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HKUST Signs MoU with Microsoft Research Asia Fostering Collaboration in Future Medical Education and Research

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft Research Asia to enhance collaboration in medical health education and research. Focusing on three strategic areas – nurturing talent, revolutionizing smart healthcare, and developing enabling research – the MoU strives to drive the future collaboration of medical education through a holistic approach.

According to the MoU, the two parties will use their respective strengths in research to foster exchange and collaboration in the medical health sector across three major areas. These include: (1) Pioneering innovative medical pedagogies utilizing cutting-edge technology to nurture the next generation of medical talent for future healthcare needs; (2) Exploring emerging healthcare service models to promote more efficient and intelligent medical services, seamlessly integrating medical and home care to improve patient care and quality of life; and (3) Advancing frontier medical health research, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), to facilitate the in-depth integration of basic medicine, clinical research and public health in pursuit of research breakthroughs and knowledge transfer endeavors.

HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP expressed gratitude to Microsoft for their confidence in HKUST. “The emergence of AI has brought unprecedented changes for our future. As a forward-looking university, we have long collaborated with Microsoft, pushing the boundaries in different areas of research. This new initiative, which integrates AI and biomedicine, will pioneer innovative medical education and advance cutting-edge medical research, leading to improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Through close exchange and collaboration, we strive to create powerful synergies in the field while strengthening HKUST’s teaching and research capabilities, as we work towards the vision of establishing the third medical school in Hong Kong,” she said.

Dr. ZHOU Lidong, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft and Managing Director of Microsoft Research Asia, said, “Microsoft Research Asia has always been committed to driving impactful technological innovations through interdisciplinary and cross-border research, shaping a brighter future for human society. With an extensive collaboration spanning over 24 years with HKUST, we are now expanding our collaboration beyond the realm of computer science to encompass the dynamic landscape of the medical and health sector. We look forward to jointly promoting the integration and development of innovative technologies alongside fundamental medical and health research, cultivating the next generation of biomedical talents with interdisciplinary capabilities, while bringing about positive and profound impacts on global health improvement.”

As Hong Kong’s first research university, HKUST is distinguished by its strong research foundation and a diverse array of internationally renowned scholars and experts. The University has achieved world-class excellence, particularly in fields such as neuroscience, genetics, bioengineering, AI, data science, and robotics. Recently, HKUST has set its sights on establishing the third medical school in Hong Kong, with the mission of cultivating future-ready medical professionals capable of integrating innovative approaches with clinical skills. This initiative aims to enhance local healthcare services in both quality and capacity, aligning with Hong Kong’s ambition to become an international hub for medical training, research, and innovation. Over the years, the University has made significant research breakthroughs in medicine, including a highly accurate blood test for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment, a microscope that facilitates real-time decision-making during cancer surgery, and a series of large AI models designed to assist both general practitioners and specialists in diagnosis.

Microsoft Research Asia, established in 1998, is Microsoft’s research arm in the Asia-Pacific region, with research labs and personnel located in Beijing, Shanghai, Vancouver, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. Over the years, the lab has constantly birthed innovative technologies, creating significant scientific and social impact within Microsoft and around the world. Microsoft Research Asia engages in enduring and effective collaborations with universities and research institutions, driving cross-regional, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary exchanges to ignite innovative potential and propel industry development.

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Microsoft turbocharges the learning potential of Hong Kong primary school students with Azure OpenAI Service

Through the integration of AI technology in the classroom, Microsoft Hong Kong is enhancing the learning and teaching experience

Hong Kong, 29 July 2024 – Microsoft Hong Kong joins hands with its Global Training Partner Gamenoodlesoup Ltd to empower a local primary school, The Education University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Primary School (EdUJCPS), one of the Microsoft Showcase Schools, to reimagine students’ STEAM and Mathematics learning through a ship model building project and AI-enabled exercise application to make teaching more sustainable.

With Azure OpenAI Service (AOAI) GPT-4o, Microsoft offers a trusted and reliable generative AI platform to tailor educational materials for EdUJCPS to enable a safe, seamless teaching and learning environment for teachers and students. The collaboration encompasses STEAM learning, with focus on renewable energy and model design; Maths using generative AI to generate personalized maths exercise questions; and an AI teaching assistant, assisting teachers to help students overcome academic challenges.

Philip K Y Law, Vice Principal of EdUJCPS shared, “The challenge of integrating generative AI for K-12 education lies in embedding it seamlessly into the lesson structure and syllabus. By adopting a whole-school approach and providing trainings to staff, teachers and students, we aim to foster an AI-powered learning educational setting, where teachers can prioritize teaching strategy and nurturing students through engaging and inspiring lessons. And AI will take care of the practical tasks, such as assessments, personalized learning suggestions, and identifying areas for improvement. This allocation of duties empowers teachers to better meet students’ needs, enhancing teaching quality and resulting a more impactful educational experience.”

