新闻及香港科大故事

香港科技大学(科大) 设立「香港科技大学创业基金」 (下称基金)，为科大初创企业，尤其对处于早期发展阶段的初创公司提供支持。基金亦期望推广校内创业精神、促进知识转移，为社会及经济带来正面影响。 科大最初会向基金注资五千万港元，于未来五年投资大学的初创企业；用以支持创业与创新科技的捐款，也可投入到此基金。获选的公司可获投资金额最多为二百万港元，以作为支持研发、业务及市场拓展方面等活动。具备创新技术及/或商业模式的初创企业，会获优先考虑。 科大校董会副主席兼校董会辖下知识转移委员会主席查逸超教授表示﹕「虽然近年为初创企业提供的融资管道有所增加，但是处于早期发展阶段的公司，仍难以筹集足够资金。财政支持不但影响初创企业的存活，有时更决定一个出色的概念能否成为改善生活的现实方案。我希望基金可以提供多一个平台，培育有潜力的公司及人才，为香港的创新科技发展作出贡献。」  基金除透过与合资格的伙伴进行共同投资，亦可担任领投的角色。共同投资伙伴可以是机构性创投基金（venture capital）﹕包括金融及企业创投基金，或是家族管理之基金，其中又以具有创投经验及以创新和科技为重点的公司为佳。共同投资有机会为科大初创企业带来配对资金，以提升基金成效。此外，科大亦可藉此借助共同投资伙伴于尽职调查(due diligence)和筛选方面的专业知识，及其对初创企业发展提供的专业指导。 申请公司须成立不多于五年，而一定比例的股份须由科大成员例如教职员、学生及/或校友持有。基金的投资及撤资决策由科大协理副校长（知识转移）吴恩柏教授带领的投资小组委员会负责。 有关更多「创业基金」的详情，请参阅https://e-fund.hkust.edu.hk/ 。

由香港科技大学(科大)学生、校友和员工组成的三个团队，在逾100个参赛队伍中脱颖而出，赢得科大-信和百万奖金创业大赛2019香港区赛事三甲。他们将于今年九月在广州南沙，与其余六个赛区的胜出者进行总决赛。 今年已踏入第九届的百万奖金创业大赛，共吸引了117个队伍参赛，数目较去年增加逾百分之十五，深受科大及小区成员欢迎。为进一步推动多元化，比赛去年引入网上配对平台，让参加者与来自香港及其他地区、有兴趣参与赛事的人士及公司组队，促进不同背景的人士交流。在今年的比赛中，百分之十五的参赛队伍正是利用网上配对平台，成功觅得志同道合的队友。 今年进入总决赛的六支队伍，更将首次获邀参与由香港科学园举办的科技企业家计划 (STEP)。这个为期一年的计划旨在培育有志于科技发展的创业人才，开展初创企业，助他们落实创意概念。 香港区赛事的最高殊荣「校长奖」，由科大与厦门大学的校友及研究生所组成的公司「Horizon Biochip」夺得。他们研发的Cryochip，可以把冷冻胚胎的过程自动及标准化。冷冻胚胎是体外人工受孕一个关键的步骤，目的是将胚胎冷冻保存起来，以备日后使用。新技术能消除技术人员操作时出现的误差，减少发生人为错误的机会，有效提高冷冻胚胎的成功率。团队更荣获创新奖及健康医疗奖。 「道创智能科技控股有限公司」则凭借应用于农业的光谱传感器，赢得金奖及机器人与人工智能奖。该传感器能够在不破坏水果的情况下，根据水果的甜度与成熟程度进行分类，从而统一质量并提升生产力。另外，银奖得主「康怡科技有限公司」所开发的诊断方法，则可以在30分钟内，快速检测唾液、鼻液或血液样本是否含有近100种感染性病源体，包括肺结核、麻疹、流感、非洲猪瘟及其他传染病等，不但较需时几小时甚或几天的传统检验方法更便捷，有效提升诊治效率，亦较传统方法便宜。 信和集团创新联席董事杨孟璋先生表示：「信和集团深明创科的重要，全力支持创新科技，建立全面的创科生态系统，支持香港发展成为国际创新科技中心。今年是第二年支持这项比赛，非常高兴为科大的学生和校友提供多元化的学习经验，为创业做好准备。我们衷心恭贺和祝愿三支获胜队伍，并期待他们把创业概念转化成真正的产品和服务。」

Have you ever struggled to catch a minibus to or from campus? It’s why a new “Finding Mini” app has been developed by HKUST alumni Jason Yuen, Simon Tsang, and current student Gash Tsui. “We deploy GPS module on each minibus, and sophisticated data algorithms developed by ourselves, with factors including weather, fluctuations of traffic, and real-time traffic conditions,” says Simon. While KMB buses already had an app for arrival times, the green minibuses did not. “We were very frustrated by this situation, because we could not compare arrival times between the double decker and minibus arrival times in Choi Hung, and the stops are on different ends of the street,” says Jason.

