HKPC Garners over a Hundred Awards and Recognitions in 2023 R&D Achievements Recognised by Various Internationally Renowned Authorities Joins Hands with the Industry to Showcase “Made in Hong Kong” I&T Strengths

(Hong Kong, 3 January 2024) HKPC today is pleased to announce its remarkable awards achievements for the year of 2023, with a record-breaking total of 103 awards and recognitions. Among them, 83 were in the realm of innovation and technology (I&T), marking a growth of over 20% compared to the previous year; Notably, 33 of the I&T awards this year were attributed to new industrialisation-related projects. Remarkably, HKPC has participated in 53 competitions in 2023, 27 of which were first-time entries and won 18 of them (nearly 70%). Some of the prestigious awards include: “2023 Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions”¹ , “Edison Awards” ² and “TechConnect 2023 Innovation Awards” ³. Recently, HKPC won two gold and six silver medals at the “3rd Asia Exhibition of Innovations & Inventions Hong Kong”, which span across categories including "Smart City" and "Intelligent Transportation and Industry". These competitions brought together innovative inventions from Hong Kong as well as neighbouring countries and cities, posing it challenging for HKPC to stand out.

In addition, HKPC’s young engineers have also achieved notable success by securing five individual awards in different research areas within the field of I&T. In particular, the team has achieved outstanding results in green transport and smart city. The team's developed solution for environmental hydrogen technology won the "Best Paper Award" at the 4th International Symposium on Nano Technology and Smart Materials for Environmental Applications (ISNSEA 2023), recognising HKPC's pursuit of excellence and expertise in the relevant fields.

I&T is gradually being applied to diverse industries, empowering cost reduction and efficiency boost. Under this trend, HKPC has been utilising advanced manufacturing technology, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), smart manufacturing and digitalisation, to build tailor-made new industrialisation solutions for various industries. In the area of smart manufacturing, HKPC has optimised the performance of production lines through industrial metaverse, built Hong Kong’s first tunnel inspection system based on drone and on-board AI processing technologies, and successfully upgraded the structural inspection of tunnels to an intelligent and data-driven system. Additionally, HKPC has co-developed an intelligent packaging system for diversified pharmaceutical products, aiding traditional Chinese medicine industry in transitioning towards intelligent pharmaceutical development. HKPC collaborates with its clients and has been facilitating businesses in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and overseas regions to achieve upgrading and transformation. Furthermore, nearly 80% of the projects that have won the I&T awards have already been commercialised, providing appropriate support for the development of emerging strategic industries, making it easier for enterprises to seize the opportunity to put new industrialisation into practice by advanced technology, FutureSkills, and Government funding respectively.

In addition to the remarkable R&D achievements, HKPC has garnered a total of 20 awards in areas such as SME ReachOut, FutureSkills talent nurturing and occupational safety. "HKPC Funding Schemes" serves as the secretariat or implementing agent of 10 Government funding schemes, and is committed to supporting the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through its expertise and services. The team has adopted a multi-pronged approach in launching a wide range of online services to enhance the satisfaction and trust of the applicants. Meanwhile, in promoting I&T education and nurturing talent, "HKPC FutureSkills" is committed to providing integrated and high value-added training services to equip employees with the skills of future, enhancing in turn the competitiveness of enterprises. The quality of its training programmes is well recognised by the industries. Moreover, HKPC attaches great importance to occupational safety and organisational security. It has participated in the "22nd Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Award" organised by the Occupational Safety and Health Council and won the Bronze Award in the "Safety Management System" and the "5S Good Housekeeping Best Practices", providing a safe working environment for all staff and stakeholders.

Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC, said, “2023 was undoubtedly a bountiful year for HKPC. We are honoured to receive various world-class awards and accolades from the international expert judging panels. I sincerely thank our team for their innovative spirit and dedicated research, aiming to address industry pain points. With the trust of our corporate clients, HKPC’s R&D achievements continue to shine on the world stage. On the path of I&T, HKPC will remain steadfast as a core enabler in the new industrialisation in the GBA, promote the application of more I&T in various aspects of daily life, allowing citizens to benefit tangibly from I&T, providing them with a great sense of fulfilment, and continue to put the motto 'Innovation Never Stops' Into practice."

Moving forward, HKPC will continue to uphold the spirit of innovation and perfection, strengthen its R&D transfer and application capabilities; focus on new industrialisation; promote innovative collaboration among the Government, industry, academia and research institutes; as well as shouldering the important task of nurturing an I&T workforce and expanding the pool of I&T talent for building a brighter future for Hong Kong.

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¹ For more information about the “2023 Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions”, please visit: https://www.hkpc.org/en/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/2023/hkpc-geneva2023-28awards

² For more information about the 2023 “Edison Awards”, please visit: https://www.hkpc.org/en/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/2023/hkpc-edison-awards-2023

³ For more information about the “TechConnect 2023 Innovation Awards”, please visit: https://www.hkpc.org/en/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/2023/hkpc-techconnect-2023

HKPC garners over a hundred awards and recognitions in 2023. Nearly 80% of HKPC’S projects that have won the I&T awards have already been commercialised, providing appropriate support for the development of emerging strategic industries, making it easier for enterprises to seize the opportunity to put new industrialisation into practice through advanced technology, FutureSkills, and Government funding.

Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC, is honoured for the various world-class awards and accolades to HKPC from the international expert judging panels. He thanked the team for their innovative spirit and dedicated research, aiming to address industry pain points. With the trust of our corporate clients, HKPC’s R&D achievements continue to shine on the world stage. On the path of I&T, HKPC will remain steadfast as a core enabler in the new industrialisation in the GBA, and promote the application of more I&T in various aspects of daily life, allowing citizens to benefit tangibly from I&T, providing them with a great sense of fulfilment, and continue to put the motto “Innovation Never Stops” into practice.