As a first-class comprehensive research university in Asia, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is committed to propelling innovation and technology, transforming innovative inventions into industries and benefiting mankind.
To promote the development of an innovation ecosystem on campus, CUHK launched the first CUHK Innovation Day, with the slogan “Innovation, Patents and Beyond”, showcasing the research efforts of the University in recent years, including the new CUHK satellite project, robotics, and other features.
In addition, CUHK has established the InnoPort to provide CUHK members with a platform to showcase scientific inventions and connect industry resources, so as to realise knowledge transfer. On 23 September 2021, CUHK held the Opening Ceremony of the CUHK Innovation Day and the InnoPort.
The Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government noted that this term of Government is committed to promoting the development of I&T to inject new impetus into the economy, improve people’s quality of life, and creating quality jobs for young people.
It is hoped that the University and academia can embrace the opportunities brought about by the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the Greater Bay Area development to help develop Hong Kong into an international I&T hub, he added.
The Vice-Chancellor and President, CUHK said that the University seeks to integrate research, innovation and enterprise into a dynamic and productive continuum, namely, to generate impact based on existing and strategically identified directions of research and innovation, and to capitalise on the opportunities available from both private sectors and the government via Public-Private-Partnership.
The University is poised to leverage the opportunities and resources offered by the Government and the Greater Bay Area, under the ‘National 14th Five-Year Plan’ announced in March that supports Hong Kong’s development into an international I&T hub, the cross-boundary flow of innovative elements, and integration into national development.
In addition to exhibiting 20 innovation studies led by CUHK professors at the InnoPort and Yasumoto International Academic Park, the CUHK Innovation Day also held six thematic sessions and a panel discussion on topics covering satellite and mobile sensing technology and its applications in public health, green energy and advanced material research, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine development, the future demand of technologies in the electrical industry, laser-based gas sensing technology, and strategies to enhance early language development.
To actively promote the development of the innovation ecosystem, the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) has been set up to provide comprehensive support, assisting professors in locating suitable resources for their research, offering support for their funding applications and facilitating collaborations with external parties including commercial partners.
ORKTS is also responsible for formulating and implementing research-related strategies to support the development of research led by the University, improving the level of university research, and encouraging teaching staff and students to utilise their research insights and expertise to create different types of societal impact.
From research to innovation to entrepreneurship, a complete innovation ecosystem is formed. ORKTS has implemented a series of incubation initiatives including the Pre-Incubation (PI) Centre, training competitions, and different funding schemes such as the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (TSSSU), Sustainable Knowledge Transfer Project Fund (S-KPF) to provide students and professors with financial support, and business consultancy support to realise their entrepreneurial endeavours.
Following the CUHK Innovation Day, CUHK will host the CUHK Entrepreneurship Day from 24 to 25 September. It will include the final CUHK Entrepreneurship Competition, a product display area, and more than 100 online booths of CUHK related start-ups, demonstrating the vigorous development of the University’s innovation and entrepreneurship activities.