Tailored learning applications to reimagine lessons’ structure

At this early stage, only selected P.5-P.6 students from EdUJCPS have participated in this innovative program as the pioneer to test on the learning effectiveness and will be extended to the full grade in the next school year.

In STEAM classes, students engaged with the generative AI chatbots – to explore ideation in building a “Sustainable Ship”. These chatbots allow students to discover the fascinating realm of renewable energies and ship designs for their projects, as well as to pursue on their specific interests. Students could also use image generation functionality, through DALL-E 3 with Azure OpenAI Service, to generate visuals of the boat they wanted to build through different prompts. With these AI tools, students’ questions and queries can be quickly addressed, accompanied by insightful replies and allow continuous dialogue to deep dive into the useful findings. This also helps develop students’ AI literacy scientific inquiry skills, and allows them to acquire knowledge more effectively, nurture critical thinking and spark creativity. Meanwhile, the teachers could observe how students communicate with the chatbot in real-time and whether they could obtain knowledge relevant to the topic, in a full dialogue format

For the “Maths AI Learning Partner” that is integrated into Maths lessons: Teachers can instruct the tool to create tailored maths questions for individual students that follow the same syllabus being worked on in class. The tool evaluates student responses and delivers immediate feedback and assessments to both students and educators. This allows teachers to measure student comprehension via their methodology and responses, and pinpoint areas of strength or need for additional practice, allowing them to tailor their instructional approach to each student’s needs. AI acts as a teaching assistant here, offering the capability to monitor and assess every student’s learning progress in real-time in class, which can otherwise be difficult to do with limited time in class. Additionally, this also helps build up student’s maths knowledge and personalized learning experience through customized exercises and step by step guidance provided by generative AI.

In fact, 65% and 60% of students think they can obtain useful recommendations for their Maths learning and get quicker feedback from the tool on their homework respectively.

Anderson Yu, Founder of Gamenoodlesoup, said, “We believe PLAY is one of the most powerful tools in learning, where our digital transformation and educational goals is to infuse fun and innovation into traditional teaching and learning that meets students’ needs, while a secure and safe generative AI infrastructure is a fundamental of it all. By leveraging Azure OpenAI Service, our solutions offer a safe and reliable platform for educators and students, it is exciting to see how educators and students are integrating the latest technology in their teaching and learning journey and enhance the synergy throughout the K-12 education landscape.”

Fred Sheu, National Technology Officer of Microsoft Hong Kong, said, “We believe that creativity, critical thinking and the ability to leverage technology are the essential qualities for our future leaders. As a leading technology provider, we are committed to expand access of AI tools to the education sector that empowers personalized learning and equip students with in-demand skillsets through our trusted and reliable generative AI platform with secure foundations and preparing them for the future. By harnessing the potential of Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, we look forward to bringing adaptive and hands-on learning experience for next generation to be AI-ready in this era.”

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Microsoft 2025 AI Tour 香港站 : 以值得信賴 的AI 解決方案賦能香港客戶

Microsoft 領袖Vasu Jakkal及陳珊珊討論安全性在成功的AI轉型中至關重要，並分享了Microsoft 致力以安全賦能每個人和組織的承諾。

在Microsoft AI Tour 香港站中， Microsoft 領袖強調 Microsoft 對 AI 安全性的承諾和分享 Microsoft「安全未來倡議」（Secure Future Initiative, SFI）。

香港客戶利用 Microsoft的AI技術推動創新和重塑營運流程。

是次活動突顯 Microsoft 賦能香港商業創新領域的 AI 研究以及助力 AI 就緒人才在數碼時代取得成功。

2025 年 1 月 16 日，香港 ——  在不斷演變的 AI 環境中，提升安全性一直是 Microsoft 的關注重點，並在今天的Microsoft AI Tour 香港站加以提倡。是次活動匯聚業界領袖、技術專家與創新者共同探討企業正面對的挑戰。儘管網絡威脅日益複雜，Microsoft 依舊致力於賦能香港的機構和用戶安全，並自信地駕馭數碼領域，維護香港作為國際金融樞紐之一的地位。

