[Hong Kong, 25 September 2022] The Hong Kong SAR government has outlined a clear direction and goals for the future development of innovation and technology (I&T) in Hong Kong, leading Hong Kong to become an international I&T center. The Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) expects to maintain close connection with the academic community and work together to consolidate the upstream competitiveness, vitalize the enthusiasm and initiative of transferring R&D results of the University to applied scenarios, and accelerate the process of implementation and industrialization.
ASTRI and the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on “Fostering University Cooperation in Technology Transfer” on 22 September to jointly create a new era of smart living and cross-disciplinary technological development. The extended cooperation covers the areas of smart traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) service system, pharmaceutical R&D, Artech, Fintech, as well as interdisciplinary research and its application, so as to promote technology innovation and transfer. ASTRI, HKBU and its affiliated institutions will jointly develop a number of cooperation models for R&D, including cutting-edge technologies such as AI and big data analysis, as well as intellectual property management and commercialization.
Witnessed by Ir Sunny Lee, BBS, JP, Chairman of ASTRI Board of Directors, and Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU, the MoU was signed by Dr. Denis Yip, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI and Professor Terence Lau, Interim Chief Innovation Officer of HKBU on behalf of both parties on the campus of HKBU. Under the agreement, ASTRI and HKBU will enhance collaborative research and promote the transfer and commercialization of technology results. They will also stipulate their respective intellectual property rights and ownership of R&D results, so as to promote the commercialization of collaborative R&D or projects implemented by both parties or affiliated institutions of HKBU. In addition, the partnership aims to reduce the R&D time, improve the utilization of resources and accelerate the application of R&D results.
Ir Sunny Lee, BBS, JP, Chairman of ASTRI Board of Directors said, “Nearly 100 R&D projects are conducted every year in ASTRI with an ultimate goal of realizing commercialization. University is our significantly important I&T partner, and we proactively partner with HKBU to build a R&D commercialization platform, promote mutual cooperation in an all-round way, enhance synergy in talents, resources, R&D, etc. Leveraging on perspective advantages, together we can create unique R&D conditions in key areas such as pharmaceutical R&D, AI and Fintech, so as to seize the new opportunities in the I&T era.”
Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU said, “Transfer of research outcomes is the third mission of universities. HKBU has identified three focused research areas including Creative Media and Practice, Health and Drug Discovery, and Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. The University has also established six interdisciplinary research laboratories to allow all faculties and departments to fully unleash their areas of excellence, stimulate intellectual interaction on common topics, explore and discover new cutting-edge technologies, and provide solutions to cope with challenges in society. The collaboration between HKBU and ASTRI provides ample opportunities for knowledge transfer of these technologies. I hope that both parties can continue to cooperate in different areas, such as art tech, smart traditional Chinese medicine and smart society.”
ASTRI and HKBU will cooperate on a project basis to deepen their mutual vision of technology exchange and development. This include the determination of the contribution of each stakeholder in the development of R&D results, as well as the ownership, funding arrangements, project implementation responsibilities and intellectual property protection of R&D results of relevant joint projects. This will enable both partners to explore opportunities for technology commercialization with the intellectual property owned by both parties. It will also ensure that local R&D can be effectively turned into applied technologies and enlarge the production capacity.
(From left) Professor Terence Lau, Interim Chief Innovation Officer of HKBU; Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU; Ir Sunny Lee, Chairman of ASTRI Board of Directors; and Dr Denis Yip, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI attend the “Fostering University Cooperation in Technology Transfer” MoU signing ceremony.
Related News
