CityU and HKSTP sign Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration on innovation and entrepreneurship programmes in Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area

11 Nov 2021

Representatives from the 62 start-up teams co-incubated by CityU and HKSTP and guests attended the event.

The MoU was signed by President Kuo (middle) and Mr Albert Wong Hak-keung (second from right), CEO of HKSTP, witnessed by Mr Alfred Sit Wing-hang (second from left), Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu (first from right), Chairman of HKSTP, Mr Lester Garson Huang (first from left), Chairman of the CityU Council, and other attending guests.

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today (11 November) for launching collaborative programmes in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and further promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.

In March this year, Professor Way Kuo, CityU’s President and University Distinguished Professor, announced the launch of HK Tech 300, a large-scale flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme with an allocation of HK$500 million. The initiative has received tremendous support from different stakeholders across society, including HKSTP, which is one of the strategic partners. In the first three rounds of “HK Tech 300 Seed Fund”, a total of 152 start-up teams have been awarded HK$100,000 each, and among them, 62 teams have been admitted to HKSTP’s IDEATION pre-incubation programme.

To strengthen their collaboration, CityU and HKSTP have signed the MoU. HKSTP will provide seed funds and other support for start-up teams selected by both parties through the IDEATION programme and the incubation programme. Investment funding support from both parties will be provided to HK Tech 300 start-up projects. CityU and HKSTP will also collaborate on nurturing talent and further promoting technology transfer, enterprise innovation as well as innovation and technology in the GBA.

Mr Alfred Sit Wing-hang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, delivers his speech.

The MoU was signed by President Kuo and Mr Albert Wong Hak-Keung, HKSTP’s CEO. It was witnessed by Mr Alfred Sit Wing-hang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, HKSAR, Dr Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu, Chairman of HKSTP, Mr Lester Garson Huang, Chairman of the Council of CityU, representatives from those 62 start-up teams co-incubated by CityU and HKSTP, and attending guests.

Mr Sit highlighted in his speech how crucial innovation and technology are to social development and reaffirmed the Government’s solid commitment. The coupling of CityU's innovation and HKSTP's R&D base under the MoU today will certainly give an extra boost to our start-ups.

Mr Huang said, “CityU has always been committed to promoting innovation and technology. HK Tech 300 represents a unique opportunity for young people and researchers to pursue their aspirations. We are very grateful for the great support from HKSTP since the launch of the HK Tech 300 programme.”

In his speech, Dr Chai said, “HKSTP is approaching 20 years of leading the development of innovation in Hong Kong. Adhering to our well-developed strategies, we will nurture top talent from HK Tech 300 into future pioneers, and transform their bright ideas into game-changing innovations.”

Before the ceremony, honourable guests visited the showcase for six start-up teams co-incubated by HK Tech 300 and HKSTP. These teams included Albacastor Robotics Limited, Soteria, i²Cool, Super Bamboo Limited, Jotbody (HK) Limited, and Leidenford Limited.

Albacastor Robotics Limited developed HORIZON, the first intelligent robot available in the market, aiming to solve the patient lifting-transferring problem in elderly care centres, sanatoriums and hospitals for the healthcare services industry. HORIZON is connected to the internet to achieve point-to-point patient indoor transportation like an autonomous indoor electric vehicle. It can perform different tasks, such as helping patients go to the toilet by themselves, which increases the patients’ self-care ability and reduces the workload for healthcare professionals.

Mr Henry Lam (second from left), representative from Albacastor Robotics Limited and PhD student from CityU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, introduces the company’s “Intelligent Patient Transfer Robot” to guests, including Mr Alfred Sit Wing-hang (fifth from right), Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu (first from right), Chairman of HKSTP, Mr Lester Garson Huang (sixth from right), Chairman of the CityU Council, Mr Charles Chin Ying-on (second from right), Treasurer of the CityU Council, Mr Robert Lui (fourth from right), CityU Council member and CityU Convocation Chairman, Professor Michael Yang Mengsu (third from right), CityU’s Vice-President (Research and Technology), and Dr Laura Lo (seventh from right), CityU’s Associate Vice-President (Chinese Mainland Affairs Office).

Soteria developed a fast-track ventilation system that is easy to install at a low cost and can be used in high-risk places such as hospitals and washrooms. The ventilation system has a pipe frame made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with extraction ports. It is equipped with a transparent PVC hood and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, and can be placed on hospital beds to protect healthcare workers by effectively blocking and filtering viruses.

Ms Deng Wei (first from right), representative from Soteria and PhD student from CityU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, introduces to the guests the company’s fast-track ventilation system that thoroughly filters viral particles and quickly stops the spread of Covid-19 in the air.

i²Cool aims to provide a novel solution for saving energy in buildings by integrating passive radiative cooling and smart windows, with the ultimate goal of mitigating the energy shortage and climate change. Their patented cooling paint, featuring superior optical properties, can be applied on the roofs and external walls of buildings to achieve electricity-free cooling. And their self-developed smart windows will be utilised to mitigate the heat gain/loss via windows, which reduce the cooling load in buildings.

Mr Zhu Yihao (first from right), representative from i2Cool and PhD student from CityU’s School of Energy and Environment, introduces the company’s novel building energy-saving solution integrating passive radiative cooling and smart windows to guests, including Mr Alfred Sit Wing-hang (second from right), Secretary for Innovation and Technology of HKSAR, Dr Sunny Chai Ngai-chiu (third from right), Chairman of HKSTP, Professor Michael Yang Mengsu (fourth from left), CityU’s Vice-President (Research and Technology), Mr Sunny Lee Wai-kwong (second from left), CityU’s Vice-President (Administration), and Mr Charles Chin Ying-on (first from left), Treasurer of the CityU Council.

The main product of Super Bamboo Limited is the award-winning “Super Bamboo” - a lightweight material that is 3 times stronger than normal bamboo and even stronger than steel and titanium alloys. Super Bamboo is the strongest and greenest bamboo material that exists. Its production emits no formaldehyde or any other toxic emissions and does not require toxic adhesives.

Mr Andy Ong (first from left), representative from Super Bamboo Limited and undergraduate student from CityU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, introduces “Super Bamboo” which is greener than wood and stronger than steel, to Mr Alfred Sit Wing-hang (first from right), Secretary for Innovation and Technology, and Mr Lester Garson Huang (middle), Chairman of the CityU Council.

Jotbody is dedicated to developing and producing single domain antibody (sdAb) from sharks. SdAb is the ideal tool for the development of diagnostic kits and therapeutics. Jotbody was the first to establish a sdAb discovery platform based on a local small shark species, which allows for large-scale production of superior sdAb in a time- and cost-effective manner. Jotbody holds four patents and is developing sdAb products for several clients.

Dr Shi Jiahai (first from left), adviser of Jotbody (HK) Limited and Associate Professor from CityU’s Department of Biomedical Sciences, introduces to the guests how the company established a single domain antibody discovery platform based on a local small shark species, as shown in the tank.

LeiDenFord Limited developed the first-ever fog-powered green generator to harvest energy and freshwater from moisture. The fog-powered green generator combines a newly developed high-power density droplet-based energy generator (DEG) with a nature-inspired, superhydrophobic fog harvesting mesh.