The Review 2016

36 HKU also provides funding to help academic staff share their research and expert knowledge, through the Impact Project Funding Scheme. Some 61 projects were funded during the year, as well as nine interdisciplinary projects that were supported through a special one-time grant. The scheme not only supports new knowledge exchange projects but also measures the impact of research, such as the adoption of new guidelines on heat stress in construction workers that were developed by the Department of Real Estate and Construction. School engagement projects have been helping to address multiple challenges faced by teachers and parents, such as a project by the Department of Psychology to prevent internet addiction among primary school students. The aims of HKU’s research and knowledge exchange have become increasingly intertwined under the banner of impact and in the coming academic year we will be encouraging more of this. Departments and cost centres will be encouraged to look to UK partners for advice on impact evaluation, where it is now part of the research assessment exercise. We also plan to establish an innovation centre and raise the profile and commercialisation possibilities of our research. When it comes to impact and knowledge exchange at HKU, there is one message: watch this space. Nurturing entrepreneurs The HKU DreamCatchers 100K competition launched in early 2016 provided $100,000 seed funding to each of 10 awarded teams for projects ranging from a wearable robotic device for patients with Parkinson’s disease to a toy subscription programme for underprivileged children to an online food lifestyle marketplace that brings together Hong Kong heritage and food culture. Some 144 teams participated and the 20 finalists received mentorship to prepare them for the final pitch. The 10 awarded teams also were given opportunities to meet with investors, start-up experts and judges, in addition to funding. Engineering PhD candidate Carlos Ma of the start-up Motion said this was especially useful to his team, which has developed hardware and software for tracking motion that can be used to improve athletic performance. “We were paired with an excellent and experienced mentor, Henry Tan from Brios Ventures, and we learned how to realise and validate concepts, and put them into action. We also gained a better idea of how to start a business and get users’ reviews, and most importantly, we expanded our professional network. Being given the seed funding was icing on the cake and boosted our professional confidence.” Other activities organised in 2015–16 to promote entrepreneurship included the DreamCatchers X PMQ: Startup Salon for over 300 students, alumni and friends, and the DreamCatchers MedTech Hackathon, co-organised with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. The latter involved 40 participants from Hong Kong universities, Stanford University and young professionals, who developed prototypes to address unmet medical needs in Hong Kong hospitals and presented their pitches to judges in June 2016. Members of one of the teams at the DreamCatchers MedTech Hackathon prepare to demonstrate their start-up idea. KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE