(Hong Kong, 21 March 2018) - Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP) today showcased the strong progress made by partner companies based at Hong Kong Science Park at the first-ever Open Day themed ‘MakeITHongKong 3-2-1 Go!’.
Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said, "We are seeing good progress in building up the innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem in Hong Kong. It is a testament to the success of our partner companies and the collaborative support provided by our partners from the public and private sectors, including industry associations, academia and R&D institutions and others. We hope the events of today will give new impetus for others to be creators and disruptors, to seek new possibilities and new ideas in this digital era.”
The event saw the graduation of the latest cohort of start-ups from HKSTP’s Incubation Programmes, as well as the demonstrations of various technological applications in our daily lives. As of today, 542 technology start-ups have graduated from the Incubation Programmes. All the innovators present at the event shared their stories on bringing their ideas to reality, delivering many social and economic benefits to the community. HKSTP will continue its efforts to maintain Hong Kong Science Park as a vibrant hub for entrepreneurship and investment, as well as the engine for Hong Kong’s innovation in the years to come.
Various announcements were made at MakeITHongKong 3-2-1 Go! Open Day to highlight the new value-added services made available to Hong Kong-based technology start-ups and companies:
- Hong Kong’s Got IT Talent: HKSTP held a graduation ceremony for 72 technology start-ups and companies for completing various Incubation Programmes that support them at various stages of development – from pre-incubation to go-to-market. The number of graduates from the Incubation programmes reached a record high this year, with many of them making great strides in their development. Collectively, they gained 45 local and international awards for creativity and product excellence, filed or registered 39 patents and raised HK$ 130.3million from angel investors and venture capital companies. (please refer to separate fact sheet)
- Launch of Data Analytics Platform: A collaboration with five technology partners, namely Hitachi Vantara, NVIDIA, Siemens, CLP Power and Infineon, the Data Analytics Platform is an extension of the Data Studio initiative to accelerate the development and adoption of smart city solutions by leveraging the vast real-time datasets and data technology in the premises. (please refer to separate press release “HKSTP collaborates with technology partners to boost data-driven smart city solutions in Hong Kong”)
- Launch of Healthcare Devices Innovation Hub: Laser-focused on wellness and healthcare, the Healthcare Device Innovation Hub will offer shared facilities and business development guidance for accelerating healthcare device product development - from prototype testing to clinical evaluation. The Hub will be made available to local and overseas entities, including universities, start-ups, research institutes and any related healthcare or biomed companies. (please refer to separate fact sheet)
- Smart Cities Showcase: HKSTP promotes “Smart Region” innovations, with a focus on Smart Living, Smart Mobility, Smart Environment and Smart People. Science Park is a living laboratory to validate proof-of-concepts and collect big data for analytics. There are 8 multifunctional smart lampposts installed in Science Park with IoT technologies developed by partner companies. These smart lampposts will collect real-time data which will be shared with the Data Studio for developers to further enhance their Smart City-related solutions.
One of the major event highlights at MakeITHongKong 3-2-1 Go! was the Time Capsule Opening Ceremony where wishes made for I&T development 10 years ago were publicly unveiled. “We are honoured to witness the unveiling of the time capsule and happy to see that the wishes have been realised after a decade. HKSTP aspires to build on the past and look forward to the future. While we are chipping in with our new wishes for the next 10 years, we would like to take this opportunity to rally support from our stakeholders in the community to build an I&T-centric future together,” Albert said.
“We are gratified with the support given by the tech community in Hong Kong to make the ecosystem vibrant. This will breed further success, when more talent, entrepreneurs and start-ups come to HKSTP to build and create their I&T solutions. We are on solid track and HKSTP will continue to serve as a super-connector and a catalyst to support innovation, technology and entrepreneurship, and promote economy diversification for Hong Kong,” Albert concluded.
The MakeITHongKong 3-2-1 Go! Open Day was a get-together to bring all stakeholders – partner companies, R&D professionals, alumni and current graduates of the Incubation Programmes, as well as the community - to come together and create a communal force for the continued development of Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem.
