(Hong Kong, 25 January 2024) – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) recently embarked on its Innovation Mixer US West Coast Tour to connect the US and Hong Kong innovation communities and showcase the booming opportunities in Asia. From 16 to 19 January, the HKSTP delegation held a series of events including visits to prestigious academic institutions Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) to explore potential collaborations on incubation, internship and talent programmes. The delegation met with over 40 market-leading tech enterprises, venture capital firms, accelerators, academia and R&D leaders, while over 250 young entrepreneurs, innovators and talent came to hear about Hong Kong’s growing innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem.
The huge participant interest saw eager conversations regarding cooperating with HKSTP and potential expansion to Hong Kong, Asia and beyond. Hong Kong’s status is on the rise as it has ascended to 9th in the UN’s Global Frontiers Technology Readiness Index in 2023. While the latest Global Innovation Index affirms that the HK-Shenzhen-Guangzhou science and technology cluster is now ranked number two in the world, proving that Hong Kong is at the centre of a growing innovation powerhouse in China and Asia.
Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said, “The sheer talent and technology expertise on the US West Coast is unsurpassed, while our own innovation communities at HKSTP in HK, China and Asia are rapidly developing and eager to connect, collaborate and provide new growth opportunities to ambitious startups and tech talent. HKSTP truly believes innovation is global and with Hong Kong entering a golden era for I&T, it is the ideal launchpad for success in Asia and beyond.”
During the visits to Stanford University, the pre-eminent US institution for tech talent, the leadership team met with the Department of Management Science and Engineering, School of Engineering, and Graduate School of Business to explore partnerships on talent initiatives. HKSTP hosted a career session that highlighted exciting I&T career paths in Hong Kong, while HKSTP’s CEO Albert Wong introduced the internship and graduate opportunities offered by HKSTP to over 50 Stanford students from different faculties.
To engage the Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES) with highly influential alumni and innovative students, a networking session was held in which Albert outlined the career journey and differences in multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in the US, Asia-Pacific and China. By contrasting leadership roles in MNCs with entrepreneurial management experiences, participants were inspired to adventure into the I&T ecosystem in Hong Kong, unlocking the tremendous potential for global investors and talent through this important gateway to China and Asian markets.
Collaborations on talent nurturing with UC Berkeley reached new heights. HKSTP delegation met with the University’s Director of International Partnership, Dr Matthew Sherburne, to explore opportunities on startup partnerships and internship programmes. The team paid a visit to UC Berkeley’s Mechanical Systems Control Lab, supervised by Professor Masayoshi Tomizuka, who is also the Co-Director of Hong Kong Centre for Logistics Robotics, InnoHK. The research team showed immense interest in the funding and support to R&D in Hong Kong.
The West Coast tour also included meetings with global tech leaders NVIDIA, Google, Linkedin; US venture capital firms such as TSVC; Silicon Valley based innovation and entrepreneurship platforms such as JJ Lake and Q Bay Center; Israeli accelerator UPWEST LABS, among others, with extensive talks to explore and deepen cooperations. The delegation engaged with companies from the life sciences, AI, fintech and cybersecurity sectors that expressed keen interest in Asian expansion.
In addition, HKSTP and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) organised a reception dinner that attracted around 150 tech professionals from leading enterprises, universities and venture capital firms including Apple, Google, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, JP Morgan and East West Bank. Participants were informed of the surge in investment and resources in Hong Kong’s thriving I&T sector.
“HKSTP Innovation Mixer” was launched in 2023 as an outreach programme aimed at connecting with enterprises and talent from around the world to grow Hong Kong and Asia’s collective innovation ecosystems. HKSTP demonstrated its integrated ecosystem of infrastructure, R&D, consultation, funding, partner matching and market development services, which help tech enterprises at all stages of their innovation journey. HKSTP delegations visited Singapore and Malaysia last year and completed its US tour in January this year.
