Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) held its first “Entrepreneurship Day” recently to provide a platform for its students and alumni to connect and exchange ideas with experienced entrepreneurs. At the event, HKMU also announced the results of its entrepreneurship programme, “MetroChallenge”. Each of the 9 winning student and alumni teams will receive a HK$100,000 implementation fund to execute their entrepreneurship project.

Overwhelming response to “MetroChallenge”

This year's “MetroChallenge” was well-received. A total of 9 HKMU student and alumni teams impressed the judging panel with their capability, the potential social impact of their projects, their business planning and implementation feasibility, and so forth. Each of the winning teams will be awarded a HK$100,000 implementation fund and multi-disciplinary resources to support the execution of their projects.

The winning teams demonstrated their creativity in a variety of innovative projects, many of which have the potential to have a positive impact on society, including “CogniCare,” a system that analyses electroencephalogram signals collected from dementia patients through headsets and transmits the signals to therapeutic robots to generate a real-time response, thus enhancing the performance of the robots; “Electronic Piano for Shared Living”, a programme whose aim is to improve the cognitive ability of the elderly by providing iPad-based electronic piano classes in community centres and senior care homes; and “Light G,” an integrated smart parking solution leveraging RFID and IoT technologies that enables users to make parking space reservations and payments, and find parking spaces in an indoor environment.

HKMU Vice President (Research and Student Development) Prof. Ricky Kwok Yu-kwong praised the participating students and alumni for their market instincts and enthusiasm for innovation and creativity. “As an educator, I was excited to listen to the students' dreams about building a better future. Here on the campus, we provide a stage for them to unleash their creativity and realise their dreams,” he said.

Prof. Kwok added that to foster an entrepreneurial culture in the University, HKMU would set up a HK$50 million entrepreneurship fund to support the development of start-ups founded by HKMU students, alumni and staff. He urged members of the HKMU community to step out of their comfort zone in the process of starting a business and said he believed that the experience they gained would benefit to their career development and personal growth “MetroChallenge” (formerly “Open InnoChallenge”) was launched by HKMU in 2017 with the aim of unleashing its students' creativity and exploring their potential for social good. Through a series of out-of-the-classroom creativity training and experiential activities, “MetroChallenge” strives to inspire students' innovation and turn their knowledge acquired in the classroom into real-life inventions. Over 200 implementation fund applications have been received so far.

“Entrepreneurship Day” fosters an entrepreneurial culture

Representatives from Cyberport, Education for Good, Fullness Social Enterprises Society, HKAI Lab and Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation were invited as strategic partners of the event to share their entrepreneurial strategies with HKMU students and alumni. The keynote speaker, Alan Cheung, Chairman and Managing Director of Grandion Group, shared his valuable experience of establishing and managing a successful business on the topic “Unconventional Strategies for Entrepreneurial Success”, offering insights into how to grasp entrepreneurship opportunities and discover the latest trends and strategies. The strategic partners will also provide entrepreneurial support or guidance to the winning student teams of “MetroChallenge”.

Prof. Ricky Kwok said that HKMU will continue to deepen its cooperation with the innovation industry by arranging internships and learning opportunities for students in different types of start-up companies to enhance the students' understanding of the innovation ecology of Hong Kong.