Alumni event in Shenzhen
Date: Saturday 17 May 2025 | Time: 14:00 - 17:00 (local time)
Location: QiuXianGe, Shenzhen Talent Park, 3329 Ke Yuan South Avenue, Yuehai Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
- Guest speakers
Join Professor Nigel Harkness (Deputy Vice-Chancellor) and Professor Dennis Wong (Regional Provost & Group CEO (East & South East Asia)) at our annual alumni event for graduates who live or work in China.
This year, the event is themed around our NCL in Action programme 'Exploring AI's impact on our world' and we are delighted to be hosting this in the Silicon Valley of China, Shenzhen, for the first time.
Smart Science: How AI is shaping our daily lives and future careers
Our annual events are designed to provide you with a platform to meet fellow graduates in the region. Join us to reminisce about your fond memories of Newcastle University whilst enjoying a traditional afternoon tea.
This event will also feature a panel discussion providing you with an opportunity to learn how AI is revolutionising and transforming the field of life sciences. Our panel of experts will explore how this is affecting our daily lives behind the scenes and the possibilities for where this can take our future careers.
Meet the panellists
ZOU Xiaolu (Host) - Managing Director at Shenzhen Angel FOF Management CO. LTD
Xiaolu has 18 years of experience in early-stage investment and fund-of-funds management.
In 2014, she built the "technology finance" business system from scratch for the Shenzhen Investment Holdings Park Company. She proposed and promoted the establishment of the "Shenzhen Bay Venture Square" in the Silicon Valley of the East, leading the investment and financing activities of 44 tech companies.
She was awarded the Top 30 Best Female Fund-of-Funds Investors by the China Fund-of-Funds Research Centre in 2022 and she was honored as one of the Top 20 Female Investors of the Year in 2023.
Dr YIN Peng - Head of AI Algorithms at BGI Research and PHD supervisor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS)
Dr Yin holds a Bachelor's in Statistics from the University of Science and Technology of China, a PhD in Statistics from Newcastle University, and postdoctoral research in statistical genetics at the University of Liverpool. His research focuses on computational biology and multimodal AI large models.
Dr Yin leads on a National Natural Science Foundation project and undertakes topics from the Ministry of Science and Technology's key R&D programme.
He is a member of the Youth Committee of the Health Big Data and Digital Medical Branch of the China Medical Association, and a member of the Shenzhen Artificial Intelligence Association.
Dr GU Yulong - Chief Architect of AI infrastructure at Tencent
Dr Gu received his PhD in Computer Science from Newcastle University in 2022, with research focused on knowledge graph reasoning and drug repurposing, supervised by Professor Paolo Missier and collaborated with Professor Anil Wipat.
Currently, Yulong is the Chief Architect of AI infrastructure at Tencent, responsible for the development of AI infrastructure-related solutions and products. Previously, he worked at Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. as a research scientist and solution architect.
Yulong is a frequent speaker at global technology conferences, often promoting how AI technology drives corporate digital transformation.
Dr YANG Zongying - Founder and CEO of Emergence Synbio
Dr Yang received a PhD in Synthetic Biology and Computer Science from Newcastle University, previously studying at Sun Yat-sen University and Imperial College London.
He is the founder and CEO of Emergence Synbio, dedicated to revolutionising biological tools at the foundational level, developing enzyme-based low-cost long-fragment DNA synthesis technology, and promoting data-driven biological economy development.
He is also an advisor for the synthetic biology media "Regenesis," and was a finalist in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEMer).