HKMU powers ahead with new Shenzhen Research Institute

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.]

Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) is strengthening its research footprint in the Greater Bay Area with the establishment of its Shenzhen Research Institute, a platform designed to help bridge industry, academia and research and translate research into real-world impact.

Prof. Ricky Kwok Yu-kwong, Vice President (Research and Institutional Advancement) of HKMU, says the Institute is positioned to be the University’s strategic base on the Chinese Mainland. The aim of the Institute aligns well with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, which supports Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology hub.

“We made great efforts, step by step, to secure the space for the Institute,” Prof. Kwok, also director of the Institute, notes. “It did not come easy. We are very determined to develop the Institute into a vibrant, sustainable research platform and deliver positive impact to society.”  

As the city’s leading university of applied sciences, HKMU has been committed to advancing research and development in recent years. Since filing its first batch of applications for research outcomes made under its auspices in 2023, HKMU has acquired or sought patents for more than 70 items. Last year, the University secured its first intellectual property licensing agreement, allowing a health-care firm based in the United Kingdom (UK) to further develop an early detection technology for prostate cancer for clinical application.

Earlier, HKMU President Prof. Paul Lam Kwan-sing emphasised that the University must focus its research efforts on specific strategic areas given its status as a self-financing institution, which came with comparatively limited resources. He called for HKMU research to be application-oriented, with the dual aim of tackling real-world problems and enhancing teaching and learning.

Strategic base on the Mainland

HKMU has invested over RMB 32 million to establish the Institute, making it Hong Kong’s first self-financing tertiary institution that has been admitted to the Shenzhen Virtual University Park. The Park, established by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government as an innovative demonstration base for collaboration among industry, education and research, integrates the resources of established universities, both local and overseas.   

Going from strength to strength

The first phase of the Institute, in operation since last June and officially opened in March, offers 670 square metres of wet and dry laboratory space. Plans for the second and third phases are underway and will add a further 800 square metres of laboratory space.

The Institute is currently home to a team of about 20 principal investigators and researchers from the University, as well as about 30 research and other staff members recruited by the Institute and based at there. 

Turning to its research focus, Prof. Kwok says the Institute concentrates on four major areas in its early stages, with 12 projects underway: biomedical life science, net zero and environmental technologies, quantum technology, and digital fabrication and art-tech. 

“These areas build on HKMU’s existing strengths,” he says. “All are strongly application-oriented, with research outcomes ready to be transformed into real-world benefits. Some of the teams have established collaborations with Mainland partners, complementing each other’s strengths.”

For example, HKMU researchers of the mangrove ecosystem have a longstanding collaboration with Shenzhen University and the administrative body of Guangdong Neilingding Island-Futian National Nature Reserve. This is the base from which the Institute will work to establish a world-class research team dedicated to both fundamental and applied studies of mangroves and coastal wetlands.

Other plans include joint explorations into optoelectronic engineering and healthcare robotics with the Zhongshan Institute of Changchun University of Science and Technology, and into wireless communications with Shenzhen Technology University.

Room for growth

The Institute was successfully registered as a public institution on the Chinese Mainland in December last year. 

“This status allows the Institute to engage with different stakeholders across the country, including government, industry and tertiary institutions, to receive support for research projects and talent recruitment,” Prof. Kwok explains.

The Institute is actively applying for various Mainland research grants and funding, diversifying its research funding sources. For a start, it has obtained its first grant, of about RMB 2 million, from the Science, Technology and Innovation Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality.

Prof. Kwok believes that HKMU will benefit from the close connections between its Mainland partners and local enterprises, which could expedite the commercialisation of research outcomes and benefit society.