(Hong Kong, 24 April 2017) - Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (“HKSTP” or “the Corporation”) today staged the graduation ceremony for 68 companies graduating from Incubation Programme in 2017. The Corporation also announced two strategic initiatives – the Global Acceleration Academy (“GAA” or “the Academy”) and the Elevator Pitch Competition 2017. The initiatives are devised to attract promising overseas start-ups to Hong Kong, enhance the global competitiveness of local start-ups, and ultimately consolidate Hong Kong’s position as a global hub for R&D and application development to empower Hong Kong's innovative economy.
Incubatees chalk up remarkable achievements
The 68 incubatee graduates are involved in different technological fields, ranging from information technology to biomedicine, games design and programming, e-commerce and logistics, education and learning and clean tech. Successful commercialisation of their R&D projects, many of those in collaboration with local universities and industry partners, have made these companies new driving forces in the innovation sector, delivering innovative services to individuals and companies in different sectors.
The cohort has garnered a total of 39 local and international awards on innovation and invention. Well Being Digital Limited and its ActivHearts™, for example, won The Best Wearable Mobile Technology Award of the Global Mobile Awards (Glomo Awards) 2016 at GSMA Mobile World Congress. The incubatees have also filed or registered a total of 70 patents in various markets. One of those is the heat dissipation technology applicable to 360-degree high brightness LED lighting, developed by Synxia Photonic Technology Limited. The co-founder of the company, at 72, is the one of most senior entrepreneurs in the history of HKSTP’s Incubation Programme.
HKSTP Chief Executive Officer Mr Albert Wong said at the graduation ceremony, “My congratulations to the graduates! Many of them have already completed product R&D and embarked on marketisation. I applaud their hard work in fulfilling their technopreneurship dream. Their exemplary success will inspire future incubatees, and they have contributed significantly towards the development of Hong Kong's innovative economy. I wish the graduates every success in the future, and look forward to seeing their R&D results branching out in the world from Hong Kong.”
Two significant initiatives to strengthen Hong Kong as a global R&D hub
HKSTP has been supporting Hong Kong's innovative economy by consolidating the city's position as a global R&D hub and expanding the ecosystem. The two major programmes launched today are in line with this objective.
Mr Wong said in the launch event, “HKSTP stays closely aligned with policy, technology and market developments, evident by the expansion of Science Park and the new development programme of Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate. The ecosystem will see even more opportunities with the recently announced Hong Kong/Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in Lok Ma Chau Loop and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area highlighted in China State Government's Annual Government Work Report. HKSTP's new initiatives announced today are devised to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a global R&D hub and expand the ecosystem. We hope to open doors for start-ups from around the world and help their research and business development take off. We also look forward to building connections with more industry leaders through the initiatives to plan for the future together.”
Launching the Global Acceleration Academy
HKSTP is launching the Global Acceleration Academy to give a boost to start-up development. The Corporation will partner different industry leaders to implement a schedule of thematic acceleration programmes. Through three months of intensive training, participating start-ups will benefit directly from the resources in the industry, and identify R&D direction and business strategy through understanding industry development trends and market needs.
The Academy is open to start-ups from around the world. The first programme focusing on the Internet of Things (IoT) has internationally renowned ARM Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator ("ARM Accelerator") as partner. HKSTP expects to implement at least three more GAA programmes this year.
Staging the Elevator Pitch Competition 2017
HKSTP will stage the Elevator Pitch Competition 2017 at Sky100 of International Commerce Centre (ICC) on November 2. The event is designed to promote interaction, exchange and collaboration between overseas and local start-up teams. Through international partners, HKSTP will invite teams from the world’s top 20 entrepreneurial cities to join in workshops and special activities with local teams, and get acquainted with the ecosystem of Hong Kong and Shenzhen as well as future development potential through designated programmes. The goal is to underscore Hong Kong’s position as one of the most ideal start-up bases in the world, so as to attract more overseas technology start-ups to Hong Kong to reinforce the local technology ecosystem.
Applications for the competition is open, and will end on September 30, 2017. The 100 finalists of the event will pitch to an international judging panel within a 60-second ride in the Sky100 elevators. The top ten finalists will present on stage to vie for the top prize of up to US$120,000 seed funding. For more details of the event, please visit http://epic.hkstp.org.
