Grand Finale of 2024 HKU International Techno-Entrepreneurship Challenge successfully concludes
On January 11, 2025, the Grand Finale of 2024 HKU International Techno-Entrepreneurship Challenge took place at the Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre, HKU, and was also broadcast live. This event, co-organised by HKU Institute for China Business (HKU ICB) and HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Core (HKU TEC), saw the 'Top 19' teams from 259 global techno-entrepreneurship teams compete for the ultimate honour. The teams represented six regions: Hong Kong & Overseas, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu.
Professor Ning Rong Liu, Associate Vice-President, HKU and Founding Director, HKU ICB, opened the Grand Finale with a speech, "HKU is committed to promoting scientific and technological innovation, industrial development, international exchanges, and the transformation of techno-entrepreneurship achievements. This year's competition is an exceptionally grand event, featuring a historically high number of high-quality projects. Participants include elites from renowned universities both domestically and internationally, with projects spanning various cutting-edge scientific and technological fields. A review of past competitions reveals numerous exceptional projects that have been identified and nurtured, many of which have quickly grown into industry leaders, driving technological progress and industrial development."
The Challenge was divided into a Start-up Division and Growth Division. After intense presentations and expert evaluations, each division crowned a champion, a first runner-up, and a second runner-up. Additionally, an Intellectual Property Award and an ESG Excellence Award were given in both divisions.
The panel of judges comprised distinguished political figures, experts, scholars, and representatives from innovative techno-entrepreneurship enterprises. Their international perspectives, professionalism, and insights provided valuable assessments and feedback during the Grand Finale, aiming to guide the participants towards future success in techno-entrepreneurship.
In the Start-up Division, "Saint Novel" was the champion, and "Sunscreen: No More Worry for Sensitive Skin" was the first runner-up and the Intellectual Property Award winner. "Targeted Bacterial Strike – Bacteriophage Preparations" came second runner-up; "Upgrade Biopolymers through Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation" won the ESG Excellence Award.
In the Growth Division, "nanoAR™ Revolutionary Technology for Transparent High-Definition and AR Displays" won the championship and the Intellectual Property Award; "High-performance, low-cost iron-sulfur flow battery technology for long-duration energy storage" was the first runner-up and the ESG Excellence Award winner; "Micro Gimbal Stabiliser" was the second runner-up.
The 2024 HKU International Techno-Entrepreneurship Challenge Grand Finale was more than just a competition among the world's top techno-entrepreneurs. It also served as a comprehensive platform created by HKU for fostering scientific and technological innovation, promoting industrial development, facilitating international exchange, and incubating notable achievements. This highlights HKU's status as a leading university. As anticipation mounts for the forthcoming 2025 competition, it is expected to give another substantial boost to global innovation.
