Chinese smartphone giant Oppo and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have renewed a collaborative framework agreement, which involves the launch of a joint innovation research centre for artificial intelligence (AI) imaging technology in the city.
Oppo last Friday pledged no less than 30 million yuan (US$4.2 million) in funding over the next five years to deepen collaborative efforts with PolyU on AI imaging technology, as well as for expanding the scale of co-training for PhD and postdoctoral researchers.
"The research centre's primary goal is to [nurture] talent," Zhang Lei, chair professor of computer vision and image analysis at PolyU's department of computing, recently told the South China Morning Post.
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The new centre - scaling up from a joint innovation lab set up two years ago - is expected to be operating by January next year. It aims to recruit around 25 doctoral researchers and several postdoctoral candidates over a five-year period.
Their focus will cover computer vision, an area Zhang has been involved in over the past two decades, and extend to the broader research in generative AI (GenAI) technology.
PolyU professor Zhang Lei serves as the head of the joint artificial intelligence research facility launched by Oppo and the university. Photo: Handout alt=PolyU professor Zhang Lei serves as the head of the joint artificial intelligence research facility launched by Oppo and the university. Photo: Handout>
GenAI refers to algorithms, such as ChatGPT, that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations and videos.
What sets apart the Oppo-funded joint AI centre from other local initiatives, according to Zhang, is its emphasis on nurturing talent versus regular corporate project-based research.
"I firmly believe that without the opportunity to nurture talent, anything you pursue serves only a short-term purpose," he said.
The collaboration between PolyU and Oppo reflects how academia and industry could push technological innovation, while working to enhance consumer experiences.
Fostering the development of leading AI experts has also become a prominent focus for Oppo amid the heated competition between the US and China for AI supremacy.
While China has expanded its AI talent pool over the last few years to meet growing domestic demand, the US remains the top destination for top-tier AI researchers to work, according to Chicago-based MacroPolo's latest AI Talent Tracker report, which compares global movement between 2022 and 2019.