Showcasing strengths Alongside these tech- and industry-based initiatives, more traditional Arts disciplines are also being revitalised. A proposal has been tabled to establish a School of History to bring together historians from various disciplines and faculties, such as architecture and education, to pursue common ground. The School would also be home to a Comparative Ancient World Studies programme, designed around the Faculty’s breadth of expertise in the history, philosophy and archaeology of Europe, the Near East, India and China. The Faculty will bring both proposals to the Senate in June. “Ancient World Studies is something that very few other places can offer with the real depth and methodological diversity that we have here,” Professor Pomfret said. “If we can draw all this expertise together, we can make it impactful on the international scene and really showcase our strengths.” External engagement is also on his radar. A new Arts communications team is bringing the Faculty’s achievements out into the community. HKUArts will also host a three-week, community-based festival in November to promote humanities research, under the umbrella of the global Being Human Festival. The Faculty has also attracted significant donations with its rising profile to support the new Institute of Transnational History of China and the proposed Centre of Visual Culture. For Professor Pomfret, there is great satisfaction in leading the development of his colleagues and the Faculty as a whole, where he has been based for more than two decades, and creating an environment where scholars can pursue everything from applying cuttingedge technology to writing traditional books. “We’ve sent a lot of rabbits running and the enthusiasm here is palpable. There are really good ideas and energy bubbling up from the grassroots of the Faculty,” he said. “Not everything will work, but at least we are galvanising things. The point of an Arts Faculty is surely to galvanise change.” Professor David Pomfret We’ve sent a lot of rabbits running and the enthusiasm here is palpable. There are really good ideas and energy bubbling up from the grassroots of the Faculty. In a tech-driven world, the humanities can seem to fall by the wayside, steamrolled by the momentum behind STEM-related subjects. But in HKU’s Faculty of Arts, that story is being flipped. Under the leadership of Professor David Pomfret, who was confirmed as Dean in autumn 2025, the Faculty has embraced AI, encouraged industry engagement and entrepreneurialism, and increased engagement within the University and beyond, all while keeping sight of its main purpose. “AI works really well at drawing points between big data and addressing entry-level challenges in the professions. But it struggles with the kinds of skills that we train in the humanities: critical thinking, inferential reasoning, creativity, and original thought,” he said. That does not mean there is no place for AI in the humanities. “There is a sense that we need to go further, to plan for the unknown. Graduates who can think, defend their ideas and communicate clearly from an ethically informed position will be in a stronger position to apply technologies intentionally, rather than be subjugated to them.” The Faculty is promoting those capabilities in several ways. On top of AI modules now required of all HKU students, Arts students will be trained on AI use within their disciplines, be it history, English, music, linguistics and so on. More than 70 such courses have been developed and will become a graduation requirement from the 2026–2027 academic year. “We still have courses to train students in core arts and humanities skills like writing, but we also see teachers experimenting more with AI. So there is a spectrum,” Professor Pomfret said. The Faculty of Arts is in the midst of a growth spurt, launching new programmes and schools, embracing new technologies, and establishing new collaborations within and outside HKU. Its new Dean, Professor David Pomfret, is leading the way. Humanities on the Rise Tech initiatives Technology also features in the Arts Tech Lab, which trains students in digital humanities and promotes the use of technology in research. In September 2025, the Faculty also launched the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Engineering in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, a five-year degree that provides full credentials in engineering plus humanities training, equipping students for jobs that may not exist but are likely to have strong demand in future, such as those focussed on AI ethics. At the same time, the Bachelor of Arts in Global Creative Industries has been launched to explore the relationship between culture and commerce, housed in the new School of Future Media (see page 30). Here, too, boundaries are being pushed to include a strong industry experience component – something that does not typically feature in Arts degrees. Professor Pomfret has also established a careers development team for all Arts students, whether undergraduate or postgraduate, to help them boost their profiles and job-seeking skills and connect them with employers. Memorandums of understanding have been signed with the likes of TenCent and Tuyoo Games to provide internship opportunities. “The feedback we receive is that these companies like Arts students because of the creativity, leaps of imagination and other ways of thinking they can bring to the table,” he said. Entrepreneurship is also promoted through the new Music Entrepreneurship and Popular Practice programme (see page 36). HKU Bulletin | May 2026 People 42 43 Professor Pomfret (centre, back row) visiting the booth hosted by the Arts Tech Lab at the Alibaba JUMPSTARTER 2026.
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