HKBU research team forms strategic industry partnership for research in AI recruitment technology

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and XiaochiHR Technology signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deepen collaboration in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven recruitment and smart human resources management, aiming to foster synergistic innovation between academia and industry that responses to national development strategies and addresses practical social needs.

Under the MOU, the collaboration will focus on applying AI to flexible employment platforms, as well as advancing innovative research in smart recruitment and talent matching, with the objective of producing cutting-edge academic outputs with social impact. A key research focus will involve empirical studies to explore how AI technologies support gig economy workers in second-tier cities in the Chinese Mainland. The gig economy refers to a labour model in which self-employed individuals engage in short-term work as their primary source of income.

The MOU was signed by Professor Lyu Aiping, Vice-President (Research and Development) cum Dean of Graduate School of HKBU (seated, 4th from left) and Mr Yu Wenyong of XiaochiHR Technology (seated, 5th from left). The signing ceremony took place during the "Changsha-Hong Kong Joint Forum for Expert Talent Exchange and New Year Commemoration" hosted by the Changsha Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Professor Lyu (centred) believes the collaboration with XiaochiHR Technology offers an exceptional platform for HKBU scholars and research teams to integrate advanced theories with the complex real-world challenges.

The School of Business at HKBU possesses extensive experience and expertise in human resources management research and teaching. In recent years, the research team has established a solid foundation in smart human resources management and conducted systematic research on the impact of AI recruitment technologies on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. Relevant findings have been published in internationally renowned journals such as the Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems and shared at leading international academic conferences.

The collaboration with XiaochiHR Technology will provide HKBU's researchers with valuable access to real-world scenarios and data related to gig economy recruitment in the Chinese Mainland. The research will focus on specific groups such as working mothers and manual labourers to conduct in-depth analyses of their job-seeking behaviours and needs, thereby contribute to the development of the gig economy.