HONG KONG, March 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On March 17, Tencent Cloud successfully concluded its CodeBuddy AI Coding Boot Camp at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), demonstrating how AI is enabling students from different backgrounds and disciplines to turn inspirations into impact. During the event, emerging technologies and trends like AI Agents and “Vibe Coding” are empowering non-technical students and professionals to transform creative sparks into functional applications, even if they have zero-to-low coding experience.
Defining the Future: From “Coders” to “Problem Solvers”
The Hong Kong finale, part of the “Tencent WeTech Academy x Tencent AI Campus Tour“, featured insights from academic and industry leaders on the shifting talent landscape.
“The top talent of the future will be ‘problem definers’ rather than just ‘code porters'”, said Wang Shiqi, Associate Dean for College of Computing at CityU. “We are moving toward a world where individuals act as AI collaborators rather than mere tool users.”
Wang Shiqi, Associate Dean for College of Computing at CityU
Yang Hui, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Head of Tencent Education Solutions, revealed the internal impact of these tools: “Within Tencent’s own software engineering teams using CodeBuddy, nearly 100% of code can now be AI-generated. Proficiency with AI tools will directly determine a professional’s competitiveness in the future job market.”
Yang Hui, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Head of Tencent Education Solutions
Real-World Impact: Tech for Social Good
The boot camp challenged 30 students from CityU’s College of Computing and Department of Electrical Engineering to develop solutions for “Chronic Disease Management for the Elderly.”
- Elderly-Care App: Sophomores Ni Fanxuan and She Zhiding developed a dual-perspective app for seniors and their children. By using CodeBuddy, they completed the core coding in just half a day, using natural language to call UI libraries for complex interactions.
- Community Fitness: A student named Calvin developed a sports community platform featuring “check-in” points and partner-matching. “Before this, I had zero knowledge of front-end pages, back-end logic, or database integration,” Calvin noted. “CodeBuddy bridged those gaps, allowing me to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that actually works, rather than just a hollow interface.”
The Rise of the AI Agent: Introducing “WorkBuddy”
At the event, Tencent Cloud also spotlighted WorkBuddy, its self-developed desktop AI Agent. Unlike traditional chatbots, WorkBuddy is designed as a “digital colleague” capable of local execution and remote control across all platforms without complex deployment.
Wang Shengjie, Head of AI Products for Tencent Cloud Developers
“WorkBuddy represents a leap from ‘answering questions’ to ‘completing tasks’,” said Wang Shengjie, Head of AI Products for Tencent Cloud Developers. “The core revolution of the Agent Era is shifting the user relationship from Q&A to Delegate and Execute. We are bringing AI directly into the daily professional workflow.” Currently available to users in Mainland China, Tencent Cloud plans to introduce WorkBuddy to a broader international audience in the near future.
Building on the success in Hong Kong, the second phase of the AI Coding Boot Camp will launch in Singapore this month, covering high-growth sectors including EdTech, Smart Office, and Gaming.
About Tencent Cloud:
Tencent Cloud, one of the world’s leading cloud companies, is committed to creating innovative solutions to resolve real-world issues and enabling digital transformation for smart industries. Through our extensive global infrastructure, Tencent Cloud provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry-leading cloud products and services, leveraging technological advancements such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT, and network security. It is our constant mission to meet the needs of industries across the board, including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, property, retail, travel, and transportation.
