Feb - May 2026
PROJECT BACKGROUND
After the Chatbot V1 was launched and deployed on the library homepage for production use in June 2025, valuable user feedback was collected. Building on this foundation, the project aims to further enhance the library chatbot. A talented student assistant was invited to contribute to the project and gain hands-on experience at both the source code and system architecture levels.
PROJECT GOAL
The main goals of this project were twofold: first, to enhance the chatbot based on user feedback collected after its production launch; and second, to support a student assistant in improving the system through a series of source code development tasks while they enhanced the chatbot, thereby creating an opportunity to guide and train the student in building the required IT skills. These tasks included improving how the chatbot identifies user intent and routes requests to the appropriate AI agent. For example, the chatbot was integrated with our PowerSearch API to retrieve relevant search results based on a user’s question.
Try the Updated AI Chatbot!
Library AI Chatbot V2: https://library.hkust.edu.hk/chatbot/.
Backstage stories
WANG Yingrui, Ray
...From this project, I gained experience in: Multi-agent system design (basic level); Working with APIs (HKUST PowerSearch integration); RAG-based chatbot systems; Frontend–backend integration (JSON, JS, CSS); Debugging and improving real-world systems; Work on the application development on Linux environment. More importantly, I learned how to: Approach unfamiliar problems; Test and refine ideas; Build something step by step…
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PROJECT Team
Developer
- WANG Yingrui, Ray ◇ Year 1 student, BEng in Electronic & Computer Engineering
Adviser
- Martin SO ◇ Librarian (Systems & Digital Services)
Contact us
If you have any questions or find it helpful, we’d love to hear your thoughts and see your projects too. Feel free to reach out and share with us !
