Hong Kong is Asia’s World City, but is it one of Asia’s Smart Cities? It has long been argued that Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative trumps Hong Kong m-government programmes.
The Hong Kong Office of the Government CIO (OGCIO) is working to change this and boost Hong Kong’s presence in Smart City discussions. The OGCIO recently announced its push for cloud integration through its Digital 21 Strategy. And the Government continues to integrate new wifi hotspots throughout the territory. But there is one educational institution that will be working to make Hong Kong’s Smart City dreams a reality.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) recently teamed up with one of China’s largest integrated IT provider to sign a framework agreement to build a Smart City Research Institute. The institute will be located in Hong Kong to facilitate smart city development in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
HKUST President Prof Tony F Chan stated, “It is our great pleasure to have established a strategic partnership … HKUST has been delivering remarkable achievements in innovation research. Driven by the synergy created from the collaboration, we believe such new momentum will definitely help foster the development of smart city and make Hong Kong an innovation and technology hub.”
Through this agreement, HKUST will work closely with the provider to develop a strategic plan for smart city planning. HKUST will capitalise on its talents and facilities in science and technology research.
The Smart City Research Institute will also work to integrate big data analytics technologies to facilitate these advancements. The Smart City Research Institute pledges to apply for government sponsored research programs and prestigious academic projects.
As Hong Kong aims to be one of the rising technological hubs in Asia, this agreement shows that education plays a big part in moving closer to this goal. Now, all eyes are on HKUST to cater to the development of Hong Kong’s Smart City programmes.
