Ingenuity, imagination and disciplinary expertise were on full display at the 12th Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, as teams of HKUers secured an impressive 19 awards, including the Outstanding Organisation Award, one Grand Prize, two First Prizes, two Second Prizes, six Third Prizes, and seven Merit Prizes.
Showcasing a wide range of groundbreaking innovations, from biomedical advancements and AI-enabled precision medicine to sustainable construction engineering and intelligent healthcare technologies, the HKU teams stood out for both the quality and diversity of their projects. In recognition of its exceptional performance across the board, HKU was honoured with the prestigious Outstanding Organisation Award among all participating institutions.
“We are extremely proud of our students’ outstanding achievements at the competition. Their creativity and dedication have been truly remarkable,” said Professor Alice Wong, HKU’s Associate Vice-President (Research). “This prestigious Outstanding Organisation Award affirms HKU’s strong commitment to empowering students to transform bold ideas into meaningful impact. As a world-leading university, HKU remains dedicated to nurturing cross-disciplinary talent with a global vision and accelerating knowledge transfer for societal and economic benefit. We will continue to collaborate closely with industry and global partners to build a vibrant innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.”
HKUMed’s ‘Nose-to-Brain NanoPowder Nasal Spray for Rapid Ischemic Stroke Rescue’ was awarded both the Grand Prize in the ‘Entrepreneurship’ category and the First Prize in the ‘Start-up’ group under the ‘Entrepreneurship’ category, in recognition of its impact as prehospital emergency aid and its potential of becoming a new first line of defence for stroke around the world. Animal studies showed a reduction in brain damage by over 80% when the spray was used and clinical trials are in the pipeline. The project is supervised by Professor Chow Shing-fung from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, HKUMed and the Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre.
For the First Prize in the ‘Entrepreneurship Proposal’ group under the ‘Entrepreneurship’ category, the judging panel chose HKU’s ‘Next Generation Precision Medicine Platform Integrating AI Drug Discovery and Ex Vivo Organoid Validation’. Under the supervision of Professor Rio Ryohichi Sugimura, Assistant Professor from the School of Biomedical Sciences at HKUMed, the project team recognised that nearly 90% of oncology drugs that succeeded in animal models failed during clinical trials, while patient heterogeneity led to highly inconsistent treatment responses. To bridge this critical clinical gap, the project integrates AI drug discovery with a patient-derived, immunised, and vascularised cancer organoid validation platform. By accurately mimicking the human tumour microenvironment, it accelerates preclinical pipelines for drug manufacturers and delivers targeted, personalised treatments for patients.
Organised by the Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association, the Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition is an annual flagship event that brings together students from local universities to showcase innovative projects. This year’s competition invited 42 leading academics, professors, and experts from Hong Kong’s major universities, along with representatives from the business and venture capital sectors, to form a distinguished judging panel. The panel rated the most significant and outstanding innovative solutions with sustainable social impact. Winning teams will represent the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in major national competitions, including the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition and the ‘Challenge Cup’ series, as well as three international competitions and invention exhibitions including WorldInvent™ Singapore, Indonesia Inventors Day and Seoul International Invention Fair.
