Real impact happens not in the lab or academic circles, but in the contributions and enhancements academia makes to the wider world. HKU is building up its capacity to achieve impact by solidifying collaborations within and beyond the University and creating opportunities for researchers and students to develop their discoveries through commercialisation and start-ups.

A key player in this is the Techno-Entrepreneurship Core (TEC), established in 2023 to lead the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2024, it launched the Techno- Entrepreneurship Academy in Qianhai with the Qianhai Authority and Shenzhen Government, to provide much needed space for students and start-ups. There are now 65 start-ups based there, bringing the total number of active HKU start-ups to 445. Some of these are highly impactful, winning awards at events such as the 50^th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, where HKU won 34 awards, including an esteemed special grand prize (see BETTER VACCINES).

The TEC also works closely with the Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing, Common Core, and other academic units to help create an ecosystem on campus that encourages innovation and coordinates and facilitates related activities. Highlights in 2024–25 included the 2024 GenAI Hackathon for Social Good Competition led by the Common Core, which attracted 71 teams from four Hong Kong universities; the Entrepreneurship Academy, attracting more than 1,400 participants; the HKU SEED Programme, which helped launch 41 new tech start-ups; and Innovation Wing activities, which attracted more than 3,000 participants. The University also launched three new schools – the School for Computing and Data Science, the School of Innovation and the School of Biomedical Engineering – to train future innovators, and the new Arts Tech Lab to foster tech-oriented creative ventures.

Industry partnerships were also ramped up, as HKU signed agreements over the past year with major companies such as China Merchants Group, Gotion High-Tech, TCL and China Mobile to explore advances in everything from stem cell research to lithium battery solutions and low-altitude aviation. Joint institutes were also established, such as the China Resources-HKU Joint R&D Center for Intelligent Technology.

HKU signed an agreement with GETECH and TCL to establish a joint laboratory focussing on industrial artificial intelligence.

Funding is, of course, essential for bringing innovation into the community, and the University looks beyond government grants. In December 2024, the new Entrepreneurship Engine Fund (EEF), which channels ‘patient capital’ into high-potential ventures, signed its first group of investors, who collectively pledged HK$370 million to HKU start-ups; subsequently, the University Council raised the EEF’s future target to HK$1 billion. The new HKU Super Angel Network, launched in March 2025, offers an avenue for alumni to invest in HKU start-ups and provide mentorship. The Tech-Up GBA Innovators Programme, launched with support from the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, supports young entrepreneurs. HKU scholars also secured major government funding for three projects awarded in round two of the Innovation and Technology Fund’s RAISe+ Scheme.

Impact is also realised by supporting system changes and helping people in need enhance their health and quality of life. HKU’s annual Knowledge Exchange awards honour projects that achieve that (see IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH IN THE ELDERLY). The inaugural KE Student Ambassador Programme was also launched in 2024–25 to engage students in amplifying community awareness of the benefits of HKU research.

On March 16, 2025, HKU marked a historic milestone with the HKU Super Angel Symposium and the official launch of the HKU Super Angel Network during HKU Alumni Day.

Groundbreaking Ideas

BETTER VACCINES

HKUMed has achieved a significant breakthrough in developing needle-free, live-attenuated influenza vaccines with broad protection against human and avian virus subtypes.

The State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases at HKU and Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics successfully developed a nasal spray H5N1 avian influenza vaccine.

Two intranasal influenza vaccines developed at HKU that can offer protection to a broad range of virus subtypes were awarded Gold Medals and the Saudi Innovation Excellence Prize at the 50^th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva held in April 2025. The vaccines, developed under the leadership of Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, Daniel C K Yu Professor in Virology, Chair of Public Health Virology and Managing Director of the Centre for Immunology & Infection, offer protection for humans against multiple human and avian virus subtypes, including emerging viruses. They also address the limitations of seasonal vaccines that require annual updates and often struggle against new strains. The use of an intranasal delivery format helps overcome vaccine hesitancy due to fears associated with injections.

