A delegation of 16 representatives from the  Hong Kong Science and Technology Park  (HKSTP) and its incubatee companies visited City University's Wireless Communications Laboratory 5 March, on the lookout for possible collaboration opportunities between the University and industry.

"Hong Kong's wireless communications sector still has a lot of potential for growth," said Mr S W Cheung, group leader and HKSTP's Vice-President for Business Development and Technology Support. "Whether it is for entertainment, communications or computation equipment, the cooperation between the University's research team and industry is the most effective means of boosting the development of the wireless communications."

Professor Edward Yung and Professor C H Chan, Director and Deputy Director, respectively, of CityU's Wireless Communications Research Centre, guided the one-and-a-half-hour laboratory tour. "We don't focus on applied research," said Professor Yung. "But because of the nature of electronic engineering, our academic research today is often transferred into tomorrow's applications." Professor Yung and Professor Chan first explained to the visitors the Laboratory's advanced facilities and its research in such areas as cellular phones, microwave communications and antennas design. A discussion session followed.

Radio Frequency (RF) in wireless communications was the main interest of the visitors. "CityU's Wireless Communications Laboratory is very advanced in the research and application of RF," said Mr Dick Lai, Director of Technology of Adtio Group Limited, one of the three incubatee companies that participated in the visit. "As a mobile solutions software company, it's necessary for us to know what CityU's researchers can do in this field."

"It will definitely be to everybody's advantage that the industry and the academics know what each other is doing," said Mr H Y Wong, Director of CityU's Technology Transfer Office and organizer of the visit. "Only when academics know what the industry needs can they be of help in the development of products and technology."

The Wireless Communications Laboratory was set up by the University's Wireless Communications Research Centre in 1993. It became one of six University-level research centres, with outstanding research in, among many other topics, antenna design and testing, field scanners and passive intermodulation analysis. The Laboratory also engages in mid-stream activities, such as applied research and technology transfer. It has sold various techniques to industry via patent assignment and product design consultancies. Its clients include Philips, Motorola, Toshiba and other major electronic firms.