As part of longstanding cooperation between the University of Bari Aldo Moro and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a seminar entitled “Smart Solutions for Sustainable Cities and Societies” was held in Hong Kong on the occasion of Italian Research Day (Giornata delle Ricerca Italiana). The event was organized in collaboration with Hong Kong University and the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, under the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong.
The three-day programme brought together experts from the participating universities to engage in dialogue, exchange views and share expertise on key contemporary and cross-cutting issues. These included sustainable urbanisation; emerging IoT and Artificial Intelligence technologies, and their applications in infrastructure monitoring and disaster prevention; nature-based solutions linked to “blue-green infrastructures,” and the promotion of healthier urban environments; as well as sustainable agricultural production systems, new agri-tech solutions, and food security.
The event helped to strengthen ties between the Italian university system and Hong Kong’s leading institutions, while offering a renewed framework for cooperation aimed at bringing academia, industry, and public institutions closer together.
In this context, the University of Bari delegation also visited the InnoEx exhibition currently taking place in Hong Kong, with a particular focus on the “smart” applications the city is progressively adopting. These include the growing use of Artificial Intelligence across the medical, infrastructure, mobility, services, and “low-altitude economy” sectors.
