Two JCC PhD students have been awarded Outstanding Graduate Student Paper and Presentation Awards at the 2025 International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare (ISAEW 2025), held in Rongchang, Chongqing, China; Oct.20-23, 2025. These awards recognise the scientific quality and presentation excellence of their research, which leverage machine vision and large language models to enhance animal welfare through data-driven monitoring and decision support.
Mr Li Lyu is supervised by Prof. Kai LIU and co-supervised by Prof. Kate FLAY. Using data collected at CityUHK Dairy Farm, his study 'A cattle management system based on facial identification using an edge computing device' achieved individual-level identification of cows, automated behaviour monitoring and data analysis. Individual identification of animals enhances productivity and improves animal welfare while also providing practical tools for animal science research.
Ms Mahejabeen Hossain Nidhi is supervised by Prof. Kate FLAY and co-supervised by Prof. Kai LIU. Her research 'Leveraging keypoints for multi-camera tracking of Jersey cattle in calving pens' achieved fine-grained keypoint detection in calving pens through multi-camera synchronisation and matching. One of the key challenges in real-world farm settings is severe occlusion, and her methods, using data collected at CityUHK Dairy Farm, overcome these challenges and lay a solid foundation for further innovation.
Professor Kai Liu remarked, “This accolade reflects the methodological innovation and practical relevance of our students’ research. By integrating computer vision with cutting-edge foundation models, Mae and Li have delivered tools that can scale to real-world farm environments.” Professor Kate Flay added, “Their results exemplify how engineering and animal welfare science can be brought together to deliver tangible benefits for both producers and animals.”
ISAEW is a leading international forum that brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to advance animal welfare through innovative science and practice. Recognition at such a competitive venue underscores the strength of CityUHK JCC’s interdisciplinary research at the nexus of artificial intelligence, precision livestock farming and animal welfare.
