HKSTP Hosts First-Ever Satellite Event of the World AI Conference 2021 in Hong Kong

Photo 1: HKSTP hosted the satellite event of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference for the first time in Hong Kong with heavyweight speakers and guests, including:

• Mr Alfred Sit, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, the HKSAR Government (5^th from the left, front row)
• Dr Xu Kai, Deputy Minister of Education and Technology, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (4^th from the right, front row)
• Dr Sunny Chai, Chairman, HKSTP (5^th from the right, front row)
• Ms Rebecca Pun, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR (3^rd from the left, front row)
• Mr Herbert Chia, Venture Partner, Sequoia Capital China Fund and Board of Director, HKSTP (1^st from the left, front row)
• Mr Albert Wong, CEO, HKSTP (3^rd from the right, front row)
• Dr Crystal Fok, Director, STP Platform, HKSTP (3^rd from the left, back row)
• Mr Hailong Shang, General Manager, SenseTime Hong Kong and Macau (3^rd from the right, back row)
• Prof Jiaya Jia, Founder, SmartMore Corporation Limited and Tenured Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2^nd from the left, front row)
• Prof Guo Yike, Vice-President (Research and Development), Hong Kong Baptist University (2^nd from the right, front row)
• Prof Lionel Ni, Founding President, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) (4^th from the left, front row)
• Prof Anthony So, Associate Dean (Student Affairs), Faculty of Engineering and Deputy Master, Morningside College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (1^st from the right, front row)
• Dr Jiang Xin, Director of Noah Speech and Semantics Lab, Huawei (2^nd from the left, back row)
• Dr Miles Wen, Founder and CEO, Fano Labs (1^st from the left, back row)
• Mr Lit Fung, Managing Director, Overseas Business, Geek+ International Co., Ltd (2^nd from the right, back row)
• Ms Kedi Wang, Manager, Intact Lab, Intact Financial (1^st from the right, back row)

(Hong Kong, 8 July 2021) – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today organised the first-ever satellite event of the world's leading and internationally renowned AI summit – the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2021 - here in Hong Kong. Taking place concurrently with the WAIC event in Shanghai, the plenary sessions and exhibition at Hong Kong Science Park reflects the city’s fast-growing AI cluster and wave of new talent.

Albert Wong, CEO, HKSTP said, “It is a true honour for Hong Kong to collaborate with Shanghai to host the world renowned WAIC. This milestone reflects a clear opportunity for both cities to accelerate AIR development in the region. Hong Kong has many great AI startups and unicorns alike. This been made possible through its rich and growing pool of AI talent, increasing business adoption, and strong access to market capital. Together, these elements form a unique ecosystem which attracts international entrepreneurs and talent to develop world-changing innovations.”

WAIC Hong Kong hosted a number of keynote sessions with leading industry and AI experts to promote the exchange of global AI innovation ideas, technologies, talent, applications and capital. Headlined by government officials, academics and business leaders, the conference is a springboard for greater regional collaboration to foster scientific and technology talent, as well as innovation to help Hong Kong build a world-class AI cluster.

Speakers from the Hong Kong event included Mrs Carrie Lam, The Chief Executive of the HKSAR; Mr Alfred Sit, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, the HKSAR Government; Dr Sunny Chai, Chairman, HKSTP; Mr Herbert Chia, Venture Partner, Sequoia Capital China Fund and Board of Director, HKSTP; Dr Crystal Fok, Director, STP Platform, HKSTP; Prof Jiaya Jia, Founder, SmartMore Corporation Limited and Tenured Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Prof Guo Yike, Vice-President (Research and Development), Hong Kong Baptist University; Prof Lionel Ni, Founding President, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou); Prof Anthony So, Associate Dean (Student Affairs), Faculty of Engineering and Deputy Master, Morningside College, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Mr Shang Hailong, General Manager, SenseTime Hong Kong and Macau; Dr Jiang Xin, Director of Noah Speech and Semantics Lab, Huawei; Dr Miles Wen, Founder and CEO, Fano Labs; Mr Lit Fung, Managing Director, Overseas Business, Geek+ International Co., Ltd; Dr Liu Qifeng, EVP & Secretary General, Hong Kong Society of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and Ms Kedi Wang, Manager, Intact Lab, Intact Financial.  

In addition to keynote sessions, WAIC Hong Kong connected with WAIC Shanghai virtually, and organised a MOU signing ceremony with The University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to join The Global Artificial Intelligence Academic Alliance (GAIAA). Twelve Science Park companies and local institutions also showcased their innovative AIR ideas and solutions during the event.

WAIC has been successfully running since 2018 and is co-organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, and other institutions. The 2021 edition of WAIC continues to uphold the concept of "Intelligently Connect the World", and build an international cooperation and exchange platform for top scientists, entrepreneurs, government officials, experts, organisations, investors and startups.