Database systems, which provide various operations for defining and querying data, enable large-scale AI systems and intelligent applications in various domains. Due to recent advances in large language models (LLMs), automating database operations through code generation has become increasingly attainable. This capability of having data intelligence in LLMs has given rise to a new paradigm—Data-Centric Code Generation (DCCG)—which aims to build systems that can automatically understand, manipulate, and reason over data.

In this talk, Professor Cheng will discuss their team’s effort in building benchmarking systems, including BIRD-SQL, a large-scale Text-to-SQL benchmark on real databases, and SWE-SQL, which gauges the ability that an LLM resolves user SQL issues. These benchmarks, widely used in the industry, reveal hallucination and other issues faced by LLMs. To address these challenges, he will present their work in graph-aware reasoning, SQL correction, and multi-turn tabular data analysis. They aim to evolve LLMs from static code generators into autonomous, trustworthy agents, with data intelligence, that can understand and generate data-driven software systems.

Date: 30th July 2026 (Thursday)
Time: 4:00 PM
Venue: Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing Two (G/F, Run Run Shaw Building, HKU)
Speaker: Professor Reynold C.K. Cheng, Professor and Department Head of Data Science & AI, School of Computing and Data Science, HKU

Register now:
https://innowings.engg.hku.hk/dataintelligence/

Prof. Reynold Cheng has been invited to speak on the topic of “AI for Social Goods: STAR Lab’s Experience” at the ICMSS 2026 Conference. The ICMSS 2026 Conference will be held from March 20-22 in Wuhan, China.

The ICMSS conference provides professional interactions of emerging management engineering, software engineering and service sciences. Additionally, it serves as a conduit for delivering advanced technology to the regional industry.

In the talk, Prof. Cheng will share how the HKU STAR (Social Technology And Research) Lab applies AI and data science to support elderly and family care services. He will introduce HINCare, a software platform designed to foster volunteering and a culture of mutual help within communities. Also, he will discuss a collaborative project with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust regarding an innovative case management and AI-enabled data analysis system.

Details of the talk are as follows:

Date: 21 March 2026
Time: 10:50-11:30 (UTC+8)
Zoom ID: 812 5250 5192
Pwd: 2022
ICMSS Website: https://www.icmss.org/

Prof. Reynold Cheng has been invited to give a live talk on the topic of “BIRD-SQL: Towards Automatic Data-Centric Code Generation ” at Wuhan University.

In the talk, Prof. Cheng will discuss his team’s effort in building benchmarking systems and present his work in graph-aware reasoning, SQL correction, and multi-turn tabular data analysis.

Details of the talk are as follows:

Date: 20 March 2026
Time: 15:00
Venue: B404, School of Computer Science, Wuhan University

Professor Reynold Cheng, Leader of the HKU STAR Lab, will unveil how data science serves society at the Google Cloud Education Summit Hong Kong 2026. He has been invited as a distinguished speaker to share the Lab’s pioneering work in applying data science to address critical societal challenges.

The summit, a premier gathering for Hong Kong’s education leaders, will take place on January 31, 2026, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Focusing on the theme “The Future of Learning: AI for Every Classroom,” it aims to move beyond theory and deliver actionable strategies for educational transformation.

At 3:50 PM, Professor Cheng will lead a session titled “Data Science for Social Goods: STAR Lab’s Experience.” While Data Science and AI are often associated with commercial efficiency and profit maximization, their potential to solve deep-rooted social challenges is equally profound. In this session, the HKU STAR Lab shares its pioneering journey in “Data Science for Social Good,” demonstrating how advanced technology can be humanized to serve the community’s most vulnerable sectors.

Date: 31 January, 2026 (Saturday)
Registration Time: 1:15 PM – 2:00 PM
Event Time: 2:00 PM – 5:20 PM
Venue: Meeting Room N201, 2/F, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Phase 2)
Address: 1 Expo Drive, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Register Link:
https://cloudonair.withgoogle.com/events/hk-google-cloud-education-summit-2026#

Empowering Families in the Digital Age

The Jockey Club SMART Family-Link Project (“JCSFL Project”) aims at leveraging advanced Information and Communication Technologies in support of more effective and innovative service delivery provided by all NGO-operated Integrated Family Service Centres and Integrated Services Centres to promote family well-being and enhance the sector’s capacity in the use of technology and data for family service innovations that can respond to emerging service needs. We are thrilled to announce that the Jockey Club SMART Family-Link Project Finale cum International Conference 2025, with the theme of “Empowering Families in the Digital Age”, will be held from 26 August to 28 August 2025 at Lecture Theatre 2, 1/F, HKUMed Academic Building, 3 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.

The 3-day event will consist of an opening ceremony, thematic forum “Mapping the Way Forward for Greater Impact: Digital Innovation for Next-Generation Family Services”, keynote and plenary presentations to showcase good practices of the JCSFL Project and Hong Kong’s experience, facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing on leveraging technologies and data to enhance delivery of innovative and effective family services among local and international field experts, professionals, NGOs and academia, creating a network and platform for future collaboration and sustainable development. Come join us!

Date: 26 August – 28 August 2025
Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, 1/F, HKUMed Academic Building, 3 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Register Link:
https://conf.jcsmartfamilylink.hk/en/reg