclusive, trusted, and sustainable digital education ecosystem that ensures the benefits of AI reach more people.

https://www.wdtacademy.org