香港科技大学(科大)今年第八届的百万元创业大赛，将再多两个内地城市举办，令这项区域性赛事的规模，扩展至涵盖大中华区内七个城市。而科大亦将于本港的比赛中加入新元素，以提升参加者的比赛体验，促进多元化并加强公众参与度。 科大于香港站的赛事，今年获得信和集团的慷慨支持，易名为「香港科技大学—信和百万元创业大赛2018」。科大创业大赛由最初一个推动校内创业文化的平台，逐渐发展成一项地区性赛事，于二零一六年首度扩展至北京、广州、深圳及澳门举行，今年再拓展至佛山及中山，覆盖大湾区11个地区中的6个地区，不但进一步加强科大与大湾区城市的联系与合作，更有助促进大中华区不同创业家之间的交流，刺激创意思维，互相学习进步。 本地赛事中，今年获甄选得以参与「电梯简报」环节的参赛队伍，将达24支，较去年增加一倍。这环节模拟创业者于现实生活中经常遇到的情节，在升降机中遇到潜在投资者，并只得约90秒﹕即约一程升降机的时间，介绍其创业计划，属既紧张又刺激的体验。 为促进公众参与，科大更首次推出网上公开投票环节，24支队伍于「电梯简报」环节中的表现，将被放到网上，予大众投票选出表现最佳的队伍。公众投票结果于「电梯简报奖」的评审中将占百分之十的分数。 此外，科大亦将成立网上配对平台，协助参赛团队与来自不同地区、有兴趣参与赛事的人士及公司组队。科大创业中心主任陈双幸教授认为，这个平台将推动比赛趋多元化：「学生、旧生、研究人员、学院和职员可以跟本地或来自全球其他大学和企业的人，组成不同的合作团队。我们认为将不同背景的创业者连结在一起，可刺激多角思维，更有效提升创意。」 信和集团将与科大展开为期五年的合作，赞助科大的创业大赛。信和集团副主席黄永光先生对可以支持年轻人追求创业梦想感到高兴：「我们深信培养青年的企业精神，对于他们向上流动及社会繁荣均十分重要。今次计划以新颖的比赛形式为年轻人搭建平台，分享观点及交流创业意念，同时提供一个实践场地，让他们学以致用，胜出队伍更可运用奖金实现梦想。」创新科技的发展促成无限商机，黄永光先生期望参赛者能于创业建议书中，展现创新概念。 赛事设有多个奖项，胜出队伍可利用奖金创立公司，或将其创制的产品或技术商业化。

Frank has had a dream of flying from a young age, and he showed a keen interest in the research and development of unmanned helicopter technology during his time at HKUST. In 2005, he and his team participated in ABU Robocon and won third prize among teams competing from across Asia. In 2006, he completed his final thesis at HKUST, which included the development of a flight control system for unmanned platforms. He then founded DJI based on this system, and became the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technical Officer of the company. Today, DJI has over 5,000 employees and is the global leader in developing and manufacturing high performance, reliable, and easy-to-use small unmanned aerial systems for commercial and recreational use. Frank has devoted himself to the research and development of the world's premiere unmanned aircraft control and aerial photography and videography systems.

HKUST alums emphasize a strong team always brings better results for all. Long before he found Maxus Tech with his friends, Mark Zeng had HKUST on his radar as he was looking for a graduate program in Hong Kong. “I thought I would meet a lot of people from different backgrounds, and that I would keep in pace with the development of the technologies in Mainland, as HKUST probably had more exposure to technical progresses in Chinese market than say, schools in the US or the UK,” Mark recalls. As a student in HKUST, Mark soon made a lot of friends, but little did he know he would bring them along as partners and find a company together someday. After Mark graduated, he took a job in the banking sector, and it would seem that he was set for life.

Little did Sandra Sobanska know when she left her native Poland in 2014 to join HKUST’s Global Business undergraduate program, that within three years she could be part of a team staging anything quite like Hack Horizon. However this unique international - and airborne – hackathon is only the latest stage in the exciting journey Sobanska says she’s been on since her arrival in Hong Kong. 

Recent news covered Chris Ko from the class of 2017 about her vegetarian tea cafe in Tsim Sha Tsui, and how she made good use of every skill she learnt from HKUST’s EVMT program to realize her dream. “When I chose to apply to the Environmental Management and Technology (EVMT) program, I thought I would be learning about a wide range of environmental issues and their solutions,” said Chris. “But what’s more, I discovered what I wanted to do, and the program helped me achieved my goals.” EVMT offers students a unique opportunity to grasp scientific and technological concepts and translate them into practice-based and sustainable business ideas. The intense, cross disciplinary program only admits 15 students every year, making it one of the most competitive degree programs in Hong Kong. “Many people still think that going ‘green’ loses money,” said Chris.