Microsoft 安全副總裁 Vasu Jakkal 在她的主題演講中重申 Microsoft 對安全性的承諾，並強調成功的 AI 轉型有賴於對安全性的重視。

Jakkal 指：「Microsoft 意識到安全性環境變得日益複雜，並深明客戶所面臨的挑戰。我們堅定不移地謹守對安全性的承諾，以驅動 Microsoft「安全未來倡議」（Secure Future Initiative, SFI），重新定義我們對數碼生態系統的保護。���過將生成式 AI 等創新技術融入我們的安全框架，我們不僅能解決當前的挑戰，還能主動為每位用戶和機構塑造更安全的未來。負責任地使用 AI 促進香港各行各業的創新，尤其是在採用及監管 AI 均至關重要的金融界別。我們致力創造一個以科技推動發展的環境，確保香港保持其作為全球創新樞紐之一的強勢地位。 」

利用 Microsoft 全面的安全產品提升企業安全性

AI 安全乃 AI Tour 2025 的討論重點，強調 Microsoft 對推出強效安全措施以保護 AI 應用及數據的承諾。Microsoft 藉著其「安全未來倡議」、最新的安全協定、風險管理策略，以及確保 AI 科技完整性及安全性的最佳實踐，並透過身份管理、威脅偵測及安全營運，竭力保障企業安全。

最近，Microsoft Purview 推出了多項全新功能，以應對 AI 時代的數據保護與治理需求，並簡化企業的合規及營運流程。其中，Microsoft Purview 資料安全性態勢管理功能提供了對數據安全風險的可見度，並為降低這些風險提供了可行的建議。此外，新的資料外洩防護功能讓企業能夠自訂政策並自動化工作流程，進一步保障敏感資料的安全。

香港商界領先 AI 應用

Microsoft 亦公佈了 IDC 《2024年人工智能機遇研究：五大值得關注的 AI 趨勢》中的香港數據，展現 AI 為香港帶來的顯著影響。

香港定位為一個蓬勃發展的 AI 樞紐，隨著越來越多的政策和指引支持企業應用 AI，尤其是在金融行業，鞏固了其作為國際創新樞紐之一的地位。生成式 AI的採用率顯著上升，由 2023 年的 56.3% 增加至 2024 年的 62.1%，而金融服務業、製造業，以及媒體與電訊業則是投資回報率最高的前三大行業，每投資 1 美元便能帶來驚人的3.4 美元回報。我們亦見市場上推出了更多度身訂造的 AI 工具，以推動商業發展。此外，香港的基建為 AI 的發展提供了有利環境，進一步提升香港在全球金融領域的競爭優勢。

此外，Microsoft客戶，如領展資產管理有限公司（領展），就他們在企業內的AI願景分享見解。領展是香港領先的房地產投資者和資產管理人，管理亞洲最大的房地產投資信託基金 — 領展房地產投資信託基金。領展一直採用生成式AI及數碼轉型策略來提升營運效率和改善決策。領展內部約有30%員工使用Copilot，採用率高達90%。當中的應用案例為領展的商戶風險評估工具（Tenant Risk Assessment Tool），用戶能透過在Copilot輸入指令，每天監測3,000個社交媒體及新聞網站，為每個商戶提供詳細的風險概覽。工具有助領展評估商戶風險、 強化商戶組合，並提高決策效率。

領展資訊科技部數碼轉型主管Henry Leung表示：「我們很高興在領展內部推動AI優先的文化，在提升生產力及效率方面取得成果，在行業內樹立新標準。我們矢志成為世界級的房地產公司，並透過採用AI驅動的轉型和最新的頂尖科技，實現我們成為市場領導者的願景，奠定我們長期成功的基礎。」

透過廣泛的商業 AI 研究及技能增長措施 提升香港的競爭力

儘管 IDC 研究指出，香港在推動 AI 應用時，最大的挑戰之一是缺乏具專業技術技能的人才，如提示工程師、數據科學家或 AI 建模師。有見及此，Microsoft 香港一直致力於協助本地企業及人才提升技能。

經過四年的合作，Microsoft香港與科大商學院宣佈AI Business School 3.0策略合作夥伴關係，旨在推動AI在商業創新方面的研究，從提供研究生AI課程，以至創新的AI商業應用，進一步擴展我們的合作夥伴關係，利用Microsoft的資源為學生提供AI專業知識及AI安全、管治及道德管理方面的最佳實踐。是次合作展示雙方在推動香港AI教育及應用的努力。

Microsoft香港及澳門區總經理陳珊珊表示：「我們很高興將 AI Tour 帶到香港，聚集全球頂尖人才共襄盛舉。隨著 AI 變得更快、更易於負擔，且功能更強大，它正持續改變人們的工作方式。現在正是每個人和企業開始及成為 AI 優先公司的最佳時機。在我們慶祝進步的同時，我們亦致力於培養及提升香港新一代的技能，幫助他們成為未來的 AI 領袖。我們將攜手確保香港持續走在創新的前沿。」

