The Review 2015

Technology transfer and entrepreneurship are by no means the whole picture of KE at HKU. The University strongly supports projects whereby staff and students apply their expertise and research to benefit a whole range of people and organisations in the community. The Impact Project Funding Scheme supported 62 projects by staff in 2014–15 on such diverse topics as a web resource for interpreting, public education on rare bone diseases, and a self-help manual for end-of-life care. We also ran impact workshops with overseas universities that are experienced in translating research into impact, including Leeds University, Imperial College, the University of Sydney and the University of Reading. Impact is one of three critical missions in HKU’s Academic Development Plan for 2016–19 (alongside internationalisation and innovation). Our 2014–15 efforts have laid the groundwork and direction. We plan to invigorate entrepreneurship at HKU and enhance the commercialisation of our research. We will also continue to seek new avenues for engaging with the community and ensuring that the full benefits of our research and expertise are realised. 62 KE projects funded Æ The Impact Project Funding Scheme received 83 proposals, up from 66 in 2013–14 when 44 projects were supported Æ Another 39 projects were supported under the Student KE Project Grant Scheme, which is now administered under the Service 100 Fund of the Centre of Development and Resources for Students 887 contract research projects Æ The number of active projects has increased in recent years, from 744 in 2011–12 to 887 by 2014–15 $21 million Æ Earnings from the commercialisation of HKU’s intellectual property were 6 times higher in 2014–15 than the previous year 2.3 million view counts Æ The HKU Scholars Hub, a searchable engine for discovering research and experts at HKU, has seen view counts of its HKU Researcher Pages rise rapidly, from 1.3 million in 2013–14 to 2.3 million in 2014–15 11 start-ups Æ The new TSSSU@HKU funding scheme received 55 applications and selected 11, 5 of which are commercialising HKU technologies (see also page 18) 70.5 daily news items Æ A media impact study co-ordinated by the Communications and Public Affairs Office in 2014–15 found on average 70.5 KE-related news items on HKU each day The Year in Brief – Knowledge Exchange 21 DreamCatchers Spins its Magic HKU aims to inspire and nurture innovation and entrepreneurship through DreamCatchers, a new series of initiatives for staff, students, alumni and friends of the University. More than 1,200 delegates attended the DreamCatchers launch in May 2015 which featured 67 speakers, many of them entrepreneurs, including Pony Ma, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Tencent. Future activities will include forums, mixers, events, courses, training, marketplaces, co- workspaces, funding programmes and an Innovation Commons. One of the attendees was Ailin Iwan (pictured above with her husband Kenneth), a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education who previously ran her own company for a year before it closed down. “At the first session the speakers talked about what they did when they were 28. When I was 28, my company went bankrupt and I felt like I was a failure. Yet the speakers and audience members talked a lot about learning from failures. I felt emotional relief because I realised at that moment that many other people failed in business and got back up again. The difference between those who succeed and those who don’t may only be the difference between those who are willing to try again and those who aren’t.” She now plans to set up a non-profit organisation with her husband and a friend. “It may not be as fancy as a start-up or aiming to make a lot of money, but I believe we still need some entrepreneurial spirit to start something out of nothing,” she said. The Review 2015