HKU Faculty of Education –
Lecture on “The Origin of Academic Cheating in Adults and Children and How to Mitigate it”

The Faculty of Education and the Department of Psychology at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) will co-host a Distinguished Lecture titled “The Origin of Academic Cheating in Adults and Children and How to Mitigate it” on June 29, 2026 (Monday). The lecture will be delivered by Professor Kang Lee of the University of Toronto.

Professor Lee will explore the history, psychology, and science of academic cheating. Drawing on recent research, he will reveal how dishonest behaviours emerge in early childhood, examine the cognitive and social factors that drive them, and discuss practical interventions to reduce cheating in both children and adults.

Members of the media are welcome to attend this event. Details are as follows:

Date:                June 29, 2026 (Monday)

Time:               4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Speaker:          Professor Kang Lee
                          Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
                          Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development
                          University of Toronto

Discussant:     Professor Yongyan Li
                           Associate Professor
                           Faculty of Education, HKU

Moderator:       Professor Kathy Shum
                           Associate Professor
                           Department of Psychology
                           Faculty of Social Sciences, HKU

Venue:               Rayson Huang Theatre, HKU (Map)

Language:         English

About the Speaker
Professor Kang Lee is a Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Developmental Neuroscience at the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, OISE, University of Toronto, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. For more than three decades, he has used behavioural science, neuroscience, and machine learning to study the development of dishonesty and related behaviours (lying, cheating, and stealing). He has published over 350 papers, been cited more than 33,000 times (H index: 97), and ranks among the world’s most highly cited researchers. Professor Lee holds 13 patents and has received funding from major agencies in Canada, the United States, and China. His work has shaped Canadian legal reform on child witnesses, influenced clinical practice, and led to widely used contactless health-monitoring technologies. He is also a widely recognised public scholar, TED speaker, and recipient of numerous national and international awards, including the Governor’s Innovation Award in Canada.

For registration and more details, please visit https://web.edu.hku.hk/event/detail-page/lecture-jun-2026.  

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Kelly Shum, Executive Officer (Communications), Faculty of Education, HKU (Tel: 3917 8239 / Email: kellyks@hku.hk).