What does creativity look like? Imagine being surrounded by over 1,000 of the newest, rigorously researched and eye-openingly creative inventions from 35 countries and regions around the world. This is what you would have encountered at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, one of the world’s most prestigious events dedicated exclusively to inventions and innovations.
Held this year from March 11 to 15 in Geneva, Switzerland, the event brought together inventors, research institutions, and industry leaders from around the world, and provided an important platform for showcasing technological breakthroughs and fostering international collaboration.
HKU presented 45 research inventions from various faculties, schools and HKU’s InnoHK research laboratories at this year’s exhibition, addressing critical challenges across various fields, ranging from health and biomedicine, to smart engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), energy and sustainability technologies, advanced manufacturing and more. This diverse portfolio highlights the University’s strategic focus and commitment to driving cross-disciplinary research and innovation, strengthening its role as a leader in research and innovation, while also translating academic discoveries into impactful global solutions.
And this is where HKU has been able to continue building its global impact for outstanding research and innovation excellence. After an international jury of specialists evaluated the entire field of inventions, HKU received 46 awards – 1 esteemed Special Grand Prize, 9 Gold Medals with Congratulations of the Jury, 13 Gold, 19 Silver and 4 Bronze medals.
Our warmest congratulations to all the winning teams!
The project awarded the Special Grand Prize – Prize of the Chinese Delegation and Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury
Nose-to-brain nanopowder nasal spray for rapid ischemic stroke rescue
Projects awarded the Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury
A novel immunisation method and powder: Gaining immunity against the three major respiratory viruses through home-based toothbrushing
This invention introduces a home-based immunisation method integrated into weekly toothbrushing using a specific 3-in-1 powder that induces mucosal protection against COVID-19, influenza, and RSV after five once-weekly brushing applications. The project is led by Professor Raven Kok Kin-hang from the Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine.
A portable device for non-invasive and rapid cancer detection using AI-powered optical sensing
This invention is a portable device for rapid, non-invasive cancer risk assessment. It detects DNA damage levels in saliva using innovative luminescent metal compounds and a miniature spectral sensor. Its detection can be finished within 10 minutes anywhere with the help of mobile phone app, requiring no professional medical skills. It provides a routine and convenient approach to evaluate cancer risk. The project is led by Professor Che Chi-ming and Dr Wei Liu from the Laboratory for Synthetic Chemistry and Chemical Biology Limited.
AA4Sci: AI-powered platform for energy materials innovation
The project is an AI-powered platform revolutionising energy material innovation. It combines a smart literature reader with Graph RAG technology to parse and structure vast scientific papers. By integrating specialised NER and Knowledge Graphs, the system transforms unstructured text into actionable insights. Intelligent Large Language Model (LLM) Agents perform multi-hop reasoning to discover new materials and generate optimal synthesis paths. This end-to-end solution accelerates R&D cycles, automating the journey from reading literature to scientific discovery. The project is led by Professor Guanhua Chen from the Department of Chemistry and Dr Jie Liu from the Hong Kong Quantum AI Lab.
eCheckGo: A large defect model-driven AI system for ultra-fast and scalable building inspection in high-density cities
This invention introduces eCheckGo, an AI system driven by a large defect model (LdM) for mass building inspection. It takes up two long-standing challenges in high-density contexts: the time-consuming nature of manual inspections and the difficulty of case-specific AI training. At the core is the proprietary LdM – a multi-modal large language model tailored for building inspection. Powered by LdM’s strong generalisability, eCheckGo delivers ultra-fast assessments and exceptional adaptability. The project is led by Professor Junjie Chen, Professor Wilson Lu, Dr Junping Zhong and Mr Yonglin Fu from the Department of Real Estate and Construction.
Rapid finger-prick blood test for diagnosis, early prediction of relapse subtypes and treatment monitoring of Epstein-Barr virus-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)
This project focusses on developing a rapid, non-invasive finger-prick blood test based on a three-marker panel, enabling diagnosis, treatment monitoring and early relapse risk prediction, including potential relapse subtypes, in EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This method offers pinpoint accuracy outperforming the conventional EBV DNA blood test. Together with its user-friendly design and high affordability, it allows patients to perform tests comfortably at home while keeping track of their disease progression along the course of treatment enabling timely interventions to improve outcome. The project is led by Professor Victor Lee Ho-fun, Dr Eymon Wu Ka-chun and Mr Syrus Lai Pa-hei from the Department of Clinical Oncology, School of Clinical Medicine.
Rapid point-of-care molecular detection of evolving mosquito-borne viruses
Rhytma: A rapid and quantitative biochemical hormone monitor for mobile and smart-devices
The project introduces a groundbreaking, non-invasive biosensor that continuously delivers laboratory-grade hormone analytics to smart devices, empowering women to monitor health through motherhood and menopause. Protected by five IP filings, integrated AI transforms real-time results into personalised, actionable guidance – offering precision and convenience unmatched by current home tests. The project is led by Professor Julian Tanner from HKUMed and the Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre.