以安全為基礎 賦能AI 未來

對現今的企業領袖而言，AI轉型必須從安全性開始。憑藉Microsoft在安全性上持續的承諾及廣泛的資源，我們希望賦能企業有信心地應用AI。當企業優先考慮安全性，不僅能保障企業，更能釋放AI潛能，以促進發展及提升效率。瀏覽AI Tour網站了解更多相關計劃，與Microsoft 一同引領安全的AI未來。

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Microsoft 全新 Surface Copilot+ PC 商務版登場

全新的 Surface Laptop 商務版採用最新 Intel® Core™ Ultra 處理器 (Series 2)，配備長達 22 小時的電池續航力、防眩光超窄邊框螢幕、Wi-Fi 7、更多的連接埠以及選配的智慧卡讀卡機。目前提供兩種尺寸選擇，13.8 吋螢幕不僅更精巧，且比傳統 14 吋螢幕擁有更大的可視範圍；而 15 吋版本則提供更寬敞的視覺空間，同時保持便攜性。

經由精心設計的 Surface Laptop 鍵盤則提供了卓越的打字體驗，能夠確保每次按鍵都兼具舒適性、速度、甚至是良好的打字聲音。大型精密的觸覺回饋觸控板，在點擊或輕觸時可提供即時的反饋，並可輕鬆調整壓力靈敏度，同時使用直覺式觸控手勢，使任何控制都更加便捷。

在多工處理時的效能，相較 Surface Laptop 5 提升高達 26%，圖形處理效能提升可達兩倍；Teams 通話時的電池續航力提升至三倍，並可透過 NPU 輕鬆支援全新的 AI 體驗。此外，Microsoft 更首次在 Surface Laptop 系列中加入行動網路連接功能，Surface Laptop 5G 將於今年底前推出，讓你在任何地方都可進行高效工作。

Surface Pro 的靈活設計同時具備平板與筆電優勢，一台裝置即可滿足所有需求；全新 Surface Pro 商務版提供強大的效能與卓越的多功能性，並具備企業級的安全性。無論使用 Surface Pro 鍵盤撰寫報告、或使用 Surface 超薄手寫筆記錄筆記，還是透過 AI 賦能的超廣角鏡頭在 Teams 會議中保持畫面置中，它都能迅速調節以符合使用者需求。

全新 Surface Pro 採用最新 Intel® Core™ Ultra 處理器 (Series 2)，相較 Surface Pro 9，效能提升高達 28%；圖形處理效能提升 98%；在 Teams 會議通話時的電池續航力提升至兩倍。此外，強化本地的 AI 運算能力，透過 NPU 提供更高效的 AI 處理，並結合 Copilot+ PC 體驗，能助力團隊提升智慧、效率與創造力，讓工作更加流暢。

無論將其當作平板或筆電使用時，支援觸控與手寫筆輸入的 13 吋 PixelSense 顯示螢幕更提升了 Surface Pro 的多功性，其防反射與自適應色彩技術可確保使用者在任何光線的環境下都能清晰觀看螢幕內容，並將反光降低達 50%。選用 OLED 顯示螢幕也具備更高的峰值亮度與沉浸式色彩，即使在辦公室螢光燈下或陽光直射下，也能提升可讀性，提供更出色的視覺體驗。

Surface Pro 亦提供多種彈性且安全的登入選項，使用者可透過內建的 Windows Hello 鏡頭進行臉部辨識登入，或使用內建的 NFC ��取器與 YubiKey 5C NFC 等安全金鑰，無需密碼即可安全存取裝置。

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RV Technology launches ARCS – Hong Kong’s first centralized cloud robotic platform

Powered by Microsoft Azure, the people-centric robotic solution addresses community needs

Hong Kong, 14 March 2023 –  RV Technology, a Hong Kong based robotic applications and systems developer, announces the official launch of ARCS – a self-developed Agnostic Robotic Control System powered by Microsoft Azure’s cloud technology. As a member of Hong Kong Science and Technology Park Corporation (HKSTP)’s Leading Enterprises Acceleration Program (LEAP), RV Technology has proudly gained HKSTP’s full support, allowing them to set up its office and an automated smart warehouse – RobEX Centre in the campus.  During today’s press conference in Hong Kong Science Park, RV Technology introduced how ARCS can manage and control different robots from multiple brands, and provided a platform for ARCS-managed robots to demonstrate tasks in different scenarios.

