Professor Tarani Chandola, Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong, officiated at the launching ceremony of the Independent Commission Against Corruption's (ICAC) new "Integrity Assurance Standards for Computer System" on September 2, 2026 . The ceremony was jointly presided over by ICAC Commissioner Mr Woo Ying-ming, Acting Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Ms Lillian Cheong Man-lei, Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy Mr Daniel Cheung Yee-wai, and Professor Chandola, underscoring the Department's role as a key partner in the initiative .

The Standards, developed in partnership with the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) and the Digital Policy Office (DPO), are designed to help all government bureaux and departments strengthen corruption prevention capabilities and integrity governance through digital technology. They set out 12 core control measures spanning three areas — system security, workflow control, and anomaly detection — including user identity verification, built-in conflict-of-interest declarations, approval workflows, audit trail logging, and anomaly alerts.

Notably, the ICAC press release confirms that the Department of Sociology at HKU, alongside the DPO, provided professional advice during the development of the Standards to ensure the framework is "pragmatic and practical". This reflects the sociological and criminological expertise within the Department — including that of colleague Professor Isak Ladegaard, whose specialist knowledge informed the Standards' design — being applied directly to strengthen anti-corruption governance in Hong Kong's digital public sector.

The event drew around 120 directorate officers and IT supervisors from more than 60 bureaux and departments, marking what ICAC described as "unprecedented support" for a corruption prevention initiative. Following the ceremony, the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption held a thematic seminar at which representatives from the Environmental Protection Department, the Census and Statistics Department, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, and Tencent Group shared case studies and R&D solutions demonstrating how digital tools can plug corruption loopholes and meet the Standards' requirements.

Following the thematic seminar, officials from ICAC held a briefing with teachers from the Department of Sociology to discuss further development of collaboration between the two institutions. Discussions centred on deepening joint efforts in teaching (i.e. launching a new course SOCI8043 Contemporary Anti-Corruption in a Globalized World: The Hong Kong Experience), expanding collaborative research on integrity and anti-corruption governance, and co-hosting an international forum to bring together scholars and practitioners in the field. The briefing signals a continuing partnership between ICAC and HKU's Department of Sociology beyond the launch of the Integrity Assurance Standards, building on the expertise the Department has already contributed to strengthening Hong Kong's anti-corruption digital governance framework.