Lionel M. Ni, president of HKUST(GZ), delivers a speech at the forum held in Beijing on July 13, 2024. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

According to Ni, the university is dedicated to four main initiatives: offering scholarships to students from member countries from the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative and the Global Development Center of the cooperation agency for innovation and entrepreneurship; hosting the China-Europe Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum in Germany; sharing education reform research for quality enhancement and sustainable development; and organizing the 2025 and 2026 Youth in Global Development sub-forums to help nurture talent in the Greater Bay Area.

Arken Arystanov, chairman of the board of the Kazakhstan Agency of International Development, said: "Kazakhstan is advancing digital equality and access to education in the region, while also fostering cultural and humanitarian cooperation."

"As a relatively new emerging donor and middle power country in development, Kazakhstan has been striving to strengthen cooperation and coordination with other donors, both traditional and emerging, to enhance the capacity of its development initiatives," he said.

Arystanov noted his country has conducted several programs aimed at enhancing public administration, medical education and diplomatic ties, with annual participation from partner countries and donors.

The forum also featured a roundtable meeting during which entrepreneurs discussed how digital technology empowers youth development.

Li Jiaqi, vice-dean of iFlytek Beijing Research at iFlytek Co, shared insights into key trends in the AI industry, including boosting computing power for large models, enhancing efficiency and reducing training costs.

"Despite concerns that AI may replace human jobs, in reality it brings new opportunities for entrepreneurs and various industries," Li said, noting that sectors such as industry intelligence, multimodal development, intelligent customer service and content creation have shown great development prospects and business opportunities.

Steve Jo, who is from South Korea and serves as the general manager of SK Networks (Xiamen) Steel Processing Center, said the rise of AI is an unstoppable global trend. Jo noted that in countries such as China and South Korea, numerous enterprises are actively pursuing technological innovation through AI, "and this advancement is poised not only to differentiate nations, regions and generations, but impact job displacement concerns among the youth."

"I hope that our young people, with enthusiasm and a spirit of challenge, actively utilize the trends, grasp new employment opportunities well, and make significant contributions not only to their own countries but also to the long-term development of humanity," Jo said.