Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) held its second annual “Entrepreneurship Day” on 18 July. The event served as a vibrant platform to encourage students and alumni to transform their academic knowledge and creative ideas into tangible business ventures. The event showcased the University’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, offering entrepreneurial consultations and seminars, and featuring 14 start-ups initiated by HKMU alumni, alongside more than 30 winning projects from both previous and current “MetroChallenge” entrepreneurship competitions. This eclectic mix provided aspiring entrepreneurs with invaluable networking opportunities with investors, industry partners and experienced entrepreneurs, helping them expand their connections and find potential collaborators.

This year’s “MetroChallenge” entrepreneurship competition saw a 20% increase in participating teams compared to last year. The nine winning teams each secured a HK$100,000 implementation fund, coupled with 10 months of comprehensive entrepreneurial incubation support, assisting them from concept formation to product development and ultimately market launch.

The winning projects cover various innovative fields, fully demonstrating the ability of HKMU students to transform theory and knowledge into practical applications. Notable among these is “ISharePark”, which cleverly uses the concept of the shared economy to provide an innovative win-win solution to address Hong Kong’s parking space shortage. The educational technology project “Mathify” leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to provide teachers with intelligent software for automatic grading of student assignments and generation of teaching materials, effectively reducing teachers’ workload. “Pet Pet 寵愛一生“ incorporates mixed-reality technology to create a unique and heartwarming online virtual memorial space for pet owners who have lost their pets. These projects not only embody HKMU students’ innovative thinking, but also showcase their keen insight into social needs and the ability to transform innovative ideas into real-world solutions.

In his address, HKMU President Prof. Paul Lam Kwan-sing reaffirmed the University’s dedication to nurturing a new generation equipped with practical, market-ready skills. He said, “Earlier this year, we announced the establishment of the ‘HKMU Startup Fund’ with an investment of HK$50 million to support mature start-ups founded by HKMU students, alumni and faculty. We will provide funding support, investment and business partner referrals for these start-ups at different stages of development to help them continue to grow and contribute to society with their innovative research projects.”

Looking ahead, HKMU will continue to encourage students to strive for innovation, deepen collaboration within the innovation and technology ecosystem, arrange internship opportunities for students in start-ups, and strengthen entrepreneurship education and support to contribute to Hong Kong’s continued innovation and technology development.

For an overview of HKMU's “Entrepreneurship Day”, please visit: https://www.hkmu.edu.hk/sao/entrepreneurship/entrepreneurship-day/