A Fruitful Visiting Research Experience:
Nikola Ilovski on AI Infrastructure and Learning to Publish
In August 2026, Nikola Ilovski, a Global Studies graduate of Arizona State University, joined the HKU Musketeers Foundation Institute of Data Science (HKU IDS) for a one-month visiting research placement under Prof Boris Babic, Member of HKU IDS and Associate Director of Interdisciplinary Dynamics: Ethics, AI & Society (IDEAS) under HKU IDS.
Supported jointly by Prof Babic and IDS/IDEAS, the placement brought Nikola’s background in international affairs into interdisciplinary research on the infrastructure shaping AI development across the Indo-Pacific.
Prof Boris BABIC
Member, HKU IDS | Associate Director, IDS/IDEAS
Associate Professor, HKU Philosophy
Associate Professor (by courtesy), HKU Law
Researching the Infrastructure Behind AI
Nikola focused on some of the less-visible physical systems supporting AI development across ASEAN and the wider Indo-Pacific.
Research Areas
Exploring how physical infrastructure intersects with AI, industry, energy and regional policy.
Semiconductors
Assembly and packaging capacity, industry development and engineering talent.
Data Centres
The development and location of AI infrastructure across major ASEAN markets.
Energy Systems
Electricity generation and emerging energy pathways supporting future AI infrastructure.
Working with Prof Babic, Nikola brought these strands together to examine how industrial capacity, data-centre development, and energy systems shape the region’s AI trajectory.
The research contributed to a commentary published in Fortune on 5 September 2026, examining ASEAN’s strategic choices amid US–China competition in AI. The article acknowledges HKU IDS for providing research funding informing the work.
research
analysis
contribution
Learning to Publish
The placement also shaped how Nikola approached research. Working with Prof Babic helped him think more critically about how research questions are developed, what evidence can genuinely establish and how different findings can be shaped into a coherent argument.
The Institute provided something unique for an incoming graduate student: a reason to treat my own research as publishable rather than just coursework.
Nikola’s visit illustrates how HKU IDS, through initiatives such as IDEAS, can work with Institute Members to create focused research opportunities for emerging researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds. The month-long placement combined academic mentorship with substantive research and led to a contribution to a published commentary.
We were pleased to support Nikola during his time at HKU and look forward to seeing how he builds on the experience.
Read the full commentary in FortuneImage: Nikola Ilovski with his research supervisor, Prof Boris Babic, during his visiting research period in Hong Kong.