HKPC “Partner Up, Shine Together” Event Gathers 200+ Government, Industry, Academic and Research Partners to Celebrate the Successful Commercialisation of Hong Kong R&D

(Hong Kong, 21 July 2022) To express its heartfelt appreciation for the support and trust from the industry over the years, the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) today organised the “Partner Up, Shine Together” event. Over 200 representatives from the government, industry, academic and research sectors gathered together to witness the 85 international, Mainland and local awards jointly won by HKPC and its clients, and their efforts to promote the reindustrialisation of Hong Kong and commercialisation of R&D results. It hopes that the event can inspire the industry to “achieve a better future with innovation and technology (I&T)”, and facilitate Hong Kong’s development into an international I&T hub and a smart city.

Professor SUN Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government; Mr Willy LIN, Chairman of HKPC; and Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC, addressed the “Partner Up, Shine Together” event. Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, said, “Last year was a fruitful year for HKPC. Under the leadership of HKPC Chairman Mr Willy Lin and Executive Director Mr Mohamed Butt, projects jointly developed by HKPC and its partners have won more than 80 awards. The results are very encouraging. Promoting the development of I&T is a policy focus of the current-term Government. In the past five years, the Government has allocated a lot of resources to support I&T, laying a solid foundation for development. The Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem has become more vibrant, and the interaction among the Government, industry, academic and research sectors has also been strengthened significantly. Riding on this firm foundation, we will step up our efforts to promote I&T development by doing our utmost in top-level design and planning, enriching I&T talent pool, enhancing the I&T ecosystem and developing the ecological chain, and accelerating ‘re-industrialisation’. All of these aim to build a smart city, and realise Hong Kong's development as an international I&T hub.” He continued, “We will grasp the immense opportunities brought by the national development, and further deepen our I&T cooperation with the Mainland, especially cities in the Greater Bay Area, to expedite Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development of the country. In terms of transforming R&D outcomes into practical applications, HKPC has been providing technical support to the industry and helping enterprises to engage in high value-added production to achieve i4.0. I am confident that under the leadership of its new chairman, Mr Sunny Tan, HKPC will continue to promote ‘re-industrialisation’, and collaborate with partners to achieve greater success and continue to shine on the international stage.”

Mr Willy LIN, Chairman of HKPC, said, during his past six years at its helm, HKPC has humbly listened to the voice of the industry and, in response to the needs of the industry, has set 6 key development directions, from advanced manufacturing, reindustrialisation, smart and green living technology, FutureSkills, digitalisation and cyber security, to support for SMEs and startups. It will continuously seek to strengthen the collaboration among the government, industry, academic and research sectors. He added that some of the winning R&D collaborations have already been commercialised and applied overseas, allowing the ‘Made in Hong Kong’ brand to shine. These and other awards such as human resources and corporate governance-related awards and commendations are also solid recognition to HKPC’s all-round achievements including SME support, corporate governance and training services, as well as a genuine acknowledgement of the efforts of HKPC staff.

Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC, said HKPC is delighted that R&D projects jointly developed with its clients have received recognition from reputable individuals and R&D institutions around the world. Yet, the most important is that such projects can help solve the pain points of enterprises and benefit the community. HKPC hopes that through advanced technology, FutureSkills training and government funding scheme services, enterprises can realise their dreams. Thanks to the support and promotion by all sectors of the society, HKPC can move forward and make steady progress on I&T. Looking forward, HKPC will continue to collaborate with different sectors to proactively integrate into national development, leverage technology to raise Hong Kong’s competitiveness, promote reindustrialisation and re-technologisation, and make the Greater Bay Area the best Bay Area in the world.

The event showcased a number of world-class award-winning projects of HKPC, covering various advanced technologies from advanced manufacturing and new materials, artificial intelligence and robotics, to smart and green living technology, etc. Over 80% of them have been commercialised, with some being adopted overseas as well. The event also invited 10 enterprises from different sectors to share their success stories of collaborating with HKPC to promote Industry 4.0 and smart technology.

In addition, guests at the event were treated to a sneak peek of HKPC’s brand new promotional video. The theme of the video exults the spirit of Hong Kong people to dare to innovate and overcome difficulties with wisdom. Similarly, for HKPC, “Innovation Never Stops” as it strives to Make Smart Smarter. The new promotional video will be broadcast in various platforms and social media. For more information, please visit HKPC‘s website.

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Group photo of Professor SUN Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry (fifth from left); Mr Eddie MAK, Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry (fifth from right); Ms Rebecca PUN, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology (fourth from right); Mr Willy LIN, Chairman of HKPC (sixth from right); Mr Sunny TAN, Chairman (Designate) of HKPC (fourth from left); and Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC (third from right), with Mr Patrick WONG, Deputy Chairman of HKPC (third from left); Mr Emil YU, Chairman of Business Development Committee of HKPC (second from right); Mr Marvin HSU, Chairman of Finance Committee of HKPC (second from left); Council members Professor Paul POON (first from left) and Mr Bryant CHAN (first from right) at the “Partner Up, Shine Together” event

Professor SUN Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, addressed the event

Mr Willy LIN, Chairman of HKPC, led HKPC to promote the industrial development of Hong Kong

Mr Mohamed BUTT, Executive Director of HKPC, said, HKPC hopes to leverage technology to raise Hong Kong’s competitiveness, promote reindustrialisation and re-technologisation, and make the Greater Bay Area the best Bay Area in the world