KE Spotlight - Community Engagement - HKU Knowledge Exchange

Four HKU teams win in Cyberport University Partnership Programme 2016

The Cyberport University Partnership Programme (CUPP) is a FinTech-focused entrepreneurship programme launched in 2015 by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited. This year, 20 student teams were selected from six universities in Hong Kong to join a 1-week long startup bootcamp at Stanford University Graduate School of Business (GSB) in September. They pitched their FinTech ideas at the final held on October 27 to compete for ten HK$100,000 awards from the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund. All four HKU teams won in the final.

HKU develops novel probiotic mixture "Prohep" that may offer potential therapeutic effects on liver cancer

A research team led by Dr Hani El-Nezami and Dr Gianni Panagiotou of the HKU School of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with the HKU Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and the School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, develops a novel probiotic mixture "Prohep" that may have potential therapeutic effects on Hepatocellular carcinoma. The research team found that Prohep, when tested on mice, could slow down the tumor growth significantly and reduce the tumor size and weight. Future research would be to find out how to consume the probiotic mixture to obtain the best results, and to develop more efficient bacterial cocktails. The commercialization of Prohep is being assisted by the HKU Technology Transfer Office and Versitech Limited.

HKU scientists effectively suppress tumour growth by converting Salmonella into YB1 anaerobe bacterium

Researchers at the HKU School of Biomedical Sciences have recently engineered Salmonella into an anaerobe bacterium named YB1 that can only survive and thrive in the hypoxic condition, for example, hypoxic regions inside solid tumours. YB1 can effectively inhibit the growth of tumours while being safe to normal tissues. The patent applications for this invention have been filed in different countries through the Technology Transfer Office of HKU. A patent was recently granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The researchers hope that YB1 can be further developed into a tumour-targeting agent in the near future.

Open Innovation and Public-Private Partnerships

Professor Raj Thampuran, Managing Director, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, gave a public lecture entitled "Open Innovation and Public-Private Partnerships" at HKU on January 25, 2016. Professor Thampuran elaborates on the importance of R&D and innovation for Singapore's economic transformation and growth, and A*STAR's role in Singapore's innovation system, as the primary mission-oriented government agency tasked with advancing innovation-based growth.

HKU biomedical engineers develop new cartilage regeneration technology to grow cartilage from one's own cells for cartilage repairs

An HKU research team, led by Dr Barbara Chan, Associate Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has developed a new cartilage regeneration technology to grow cartilage tissues out of cells taken from one's body. The cells, in particular stem cells extracted from one's bone marrow, can be grown into cartilage tissues of the shape and size fit for cartilage repairs and replacements. Since the replacement parts are fully biocompatible, patients could be benefited from rapid healing without the need to harvest donor cartilage from the patients. The research team is in the process of translating the technology for use on human. The commercialization of this technology was assisted by the HKU Technology Transfer Office.

HKU scientists discover a drought tolerance gene that may help plants survive global warming

In recent years, scientists have been researching how to improve drought resistance in plants, so as to enhance growth and productivity of crops in dry weather conditions. Groundbreaking technology from HKU may provide a solution to this problem on drought stress. Funded by the Wilson and Amelia Wong Endowment Fund, Professor Chye Mee Len at the HKU School of Biological Sciences and her lab members have identified a gene from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana which encodes an acyl-CoA-binding protein (ACBP). The gene, designated as ACBP2, can confer drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Overexpression of ACBP2 in these transgenic lines promoted stomatal closure, reduced water loss and enhanced drought tolerance. With the assistance of the University's Technology Transfer Office, the technology has been licensed to an internationally recognized agricultural company specializing in the development of biofuel and biolubricant production crop, Camelina sativa, for potential applications in oil production and commercialization.

HKU Students join the "Cyberport University Partnership Programme"

The University of Hong Kong has six teams selected to join the "Cyberport University Partnership Programme" (CUPP) organized by Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport), in collaboration with Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), with a focus on financial technology (FinTech). The programme offers a unique opportunity for students of local universities to unlock their potential, gain insights into the global market, and receive world-class training through a customized boot camp and mentorship in Hong Kong and overseas. All teams will join a free one-week CUPP Entrepreneurship Boot Camp at Stanford GSB in late September 2015. The boot camp will include lectures, case studies, group work, guest speaker sessions, personal coaching and pitch training.

All teams will present their ideas and business models on the Demo Day during the Global Entrepreneurship Week China – Hong Kong at Cyberport in November 2015. A distinguished panel of judges will select the most outstanding teams, which will each be awarded a cash prize of HK$100,000 and shortlisted to join Cyberport Incubation Programme interview.