The HKSAR Government has set out a clear direction and goals for the future development of innovation and technology (I&T) in Hong Kong, leading Hong Kong to become an international I&T centre. The Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) is working to maintain a close connection with the academic community and collaborate to consolidate the upstream competitiveness, vitalise the enthusiasm and initiative of transferring R&D results of the University to applied scenarios, and accelerate the process of implementation and industrialization.
ASTRI and the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at “Fostering University Cooperation in Technology Transfer” on 22 September 2022 to jointly create a new era of smart living and cross-disciplinary technological development.
The extended cooperation covers the areas of smart traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) service systems, pharmaceutical R&D, Artech, and Fintech, as well as interdisciplinary research and its application, to promote technology innovation and transfer. ASTRI, HKBU and its affiliated institutions will co-develop several cooperation models for R&D, including cutting-edge technologies including AI and big data analysis, as well as intellectual property management and commercialisation.
The MoU was witnessed by the Chairman of ASTRI Board of Directors, and the President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU; it was signed by the ASTRI’s Chief Executive Officer and the Interim Chief Innovation Officer of HKBU on behalf of both parties on the campus of HKBU.
Under the agreement, the two will enhance collaborative research and promote the transfer and commercialization of technology results. In addition, they will set out their respective intellectual property rights and ownership of R&D results to promote the commercialisation of collaborative R&D or projects implemented by both parties or affiliated institutions of HKBU. In addition, the partnership aims to reduce the R&D time, improve the utilization of resources and accelerate the application of R&D results.
The Chairman of ASTRI’s Board of Directors noted that approximately 100 R&D projects are conducted every year in ASTRI aimed, ultimately, commercialisation. ASTRI proactively collaborates with HKBU to build an R&D commercialisation platform, promote cooperation in an all-around way, and enhance synergy in talents, resources, R&D, etc. Leveraging perspective advantages, the two can create unique R&D conditions in key areas such as pharmaceutical R&D, AI and Fintech, to seize the new opportunities in the I&T era.
The President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU noted that the transfer of research outcomes is the third mission of universities. HKBU has identified three focused research areas including Creative Media and Practice, Health and Drug Discovery, and Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.
The University has also established six interdisciplinary research laboratories to allow all faculties and departments to fully unleash their areas of excellence, stimulate intellectual interaction on common topics, explore and discover new cutting-edge technologies, and provide solutions to cope with challenges in society. The collaboration between HKBU and ASTRI provides abundant opportunities for knowledge transfer of these technologies.
ASTRI and HKBU will cooperate on a project basis to deepen their mutual vision of technology exchange and development. This includes determining the contribution of each stakeholder in the development of R&D results, as well as the ownership, funding arrangements, project implementation responsibilities and intellectual property protection of R&D results of relevant joint projects. This will enable both partners to explore opportunities for technology commercialization with the intellectual property owned by both parties. It will also ensure that local R&D can be effectively turned into applied technologies and enlarge the production capacity.
