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HKUST last revised its e-Learning Strategy in 2022 to strengthen technology-enhanced teaching, align practice with global standards, and encourage early experimentation with generative-AI tools.

Three years on, the context has shifted materially. The immediate operational pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic have eased, yet an expectation of flexible, technology-enabled study is emerging. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence have expanded well beyond large language models (LLMs). Multimodal systems capable of integrating text, image, speech and sensor data now support adaptive feedback, high-fidelity simulation and advanced learning analytics, while also creating new imperatives for transparency, privacy and academic integrity. HKUST’s plan to expand programmes in Medical Science further shapes the strategic context. Effective learning in this field increasingly relies on technology, particularly immersive, haptic and virtual simulations that let students practise clinical reasoning before they work with real patients.

Considering these developments, the term Strategy no longer captures the breadth of activity or ambition required. Therefore, it is recommended that the University adopts a Digital Education Strategy 2025-2028, signalling an integrated approach that treats digital capability as foundational rather than supplementary. The guiding principles endorsed in 2022 remain valid: learner-centred design, evidence-informed pedagogy, rigorous and authentic assessment, inclusive access, and sustained staff development. They are, however, reframed to emphasise the importance of emerging competencies in metacognitive and ethical AI literacy, data-informed student support, immersive and simulation-based learning, and personalised learning. The revised strategy outlines how HKUST will leverage the full spectrum of digital technologies to enhance learning and advance student success.

The updated Strategy is designed to encourage the digital transformation of teaching and learning that:

  • is innovative and pedagogically sound;
  • sustains current best-practices in approaches to digital education;
  • assures the maintenance of HKUST’s academic standards;
  • upholds the “Unified HKUST-Complementary Campuses umbrella” by enabling cross-campus teaching and learning opportunities, with faculty being encouraged and supported to collaborate and co-supervise students, and students having opportunities to pursue courses offered at HKUST and HKUST(Guangzhou).