Taking the pulse of digital health in Asia

17 regions, 420 delegates, one goal

2025-09-10

(Press-News.org) HONG KONG (9 September 2025)—Advancing digital healthcare innovation across the region is the key driver behind Digital Health Asia 2025, organised by Times Higher Education (THE) in partnership with City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) and the Institute of Digital Medicine (IDM).

Digital Health Asia, from 8 to 10 September, has brought together over 420 delegates from 17 regions, including leaders from academia, healthcare, government, and industry, to foster collaboration and drive progress in digital health.

“Digital Health Asia 2025 is more than just a conference. It is a celebration of the spirit of collaboration,” said Professor Boey, noting that CityUHK is the first university in Asia to host THE’s prestigious Digital Health series.

Highlighting that CityUHK has been named the “Most International University in the World” by THE for 2024 and 2025, Professor Boey emphasised the key role of CityUHK’s Institute of Digital Medicine (IDM) in bringing together leading experts from around the world in fields such as diagnostics, therapeutics, and health data modelling.

IDM connects CityUHK’s academic departments in engineering, data science, and life sciences, while driving breakthroughs and innovation in digital health by fostering interdisciplinary interaction among CityUHK’s Hong Kong Institute of AI for Science, the Institute for Materials Innovation, and the CityUHK Academy of Innovation.

Ms Mei Mei Lim, President for the Asia-Pacific region at THE, praised CityUHK for its vision and leadership in advancing digital health. “Interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative thinking will be key to the future of healthcare development,” she said. “This summit provides an ideal platform for promoting global dialogue and cooperation.”

DHA 2025 features more than 50 speakers from around the world, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Middle East. These speakers, spanning academia, industry, government, and non-governmental organisations, have come together to explore the future of digital health. The discussions will cover three major areas: AI and health data, biotechnology and digital health, and collaboration and commercialisation.

At the opening ceremony, the CityUHK team used AI technology to generate cartoon portraits of the speakers. This creative gesture echoed the summit’s theme of “AI and Innovation”. It served as a heartfelt tribute to the distinguished guests for their staunch support and active participation, enriching the significance of the event.

Key speakers at the summit include:

Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Senior Vice-President (Innovation & Enterprise), CityUHK Professor Anderson Shum Ho-cheung, Vice-President (Research), CityUHK Professor Sir Mark Welland, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge Ambassador George Hara, Group Chairman and CEO, DEFTA Partners Professor Dean Ho, Head of Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore Professor Kannie Chan Wai-yan, Director of Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE) and Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, CityUHK Professor Sunny Lee, Board Chairman of Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) Professor Juhee Cho, Chair of the Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation at the Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology (SKIHST), Sungkyunkwan University Professor Krasimira Tsaneva Atanasova, Vice-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research and Impact, University of Exeter

The summit includes keynote speeches and panel discussions aimed at fostering cross-sector exchange and collaboration in the medical field. An exhibition area has been set up to highlight IDM and CityUHK’s flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme, HK Tech 300, to showcase the University’s latest progress in interdisciplinary research, medical innovation technologies, and the translation of research outcomes.

Distinguished officiating guests included Mr Michael Ngai, Council Chairman of CityUHK; Professor Freddy Boey, President and University Distinguished Professor of CityUHK; Mr Justin Wong Tak-ho, Council Member of CityUHK; Ms Mei Mei Lim, President for APAC at THE; Professor Sir Mark Welland, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge; Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise) of CityUHK; and Professor Anderson Shum Ho-cheung, Vice-President (Research) of CityUHK.

For more information on DHA 2025, please visit the event website.

END

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Taking the pulse of digital health in Asia

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