Work automation has gained its popularity in recent years, with widen robotic application in our daily lives to free up human labor through highly efficient execution abilities. Yet, agnostic platforms to coordinate and control robots of different brands, functions and systems were absent, keeping our robots away from creating synergy in its most efficient way possible. Meanwhile, intensifying community issues such as an aging population and declining birth rates further widened the local workforce gap, there is thus an urgency for the society to proactively explore alternative approaches in maximizing the potential of robots, which in turn elevates our quality of life, especially for those with lower self-care ability such as the elderlies elders and the sick. On the other hand, as environment, society and governance (ESG) subjects become more prominent, organizations increased their investment in sustainability and environmental research, in order to look for solutions that can boost energy efficiency through robotic technologies.

RV Technology is committed to developing a variety of robotic solutions that tackle specific challenges, with an ultimate goal to integrate these technologies into our daily lives and support different sectors such as healthcare, smart city, logistics and education. With the vision of turning Hong Kong into a smart city, RV Technology developed ARCS with the cloud technology empowered by Microsoft Azure. Today, ARCS is adopted in the fields of rehabilitation and healthcare, providing more autonomous and refined care services, as well as easing the burden of healthcare professionals with the help of smart technologies.

Rio Chau, CEO of RV Technology says, “Leveraging on the ARCS’ centralized control system, we expect shorter lead times for programming and integration of different robots, alongside higher flexibility in synchronization, bringing efficiency and convenience benefits to a wider spectrum in our everyday lives. We strive to create a more livable and promising future, and keep looking into comprehensive environmental solutions through systematic data mining in support of the city’s sustainable development.”

Not only can ARCS help enterprises and organizations to improve efficiency and save cost, its distinctive feature of centralized management also smoothen the process of data management and analysis, by resolving the isolation deadlock of different types of robots. In the foreseeable future, ARCS will be able to integrate artificial intelligence to cater to different scenarios, create the most suitable application plans, and provide tailor-made suggestions derived through analysis on environmental data collected by robots, bringing sustainability performance of corporations and organizations to the next level.

During the press conference, RV Technology demonstrated a series of collaborative tasks performed by ARCS-managed robots under three simulated scenes: the first is applicable to the retail and catering industry – when a store receives an online order, ARCS immediately obtains data from elevators and turnstiles through the Internet of Things (IoT), and delivers the product to the customer through managed robot; the second scene works for public places with heavier traffic such as malls and hospitals – when a patrol robot detects mass gathering, ARCS can coordinate and send the concierge robot with its camera open for a livestream, which helps users have a grasp of the incident with a minimized reaction time, while simultaneously instructing the patrol robot to resume its original task; the third scene is designed for the disabled in various public venues – ARCS remotely controls the wheelchair robot, allowing one or a group of robots to carry those in need safely to their destinations. In addition, RV Technology also showcased the use of ARCS to analyze centralized data, illustrating the system’s capability to streamline data collection and analysis process, as well as its great potential incorporating the use of business intelligence.

“At Microsoft, we strive to build diverse communities and empower innovation for inclusion and sustainability. We are thrilled to be part of RV Technology’s first-of-a-kind integrated people-centric robotic application ARCS’ development journey,” said Kelvin Tse, Director of Global Partner Solutions, Microsoft Hong Kong. “Today, we are pleased to witness the launch of ARCS powered by Microsoft Azure. By leveraging Azure’s scalability, RV Technology is empowered with the flexibility to scale up the size of its solution to address different business or social scenarios and create infinite possibilities. We see ARCS has the potential to elevate the quality of life for people in need; we look forward to continue working with them and empowering society through technology.”

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Microsoft Inspire: Accelerating AI transformation through partnership

Collaboration is a key component of Microsoft’s success. Our partner ecosystem consists of more than 400,000 partners worldwide, and they play a key role in making new technology available to customers, especially in today’s AI-focused world. Microsoft Inspire is a chance to acknowledge the role our partners play in customer success and to share new opportunities and ways to engage with Microsoft products.

To recognize the impressive achievements of our collaborators, we kicked off Microsoft Inspire by celebrating the finalists and winners in the 2023 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards, which were announced in late June. The awards highlight partner success and innovation in an array of categories, across solution areas, industries, business transformation and social impact.

This year’s Microsoft Inspire continues our push to make AI a transformative tool for our customers and partners. We’re excited to share even more AI-powered solutions and show how Microsoft partners can apply these AI innovations across their organizations in a variety of ways, from expansion of AI skilling to new products and services that drive customer success. Read on for some of the top announcements at this year’s event.

Introducing Bing Chat Enterprise

Since launching the new Bing in February, we’ve heard from many corporate customers who are excited to empower their organizations with powerful new AI tools but are concerned that their companies’ data will not be protected. That’s why today we’re announcing Bing Chat Enterprise, which gives organizations AI-powered chat for work with commercial data protection. What goes in – and comes out – remains protected, giving commercial customers managed access to better answers, greater efficiency and new ways to be creative.

