The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and ASTRI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 19 September 2022 aimed at closer cooperation in research and technology transfer, and in nurturing R&D talents for the future. The Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of HKU and the Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI signed the MoU on behalf of both parties.
Under the agreement, HKU and ASTRI will determine their respective intellectual property rights and ownership of R&D results, so as to facilitate the commercialisation of joint R&D or implementation projects under the jurisdiction of both parties or affiliated institutions of HKU, shorten the research time of joint R&D projects, and effectively make use of resources to improve and increase the implementation of R&D results.
HKU and ASTRI will work together on a project basis to enable the exchange and development of vision between them, including 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, so as to explore opportunities for technology commercialisation with the intellectual property owned by both parties and make the implementation and mass production of local R&D more effective.
The focus of the cooperation will be to make good use of resources to improve the R&D quality, accelerate and improve the commercialisation process, bring more practical technologies to the government, industry and society, and support Hong Kong to become a world-class smart city.
The Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of HKU stated that in-depth cooperation between HKU and ASTRI will effectively combine the cross-disciplinary R&D strengths of both parties, seize more opportunities for technology transfer and commercialization of results, and nurture R&D talents in Hong Kong, which will be of great benefit to the development of I&T in Hong Kong and the entire region.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI stated that in recent years, the HKSAR Government has invested a lot of resources to support the development of I&T and encourage youngsters to embark on the R&D road. The collaboration between ASTRI and HKU this time provides a better platform for aspirants. More resources will be allocated to promote I&T and build Hong Kong into an I&T hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
HKU has a prolific research history and the University strives to attract and nurture outstanding scholars through excellence and innovation in its research and knowledge exchange activities. Its research areas cover a wide range of issues with the aim of benefitting industries, businesses, and the community.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) was founded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2000 with the mission of enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness through applied research.
ASTRI’s core R&D competence in various areas is grouped under four Technology Divisions: Trust and AI Technologies; Communications Technologies; IoT Sensing and AI Technologies and Integrated Circuits and Systems. It is applied across six core areas which are Smart City, Financial Technologies, Re-Industrialisation and Intelligent Manufacturing, Digital Health, Application Specific Integrated Circuits and Metaverse.
Over the years, ASTRI has nurtured a pool of research, I&T talents and received numerous international awards for its pioneering innovations as well as outstanding business and community contributions. As of 2021/22, ASTRI has transferred almost 1,250 technologies to the industry and has been granted over 1,000 patents in the Mainland, the US, and other countries.