Venture Beyond Boundaries — CityU’s HK Tech 300!

Dear Colleagues,

Students as job creators? Universities collaborating with industry instead of remaining secluded in the ivory tower? World-class universities wholeheartedly embrace the integration of teaching and research. They play a leadership role in integrating industry, education and research, and in seeking good industry–university–research collaboration. By collaborating with industry, leading universities can convert research achievements into new products and production methods, and promote the commercialisation of academic inventions. 
 
Our HK Tech 300 Programme, launched in March 2021, is a large-scale flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme. With the theme of “Venture Beyond Boundaries” and an allocation of HK$500 million, the Programme aims to establish300 start-ups championed by CityU students over a three-year period and make it the largest university-based entrepreneurship programme in Asia. At this moment, as we embrace all the opportunities and changes the New Year holds for us, let us look back on our achievements in helping the start-up ecosystem in the region flourish with HK Tech 300:

• Funding awarded:
  • Seed Fund: HK$100,000 – 440+ teams (300+ teams also received HK$100,000 each from Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation’s pre-incubation programme)
  • Angel Fund: ≤1 million – 90+ start-ups
  • Further investment from other investors: for some HK Tech 300 start-ups, amounting to over HK$78 million in total

• Collaborators:
  • Nine co-investment partnerships will provide over HK$100 million in angel fund and venture capital investment
  • Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, which will collaborate in developing new research projects to further support the development of HK Tech 300 start-ups
  • 80 collaborating partners from various sectors and stakeholders

The University never rests on its laurels in supporting aspiring entrepreneurs to ignite their entrepreneurship journey. Hence, we launched the 1st nationwide HK Tech 300 Start-up Competition in June last year to further enhance innovation and technology development. About 300 start-ups from seven cities participated in the competition, 14 of which were selected after several rounds of reviews and selection by panels comprising entrepreneurs, senior management from venture capital enterprises, professionals and representatives from industry associations. 

We are proud of our student entrepreneurs. Through the intense effort of all the parties concerned and strong support from the community, HK Tech 300 is proving to be the best programme for technology entrepreneurship among universities in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia, thereby contributing to technological development through our highly recognised research. We have ventured beyond boundaries!

I wish you all a happy Year of the Rabbit!

Way Kuo
President and University Distinguished Professor