Bing Chat Enterprise will start rolling out today in preview to organizations licensed for Microsoft 365 E5, E3, Business Premium and Business Standard at no additional cost. We will also make Bing Chat Enterprise available as a stand-alone subscription in the future for $5 per user, per month. Learn more and find out how to get started with Bing Chat Enterprise.

Announcing Microsoft 365 Copilot Pricing

Today, we’re also pleased to announce pricing for Microsoft 365 Copilot. It will be available for $30 per user per month for Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard and Business Premium customers when generally available.

While some generative AI apps focus on a single capability, like real-time transcription or copywriting, Microsoft 365 Copilot puts thousands of skills at your command. By grounding answers in business data like your documents, emails, calendar, chats, meetings and contacts, and combining them with your working context – the meeting you’re in now, the emails you’ve exchanged on a topic, the chats you had last week – Copilot delivers richer, more relevant and more actionable responses to your questions.

And, Microsoft 365 Copilot is integrated into the apps millions of people use every day. Copilot jump-starts your creativity in Word, analyzes data in Excel, designs presentations in PowerPoint, triages your Outlook inbox, summarizes meetings in Teams – whether you attended or not – and so much more.

Empowering sellers and customer service agents with AI

Sellers need to have as many options in their toolboxes as possible. So, we’re adding more functionality to Microsoft Sales Copilot directly within Dynamics 365 Sales, such as AI-generated opportunity summary, contextualized email drafts and meeting preparations. This empowers sellers to improve productivity and close more deals with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) task automation (including Salesforce), actionable real-time insights and AI-assisted content and recommendations to personalize customer interactions at scale. These add to AI capabilities already available in Microsoft Sales Copilot such as Teams calls summaries and email thread summaries. Viva Sales, announced in June 2022, kickstarted our work of transforming seller experiences, and these capabilities are now part of Sales Copilot. Read more about Microsoft Sales Copilot.

At Microsoft Inspire, we’re also highlighting how customers like Virgin Money are empowering their customer service departments with tailored chatbots built with Copilot in Power Virtual Agents. Within minutes, businesses can train a chatbot using natural language to reference internal and external knowledge sources, customer service applications and web data via Bing Search. Virgin Money’s chatbot addresses more than 195,000 customer interactions a month, helping their service agents focus on more complex customer inquiries.

Process Mining in Power Automate

Organizations often have a difficult time identifying blockages in their workflows and how to clear them. To help, Microsoft is announcing the general availability of next-generation AI features within Power Automate Process Mining, providing customers with AI-powered insights to optimize existing processes and drive efficiencies through low-code automation. With Process Mining, users can understand what is happening across their business, use AI that generates insights, app and automation suggestions, and use Power Platform to quickly build the solutions they need. Learn more about Process Mining in Power Automate.

Azure OpenAI expanded availability

We’ve been thrilled to see the enthusiasm and business adoption of Azure OpenAI Service, with more than 4,500 customers using the product. Witnessing customers do amazing things, like building chatbots using organizational data, summarizing text and generating content, is exciting to watch develop.

Now, we’re bringing the service to more organizations around the world. Last week, we expanded access to Azure OpenAI Service, increasing its availability in North America and Western Europe, while making it available for Asia for the first time.

New Azure capabilities and investments

We are also going to announce a substantial investment to increase the scale and availability of Azure Migrate & Modernize, and to launch Azure Innovate, an all-new dedicated investment we are making in response to the heightened demands for analytics and AI. These new offerings have expanded scenario coverage and offer richer incentives and support for everything from fast, frictionless migrations to building new AI-powered apps.

Meta and Microsoft partnership

Meta and Microsoft have announced support for the Llama family of large language models on Azure and Windows. As part of this announcement, Microsoft will be Meta’s preferred partner as they release their new version of Llama 2 to commercial customers for the first time. This announcement means that Azure customers will be able to easily fine-tune and deploy the 7B-parameter, 13B-parameter, and 70B-parameter Llama 2 models easily and safely on Azure, In addition, Llama 2 will be optimized to run locally on Windows – enabling Windows developers to take advantage of Llama 2 by targeting the Direct ML execution provider through the ONNX runtime. More on this announcement can be found here.

Expanded strategic collaboration with Epic

We are excited to highlight an expansion of our strategic collaboration with Epic, a leading healthcare software company, where we are using the power of AI to help clinicians spend less time on administrative functions and more time on providing quality care. Epic has integrated Azure OpenAI Service into its electronic health record (EHR) software to provide multiple solutions, from helping clinicians explore clinical data in a conversational and intuitive way to helping them more efficiently reply to patient messages. And with Nuance DAX Express, we are embedding our AI-powered clinical documentation capabilities directly into Epic workflows to help providers further lessen the administrative workloads that lead to burnout, expand access to care for patients and enhance healthcare outcomes.

