City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently participated in a number of major innovation and technology events in Hong Kong to showcase the University’s impressive achievements in research, innovation and entrepreneurship, and to explore new innovation and technology areas with industry, thereby fostering an innovative entrepreneurship culture in the community.

InnoTech Expo 2022

“InnoTech Expo” is a platform for unveiling the latest breakthroughs in innovation and technology from mainland China and Hong Kong through themed exhibitions, scientific forums and science workshops. An assessment committee comprising senior scientists from universities in Hong Kong selected 25 outstanding and representative research and technology projects to showcase at “InnoTech Expo 2022”, including a number of CityU projects, which fully engaged the audience.

CityU exhibited two research and technology projects from the State Key Laboratory of Terahertz and Millimeter Waves, including “TeraHertz (THz) Device and Technology” developed by Professor Chan Chi-hou, Acting Provost and Chair Professor of Electronic Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and his research team, and a “Magneto-electric dipole antenna”, developed by Professor Luk Kwai-man, Chair Professor of the Department of Electronic Engineering and his research team.

Professor Lu Jian, Director of the Hong Kong Branch of National Precious Metals Material Engineering Research Center (NPMM), and Chair Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor Liu Chain-Tsuan, Senior Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study and University Distinguished Professor in the College of Engineering, Dr Steven Wang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr Tso Chi-yan, Assistant Professor in the School of Energy and Environment, and their research teams also introduced the latest achievements and applications of their projects with their exhibits.

Professor Shek Chan-hung, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering delivered a well-attended seminar, which took the audience on a journey through the world of materials science, illustrating the implications of materials in our daily lives, as well as their importance to technological and societal advancement.

Dr Steven Wang exhibited his team’s project “Fog-to-electricity Generator with Ultra-high Power Density” in a live demonstration. The invention combines a newly developed high-power density droplet-based energy generator (DEG) with a nature-inspired, superhydrophobic fog harvesting mesh to harvest energy and freshwater from moisture, providing a sustainable, stable, low-cost, portable, and eco-friendly power supply solution, while simultaneously tackling the freshwater crisis in many major cities and areas. The project received a Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury at Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days (IGED) 2022. It is also supported by CityU’s flagship entrepreneurship programme HK Tech 300 to transfer the technology into applications.

BIOHK2022

BIOHK2022 attracted biotechnology professionals from around the globe to explore business opportunities through exhibitions, keynote addresses, roundtable discussions and networking.

Also attending BIOHK2022 were biotech and health technology start-ups from CityU’s HK Tech 300 to promote the University’s research capabilities and efforts in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

Seventeen representatives from these start-ups went head to head in the pitching arena during the event, making their best pitch to, and answering questions from, the judges, including Mr Jimmy Tao, CEO of Vitargent (International) Biotechnology Limited, Professor Cheng Shuk-han, Chair Professor of the Department of Biomedical Sciences of CityU, Mr William Yim, Chairman and CTO of Sanwa Biotech Limited and Dr Wang Yaofeng, Senior Manager of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Health, Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The pitches were was witnessed by many exhibitors and visitors.

Mr Danny Yeung, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Prenetics, kicked off the pitching session by sharing some of the challenges and opportunities he faced when establishing and running start-ups. Apart from remarkable technology and products, he emphasised the key to success hinges on outstanding product positioning and marketing to commercialise tech products. He also conveyed the importance of staying optimistic and resilient for start-ups to deal with challenges.

After the pitching session, Mr Liu Da, Managing Director of CR-CP Life Science Fund, delivered a keynote speech and revisited major milestones in the development of biotech. He analysed the market situation and development opportunities at the macro level, providing a valuable supplementary course for start-ups.

Full recap of HK Tech 300 start-up pitching!