Held once every four years, the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), a major event in the field, has a history of over 120 years. During the opening ceremony of each congress, prestigious awards such as the Fields Medal, Nevanlinna Prize, Gauss Prize, and Chern Medal are presented, drawing widespread attention from all sectors.
Renowned mathematician Yau Shing-Tung, himself a Fields Medalist, recently revealed in an interview with Wen Wei Po that early last year, he received central government approval to bid for the congress and has selected Hong Kong as the proposed host for the 2030 ICM. He pointed out that Hong Kong's advantages—a blend of Eastern and Western cultures, a highly open academic environment, well-connected international flight routes, and the convenience of English usage—are highly attractive to global scholars. If the bid is successful, he noted, it would have a profound impact on mathematics education and the scientific research ecosystem in Hong Kong and the nation.
"Hong Kong nurtured a group of outstanding mathematicians who were active in the 1960s, such as Siu Yum-Tong and Cheng Shiu-Yuen. Their students are now distributed worldwide, playing a 'bridge-building' role for the academic community in the Mainland," said Yau. According to him, attracting top mathematicians to Hong Kong through the ICM could stimulate the city's academic development.
He revealed that after receiving central government approval early last year to bid for the ICM, Beijing, being the political and cultural center, was initially the preferred choice. However, Beijing already hosted the ICM in 2002, which attracted over 3,500 mathematicians from more than 100 countries and regions. Yau explained that while there is no explicit rule, it is rare for the same city to host the event twice because the organizing body—the International Mathematical Union (IMU)—generally discourages the same city from hosting again within 20-30 years, as many places around the world hope to take turns.
Since Hong Kong has never hosted it before, and considering the city's moderate size, convenient transportation, and English-speaking environment, it holds significant advantages. Furthermore, several mathematicians from Hong Kong have been invited to deliver one-hour lectures at past ICMs, demonstrating its potential as an important mathematics hub nationally. For instance, Hong Kong mathematician Ngaiming Mok was invited to speak at the 1994 ICM, and he will again deliver a one-hour plenary lecture at the 2026 ICM.
Hoping to use ICM to drive investment in popularizing basic science
However, Yau noted that over recent decades, the number of Hong Kong students with a strong interest in pure academic research has relatively decreased. He therefore hopes to use the ICM as an opportunity to boost the popularization of and investment in basic science. "For example, when Beijing hosted the Olympics in 2008, it encouraged many young people to pursue sports development. I believe the ICM could generate a similar effect."
When asked about the challenges of hosting the ICM, Yau emphasized that broad support from leading international scholars and the local academic community is essential first, ensuring participants gain real academic benefit. Simultaneously, the government and universities need to reach a consensus. "A congress of around 5,000 people requires sufficient funding, hotel and venue resources, and well-arranged diverse activities."
Currently, the main competitors for hosting the ICM are Japan and the UK. It is rumored that a UK financial institution is willing to cover all expenses. Yau said that Hong Kong has strong experience in fundraising and hosting large conferences. He estimates the project would require about HK$150 million, with roughly half already raised, and they have secured support from the Chinese Mathematical Society.
Japan possesses strong mathematical capabilities and numerous Fields Medalists, but Yau believes Japan is relatively conservative in terms of the proportion of international scholars and academic openness. In contrast, research institutions in the Mainland and Hong Kong are more internationalized. "Taking Tsinghua's Yau Mathematical Sciences Center as an example, it currently has about 75 non-Chinese visiting scholars. Furthermore, the university is very supportive and takes care of visiting scholars from the Third World, providing them with funds for their visits. This openness and strategy for attracting international scholars align well with the expectations of the global academic community."
Yau expressed confidence in a successful bid if funding is sufficient and administrative work proceeds smoothly. He anticipates it could establish an honorable image for Hong Kong in the field of basic science, promote the proposal and implementation of high-tech innovative ideas, and provide essential basic scientific research support for corporate development.
Clarification: Mathematics majors have promising prospects
Discussing the societal concern of "skill mismatch," such as cases where top mathematics graduates from Cambridge faced difficulties finding suitable jobs upon returning to Hong Kong, Yau believes Hong Kong universities have decent academic standards in mathematics, but key issues are insufficient manpower and established posts. Some institutions disperse mathematics teaching positions across other departments, leading to tight staffing within mathematics departments themselves, which is detrimental to long-term development.
He called for increasing permanent posts and development space within mathematics departments, "allowing more young mathematicians to stay, teach the younger generation, set great ambitions, and courageously move forward," thereby forming a stable, inheritable teaching and research echelon.
Addressing parents' concerns about the career prospects of mathematics majors, Yau frankly stated, "This is a very important issue." He pointed out that many parents mistakenly believe that mathematics training offers limited prospects. "In fact, if students do not plan to pursue further studies after their undergraduate degree, they still have various career choices, such as financial markets, the insurance industry, and secondary school education. Compared to many other disciplines, the options are more diverse."
Yau's greatest hope is to cultivate research mathematicians who can influence the development of mathematics and applied mathematicians who can contribute to solving industrial and high-tech problems. He also aims to collaborate with more social institutions to create opportunities for students to interact deeply with industry, enabling them to become significant forces in cutting-edge technology and industrial fields.
What impact does AI have on mathematics?
Amid the booming development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Yau stated that the whole world values AI highly and is investing significant resources accordingly, which is good for AI's independent development. However, he noted that the understanding of AI's fundamental principles is still insufficient. "The success of AI today, for many of us scholars, is still not very clear. The AI process works very well and produces excellent results, but why it can achieve such good results is actually not understood."
He emphasized that mathematics remains a crucial foundation for technology, influencing the pace of development in fields like AI. "We first need to solidify the foundation at the base level of AI. We hope to understand how AI models operate from the bottom up, from a mathematical perspective." The goal is to thereby promote the sustainable application of AI across multiple disciplines like mathematics, physics, and engineering.
Yau pointed out that AI possesses powerful memory and retrieval capabilities, can read and integrate vast amounts of data, and is greatly beneficial for improving learning efficiency and understanding natural phenomena. However, without grasping its principles, making further progress in AI will be challenging.
Simultaneously, he stressed the need for proper control related to AI, preventing it from going astray, and ensuring its actions remain within controllable boundaries. Particularly for the next generation, the misuse of AI in education could weaken students' proactive thinking, leading to situations where AI substitutes for homework and exams. In the long run, this would hinder learning and creativity cultivation. Clear norms and prudent guidance must be established to ensure AI use remains "within controllable boundaries" and to avoid systemic vulnerabilities.
Students' curiosity in mathematics matters most
Yau admitted that the number of students genuinely harboring a strong interest in mathematical research has relatively decreased in recent years. The urgent task is to ignite interest and curiosity. AI can serve as a guiding tool, helping students gain positive feedback through problem-solving and experimentation, thereby stimulating academic pursuit. But he emphasized that "AI cannot replace thinking." Over-reliance will prevent students from developing independent thinking skills. Furthermore, AI itself can make errors, necessitating complementary critical and verification thinking.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalist: Yannis Yeung; English Editor: Darius)
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