Additionally, Epic customers are now utilizing Azure Large Instances to achieve the scale needed to run large Epic EHR databases – up to 50 million database accesses per second. This allows Epic customers to scale beyond the previous limits of shared public cloud infrastructure solutions.

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HKT partners with Microsoft Hong Kong to launch next-gen Teams Phone solution

HONG KONG SAR - 11 February 2025 - HKT has partnered with Microsoft Hong Kong to provide Operator Connect, making it the first local telecom carrier to offer the new Microsoft Teams Phone solution for enterprises in Hong Kong.

Operator Connect revolutionises business communications by seamlessly integrating existing business phone lines with Microsoft Teams through an operator-managed service. This solution enables enterprises to benefit from professional technical support and quality assurance while enabling Teams for calls, without the need for extensive changes or new hardware, resulting in a cost-effective, streamlined transition.

By utilising its self-managed network, HKT has also introduced HKT Operator Connect Plus, an advanced version of Microsoft Operator Connect powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Leveraging its expertise in solution design and system integration, HKT Operator Connect Plus offers monitoring of call quality, automatically alerting users of any potential issues2 and tracking down to the root causes of the fluctuations during voice calls.

Steve Ng, Managing Director of Commercial Group, HKT, said, "HKT has a long-standing history of providing reliable voice services to thousands of enterprises in Hong Kong. We understand the need for a future-proof, enterprise-grade communications platform in the evolving digital landscape. HKT Operator Connect Plus, powered by AI, assists enterprises in swiftly identifying and resolving cloud voice issues. Committed to enabling corporates in their digital transformation journey, we will continue to leverage the latest technologies, including AI and automation, to deliver advanced Unified Communication-as-a-Service (UCaaS) that caters to enterprises' evolving needs."

"We are thrilled to see the launch of Operator Connect in Hong Kong, marking a significant milestone in our collaboration with HKT," said Cally Chan, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong and Macau. "By combining Microsoft's industry-leading technology with HKT's carrier-grade capabilities and local expertise, Operator Connect becomes a future-proven solution that provides customers with a comprehensive, reliable and AI-powered communications solution that will drive productivity and digital transformation for businesses of all sizes."

Comprehensive end-to-end support is available to enterprises, covering Microsoft licence, technical integration and operator-managed service. Additionally, a dedicated technical support hotline provides professional advice on preventative measures and troubleshooting, ensuring reliable communication for local and regional businesses. HKT addresses various migration challenges and operational requirements, ensuring seamless implementation of HKT Operator Connect Plus with the Teams Phone system. _____________ 1 Information source: https://cloudpartners.transform.microsoft.com/partner-gtm/operators/directory 2 This is a value-added service, and users need to apply for it separately.

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Microsoft Hong Kong joins forces with Education Bureau to strengthen K-12 Schools STEAM and AI education

Microsoft Hong Kong is taking another stride in advancing Sciences, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) and artificial intelligence (AI) education in Hong Kong’s K-12 schools. Together with the Education Bureau of Hong Kong SAR Government (EDB), Microsoft Hong Kong is launching Partners in Learning (PiL) Program 5.0, a key initiative that aims to equip schools and teachers with the necessary tools and knowledge to effectively prepare students for the future.

The PiL Program aligns with the Hong Kong Government’s commitment to promoting STEAM education and championing innovation and technology learning. The latest PiL Program will continue to enhance modern learning and teaching models, promote a blended learning mode, and support STEAM education through Microsoft’s Cloud technologies. Since the pandemic, over 780,000 education users have activated Office 365, with over 300,000 Teams users within the school community.

Dr. Choi Yuk-lin, JP, Secretary for Education said, “Apart from the Government’s efforts, the IT industry has also played a vital and indispensable role in promoting IT in education in Hong Kong. Since the signing of the first MOU on PiL in 2004, Microsoft has been a key partner of the EDB in implementing IT in education strategies. Today, the signing of the MOU signifies the commencement of a deeper and more collaborative partnership between the EDB and Microsoft. When blended learning mode and STEAM learning are now the global trend in education, the comprehensive support from Microsoft, in terms of training, resources and tools that comes with this 5-year MOU at this juncture, has become particularly timely and significant.”

Democratizing AI and fostering AI literacy

As part of Microsoft Hong Kong’s ongoing commitment to empowering the education sector, the company is also driving AI adoption and fostering AI literacy environments. Following successful collaborations with higher education institutions, Microsoft is partnering with different partners and associations to make Generative AI accessible to K-12 schools in Hong Kong.

