DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE A high-tech start-up incubated at HKU, Dynano Semiconductor, is revolutionising the semiconductor materials landscape by addressing the critical thermal failure issues in third-generation semiconductors. These devices are widely used in automobiles, high-speed trains and energy storage systems and the innovation, by Professor Huang Mingxin of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, provides new copper sintering material to solve the thermal pain point. Professor Huang founded Dynano in 2023 and it was recently included in the first batch of companies officially admitted to the HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Academy, which provides the necessary physical space, as well as access to Shenzhen’s comprehensive supply chain and the national market. “Our company’s slogan is ‘Material Innovation, World Inspiration’. We want to be one of the best companies in providing materials solutions to the semiconductor industry. We have already started testing our products with carmakers and we expect to have a first sale by early 2025,” Professor Huang said. START-UP CONNECTS BiomOrgan Ltd, founded by Professor Zhou Jie of the School of Clinical Medicine, has been one of the beneficiaries at HKU’s Techno-Entrepreneurship Core (TEC), including its new Start-up Connector programme which matches academic entrepreneurs with talent, customers and other resources. Professor Zhou led a team that developed a complete respiratory organoid culture system from adult stem cells, which is the first of its kind to efficiently reconstruct and reproducibly expand the entire human respiratory epithelium in culture plates. She met her industry co-founder at a top-talent meetup event organised by TEC in February 2024, which accelerated development and business growth. The start-up has also received support from TSSSU@HKU, which is administered by the Technology Transfer Office (TTO), and been admitted to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation’s Incu-Bio programme. “Thanks to the support of the TTO and TEC, we have achieved considerable progress. Our ultimate goal is to realise the great potential of organoid technology and build Hong Kong as a leading international hub of this technology, serving academia and industry locally and worldwide,” she said. INTRODUCING THE ROBOT CHEF A chemistry professor has developed a robotic multicooker that can automatically add ingredients from the refrigerator to the pot and stir, cook and plate up food. The device, by Chair Professor Chen Guanhua and his team, was inspired by his own experience opening a restaurant 12 years ago, when he encountered a high turnover in chefs. The multicooker can cook up to 200 different recipes from Hunan, Sichuan and Italian cuisines in just a few minutes. Professor Chen and his team, including doctoral, MPhil and bachelor graduates from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, spent years perfecting and testing the device and founded a start-up, Hestia Technology Ltd, to bring it to market. In 2023 they had their first overseas sale to Japan and this year to the US. Professor Chen also uses the multicooker in some of his own restaurants. “Many restaurants in Hong Kong and elsewhere have difficulty retaining chefs. We have set up a factory in Hong Kong to produce 3,000 multicooker units a year, and we hope our company can grow into a HK$2 billion a year business,” he said. HKU professors, supported by programmes such as HKU TechnoEntrepreneurship Academy and Start-up Connector, have been launching start-ups and other initiatives that bring their research and discoveries into the world. STARTING UP Combining stir-frying, mixing, and precision heating techniques, the multicooker developed by Professor Chen Guanhua and his team can quickly and efficiently prepare and plate up food. (Courtesy of Hong Kong Economic Journal) AI TOOL TO ASSESS CHINESE WRITING The Faculty of Education has developed an AI-powered platform to help teachers generate content and assess a student’s Chinese writing performance on various aspects of language. The mAI Mind platform was being piloted in 10 primary schools and four secondary schools in 2024, who so far report that it gives timely and personalised feedback to students and improves their writing attitudes and motivation. The project is led by Professor Elizabeth Loh Ka Yee, Assistant Dean (Knowledge Exchange), who said they are developing the platform’s ability to do school-based grading and plan to extend it to more schools and institutions teaching Chinese in various countries. The project has been supported by a TSSSU@HKU grant and was selected for the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation’s incubation programme in 2020–23. “The mAI Mind platform adheres to established educational standards and linguistic theories that not only guarantee the relevance and quality of the feedback, but also significantly reduce the time teachers need to spend on the assessment process, allowing them to concentrate on other instructional aspects,” Professor Loh said. Professor Huang Mingxin introducing Dynano Semiconductor, which is among the first batch of 11 start-ups based at the HKU TechnoEntrepreneurship Academy. A presentation by BiomOrgan Ltd at the Demo Day event, which was part of the Grand Opening Ceremony for the HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Academy. A research team in the Faculty of Education launched the mAI Mind platform, an innovative AI-powered Chinese writing assessment platform for transforming teaching and learning experience in primary and secondary schools. Professor Sun Dong (fourth from right), HKSAR Government’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, paid a visit to Hestia Technology Ltd, an HKU start-up founded by Professor Chen Guanhua (fourth from left). 38 TECH TRANSFER AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE 39 HKU ANNUAL REPORT 2024
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