On 18 July 2018, The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University (PolyU) and Shenzhen
University (SZU)
announced
that they will jointly set up The Greater Bay Area International Institute for
Innovation (GBA I3). The collaboration is aimed at developing the
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau GBA into a world-class innovation hub.
Leveraging the resources of both
universities, and in collaboration with renowned institutions and enterprises
worldwide, the Institute will provide a solid platform for nurturing innovative
technology talents, advancing technology and innovation development, and
incubating high-tech entrepreneurs. It will offer innovation and technology talents
of Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, and the world more opportunities for
development in GBA and the globe.
Professor Timothy W. TONG, President of
PolyU, and Professor LI Qingquan, President of SZU, signed a Memorandum of
Understanding for the establishment of the Institute at the PolyU campus.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mr Nicholas W. YANG, Secretary for Innovation
and Technology, The Government of Hong Kong SAR; Mr ZHANG Zongming, Associate Counsel,
Education, Science and Technology Office, Liaison Office of the Central
People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR; Mr SHA Xinhua, Associate Counsel,
Shenzhen Science, Technology and Innovation Commission; Mr CHAN Tze-ching, Council Chairman of PolyU.
Representatives from tertiary education and
industry sectors of Hong Kong and Shenzhen were also present.
Both PolyU and SZU have excellent track
records showcasing their achievements in innovation, technology, and entrepreneurial development, and the two
universities have been collaborating on various innovation and education
initiatives for an extended period of time. The set-up of the Institute is
meant to further capitalise on the
complementary strengths of both universities and also advance innovation,
technology and the development of the Greater Bay Area as promulgated by the
Central Government.
In the short-term, upon the establishment
of the Institute, PolyU and SZU will open up their resources for mutual use and
jointly organise innovation and
entrepreneurship exchange activities. These will include sharing of innovation
space resources, organizing entrepreneurship training camps and international
exploration activities, and opening up the innovation and entrepreneurship
programmes of PolyU and SZU for students, alumni and collaboration partners of
both universities to participate.
The short-term collaboration of the two
universities will also include the establishment of the Lean Launchpad Plus
(LLP+) programme, which is an entrepreneurship practice used to review and
develop business models based on surveying and learning from customers. Taking
reference of the Lean Launchpad Programme operated by PolyU and overseas
institutes, LLP+ will focus on the key industries of GBA and Shenzhen, so as to
provide a tailor-made programme to help
techno-entrepreneurs commercialise their
research innovations.
In the medium- to long-term, PolyU and SZU
will use the Institute as a platform to operate joint entrepreneurship
education programmes. International exchanges with innovation communities
worldwide, in particular, those from the
three major Bay Areas, will be conducted to capitalize various collaboration
opportunities. Through bringing in global talents, post-doctoral researchers
and investors, the Institute will help promote the internationalization of GBA.
Furthermore, the Institute plans to set up
a Technology Transfer Go-to-Market & Scale-up Platform, by leveraging on
Shenzhen's manufacturing capabilities and comprehensive industrial chain, as
well as the industrial network and resources of PolyU and SZU. The platform
will facilitate commercialisation of
technology innovations and digitalization for enterprises with a view to
upgrading their operation. Capitalizing on the opportunities rendered by the
policies on Hong Kong-Shenzhen education and innovation collaboration for the
Lok Ma Chau Loop development, the two universities, with the support of the Institute, will help further develop
Hong Kong-Shenzhen integration for building the region into a world-leading innovation hub.