Facilitating AI development in schools with customized solutions

In collaboration with Microsoft Global Training Partners (GTP), they play a pivotal role in promoting STEAM and AI development in schools by leveraging Azure OpenAI Services to deploy secured Generative AI platform for K-12 schools in Hong Kong. The network of GTP offers professional development experiences in five areas, including Education Transformation Framework, Modern Classroom Teacher Academies, Future-Ready Skills and Industry Certifications, Minecraft Education, and Hacking STEM.

Amidst the current enthusiasm surrounding Generative AI, Microsoft’s GTP have tailored various ready-to-deploy Generative AI SaaS models to empower educators to modernize their learning and teaching approaches in K-12 settings. Teachers can harness the tools to sketch course framework, generate assignment and test paper for their students. Furthermore, teachers can also leverage the capabilities of GPT to proofread and correct students’ assignment, offering suggested corrections. Echoing Hong Kong 2022 Policy Address to enrich coding education, students can learn code generation through Generative AI and to build their own applications and tools in the process. With the assistance of large language model, students can conduct language translation through natural language, thereby to improve students’ language skills efficiently.

Advancing AI skills for educators

Microsoft has also rolled out Microsoft Learn for Educators (MSLE) Program to provide comprehensive support to teachers, helping innovate their teaching practices and achieving excellence in education. By offering free Microsoft’s Official AI Curriculum and training materials to all educators, the program aims to empower them to equip students with AI-related technical skills and educate them on the responsible use of AI. To date, the MSLE program has certified 100+ educators including Microsoft Innovation Educator Experts (MIEE) in Hong Kong and Microsoft expects this program to nurture more innovative professional educators in the future.

“We are excited to launch the fifth PiL program with the EDB to benefit K-12 schools in Hong Kong. Our aim is to guide and support students in becoming future-ready leaders. With the local AI education initiatives in place, we will provide support to local schools to prepare their students to complete their AI learning journeys. By empowering schools, teachers, and students to embrace AI technology, we are laying the foundation for a digitally literate generation,” said Cally CHAN, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong and Macau.

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攜手同行 成就更多：與合作夥伴共同推動香港可持續數碼轉型

Microsoft 香港發展三十年來，本地合作夥伴一直擔當著重要角色。多年來，我們致力與本地合作夥伴緊密合作，共渡一個又一個「新常態」，並帶領客戶利用科技保持優勢，加速數碼轉型並推動業務增長，一起實現更多。

在今天的新常態下，科技與創新創造無限可能。30 年來，我們致力為本港 1,900 間合作夥伴提供合適的資源和指導，並攜手協助我們的客戶更有把握地達成各種目標。

Microsoft 香港夥伴網絡引領商機

遍佈全球 190 個國家及香港的合作夥伴網絡正是 Microsoft 的領先優勢。我們擁有全球最大的夥伴生態系統，充分實踐了我們協助客戶擴充業務的承諾，同時亦使 Microsoft 成為企業從香港拓展全球市場的首要之選。透過連結進入市場策略及生態系統內的全球銷售團隊，我們提供創新可靠的解決方案，滿足客戶對數碼轉型的需求。

開發方案（Build）：Microsoft 為僅有的全球科技企業能為合作夥伴提供 360 度全方位支援。從後台管理開發到前線聯合銷售，我們都確保合作夥伴在過程中的每一步都獲得指引和資源，從而讓他們可以專注於核心業務。此外，我們亦為全球合作夥伴舉辦大型會議，如每年一度於美國舉行的 Microsoft Inspire 大會，讓來自全球各地的合作夥伴聚首一堂，交流最新行業趨勢，並獲取最新發布的服務和產品資訊，把握先機。

進入市場（Go-to-Market）： Microsoft 在進入市場方面所提供的強大支援和資源，能協助合作夥伴加速方案推出商業市場的時間、創造更多潛在商機，並從香港拓展其雲端業務。我們投放於這方面的資源和投資亦逐年增長，尤其是舉辦營銷活動和研討會等。此外，Microsoft 透過 Microsoft Marketplace 協助合作夥伴在全球推廣他們的解決方案。透過獲邀在 Microsoft Marketplace 上展示其解決方案，合作夥伴可以與全球 100 多個國家和地區的企業、組織和政府機構聯繫起來。

聯合銷售模式（Co-sell）：我們為合作夥伴提供銷售發展機會，讓他們接觸更多新客戶和拓展新市場，加快在本港以至海外的業務增長。透過聯合銷售模式，Microsoft 合作夥伴可透過 Microsoft 強大的客戶基礎、品牌的全球知名度，以及銷售團隊和網絡，推銷解決方案，加快業務發展。