The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announced that it has signed an agreement with the Wuxi Economic Development Zone (Wuxi EDZ) aimed at strengthening ties and collaboration on areas spanning innovation, entrepreneurship, talent training and policy research.
The signing was witnessed the President of HKUST, the Secretary of Wuxi Municipal Party Committee as well as other representatives from both sides. The Vice-President (Research and Development) of HKUST and the Secretary of CPC Working Committee and Director of Management Committee of Wuxi EDZ signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two parties will work together to establish the Wuxi-Hong Kong Collaborative Innovation Center (Center) at HKUST. Its focus will be identifying and incubating research teams and innovative start-ups in various fields such as microelectronics, big data, cloud computing, fintech, precision medical equipment, and life and health sciences.
The University’s unique strengths in these areas will be leveraged through activities like entrepreneurship competitions. For established research teams and companies, the Wuxi EDZ will provide policy support to promote knowledge transfer and collaboration with industry and academia.
The Secretary of Wuxi Municipal Party Committee stated that collaboration between the two parties holds vast potential. HKUST is encouraged to establish a presence in Wuxi EDZ to accelerate academic research and education exchanges. Jointly organising innovation and entrepreneurship competitions and creating think tanks with policy experts will help facilitate exchanges in innovation, talent cultivation, and resource mobilisation.
Meanwhile, the President of HKUST stated that the Wuxi-Hong Kong Collaborative Innovation Center will merge HKUST’s strengths in education and innovation with Wuxi’s advantages in economic and industrial development. It is believed that the centre will contribute to the pooling of resources from Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Yangtze River Delta Region. The aim is to promote translational research and industrial development in frontier technologies through joint efforts.
HKUST and Wuxi EDZ will organise competitions and other activities aimed at talent grooming. These activities will include annual trips to Wuxi for HKUST faculty members, students, and alumni-entrepreneurs, where they can exchange knowledge on technological advancements with local stakeholders.
Wuxi EDZ will establish a new technology and innovation exchange fund to facilitate such visits. Additionally, the two sides will explore ways to create synergy for research projects on various topics, including carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.
Industry-academia collaborations are welcomed by the HKSAR Government. Recently, OpenGov Asia reported that the region’s Financial Secretary delivered the 2023-24 Budget on 22 February 2023.
HKUST welcomed the initiatives announced in the Budget, aimed at enhancing Hong Kong’s innovation and technology (I&T) capabilities. HKUST is committed to fulfilling its missions of advancing knowledge through teaching and research and translating research outcomes with the view to contributing to the economic and social development of Hong Kong and the nation. The University looks forward to closely collaborating with different stakeholders in the I&T sector on frontier technologies and nurturing of start-up to bring win-win benefits to multiple parties.
HKUST Council Chairman’s stated that the University will continue to fulfil the mission set forth 30 years ago when it was first founded – to help Hong Kong nurture the right talents to support the city’s economic transformation – and to supplement different I&T policies put forward by the Government.
He said that under the framework of ‘Unified HKUST, Complementary Campuses’, which unites the Clear Water Bay and Guangzhou campuses, HKUST is ushering in a new era of HKUST 2.0. The University is committed to actively contributing to the I&T development of the country, the Greater Bay Area, and Hong Kong.