CityU inaugurates Fang Binxing Class and Information Security Masters Forum, pioneering talent cultivation model 

The opening ceremony of the “Academician Fang Binxing Experimental Class” of City University of Macau (CityU) and the Information Security Masters Forum were recently inaugurated at the Ho Yin Convention Centre of the Taipa Campus of CityU. Fang Binxing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Jun Liu, rector of CityU; and Zhou Wanlei, vice rector of CityU; attended the event. The Information Security Masters Forum was held concurrently, which gathered top experts in the field of information security across the country, discussed three topics: data security,  cyber defense, and intelligent cyber security, exploring cutting-edge trends in both technology and industry application. The forum also attracted scholars from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Xidian University, Guangzhou University, Jinan University, and Beihang University to participate and give keynote speeches. 

 

The Opening Ceremony of the Fang Class (Spring) 2025 was held yesterday morning, with the seminar of Fang Binxing Class taking place concurrently. This marked the first time the seminar was held at a university outside the mainland. Many experts and scholars, including Zheng Weimin and Dai Qionghai, both academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Li Xiaoming, vice president of the University of the Greater Bay Area, also attended the opening ceremony. 

Rector Jun Liu delivered the opening speech for the Information Security Masters Forum. He stated that since the establishment of the “Fang Binxing Class” at CityU in 2022, the University has become the first Macao institution of higher education to participate in the “Fang Binxing Experimental Class” National Demonstration Project last year. He emphasized the goal of “laying a solid foundation and leading the forefront” of CityU’s “Fang Binxing Class,” its commitment to cultivating students into versatile talents with both strong theoretical foundation and practical skills, and its series of landmark achievements in the fields of cryptography, cyber attack and defense, and artificial intelligence (AI) security.  

 

Rector Liu highlighted the seminar’s theme of “New Paradigm of Information Security in the Intelligence Era,” encouraging in-depth dialogues across the topics of quantum security, AI ethics, and data sovereignty, and expressed his hope to stimulate new thoughts, deeper industry-academia integration, thereby building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international information security hub. 

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Academician Fang Binxing and Vice Rector Zhou Wanlei delivered speeches respectively at the opening ceremony of the Fang Binxing Class. With his profound knowledge and rich experience, Academician Fang emphasized the importance of cyber security in modern society and looked forward to the future development direction of the Fang Binxing Class. Vice Rector Zhou introduced the talent cultivation achievements of the Fang Binxing Class over the years, hoping to broaden students’ horizons and cultivate more first-class information security talents through an innovative learning model. 

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In the seminar of the Fang  Class, there were a total of six panel sessions, covering AI security, data privacy protection, blockchain security, cyber-attack and defense. Students presented the cutting-edge thesis research and carried out interactive discussions. Academician Fang Binxing made comments when seating in each sessions. Academician Dai Qionghai, Academician Zheng Weimin, Vice Rector Zhou Wanlei, and experts and professors from universities such as Guangzhou University, University of the Greater Bay Area, Education University of Hong Kong, and Beihang University served as the main and deputy commenting panelists to provide practical and effective guidance to the students, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of the cutting-edge research. Additionally, these panel sessions highlighted the teaching characteristics of the Fang Binxing Class: studying the latest research findings, drawing inspiration from primary and secondary commenting panelists, instructors, and examiners, and engaging in critical thinking to discuss and conduct research. 

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In the Information Security Masters Forum, many experts and scholars delivered special speeches on information security. Tian Zhihong, vice president of Guangzhou University, shared the outstanding performance of “Shield Cube” in the cyber security at the 9th Asian Winter Games. Zou Deqing, a professor from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, shared the research on intelligent detection of software security vulnerabilities; Chen Xiaofeng, a professor from Xidian University, shared the cutting-edge research on provable computing of databases and data flows; Huang Xinyi, a professor from Jinan University, shared the authentication of interpretable AI models based on training logs; Shen Jian, a professor from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, introduced the side-channel analysis based on deep learning; Guan Zhenyu, a professor from Beihang University, introduced the key technologies and typical applications of confidential computing. 

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In the exchange session, Academician Fang Binxing put forward new thoughts on cyber security defense. Vice Rector Zhou emphasized the importance of information security, especially the defense of hardware security. The attending experts and scholars had extensive discussions on the latest developments and trends in the field of information security. 

 

 

Source: Faculty of Data Science 

Photo credit: CityU Reporter