Meanwhile, a research team led by Professor Honglin Chen of the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine and Centre for Virology, Vaccinology and Therapeutics, has developed a nasal spray-delivered H5N1 avian influenza vaccine that provides robust protection after a single dose. The vaccine has potential as a critical reserve to help curb transmission early on in future H5N1 outbreaks. It was funded by the Information and Technology Commission and is based on a platform developed with Wantai BioPharm in 2022 for a COVID-19 nasal spray vaccine.

SMART GARMENT MAKING

Fixture-free 3D sewing automation with puckering-free operation in 14 seconds, reducing time by 50% to 75%.

Leveraging cutting-edge AI, computer vision, and robotics to automate complex 3D sewing tasks previously handled by skilled workers only.

The HKU-developed SewingDX, an advanced sewing system that can sew fabric panels into three-dimensional (3D) shapes, was named one of the ‘Top 10 Emerging Clothing Technologies to Watch in 2025 and Beyond’ by StartUs Insights, a global AI-driven platform that maps innovation and emerging technologies and companies around the world. SewingDX is a spin-off of the Centre for Transformative Garment Production (TransGP), a collaborative research centre of HKU and Tohoku University with Professor Norman Tien, Taikoo Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor of Microsystems Technology in HKU’s Faculty of Engineering, as Managing Director.

SewingDX was the only technology featured in StartUs Insights’ top 10 that came from outside the US, UK and Europe, and it has attracted attention from both the garment and automotive sectors. Its patented innovations range from AI-guided stitching and edge tracking to automated tension control, enabling the automation of complex sewing tasks traditionally performed by skilled workers. The system also reduces operation time by 50% to 75%, making it an attractive option for industry in the face of labour shortages and an ageing workforce.

HKU-GROWN CANCER CURE

HKUMed researchers have invented an oral formulation of arsenic trioxide for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukaemia, with a 97% cure rate.

The first anti-cancer drug invented in Hong Kong has obtained orphan drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency, which is given to drugs that show promise for treating rare diseases. The drug Oral-ATO was developed by a team led by Professor Gill Harinder Harry Singh of the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine and has been shown in clinical trials to be an effective cure for acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

The drug has had an unusual development trajectory, starting in 1997 when Professor Kwong Yok-lam, Chair of Haematology and Haematological Oncology, and Emeritus Professor Cyrus Kumana produced a formulation of arsenic trioxide for patients. There was scant funding for research translation at this time, but they persisted and passed the baton along to multiple generations of HKU scholars. The result is a drug that is not only highly effective in both treating patients and preventing relapses, with an overall survival rate of up to 97%, but also about one-tenth the cost of other regimes. Further studies of the drug will be conducted in the US and Europe with industry partners.

AI-Powered Innovations

IMPROVING ORAL HEALTH IN THE COMMUNITY

A research team from the Faculty of Dentistry has developed GUM AI, an innovative solution combining mobile health and artificial intelligence technology to analyse teeth and gum health.

The research team, led by Professor Shi Huang (left), developed an AI system which achieved a 93% accuracy rate in predicting caries that would develop two months later.

The Faculty of Dentistry is harnessing AI in multiple projects to help vulnerable groups achieve better oral health. One project is the world’s first AI system to predict dental caries in the individual teeth of young children with an accuracy rate of more than 90%. The new system, developed by Professor Shi Huang and his team with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other partners in the Chinese Mainland, paves the way for precision treatment of the most common childhood disease in the world.

Another project is the world’s first AI-powered clinic for early oral cancer detection using the Faculty-developed tool OralCancerPredict, which has a 94% accuracy rate. The clinic, launched in April 2025 and led by Professor Richard Su, is a joint venture of the Faculty and Prince Philip Dental Hospital.

A Faculty research team also developed an AI-assisted tool to analyse teeth and gum health, called GUM AI, that has been deployed to help the elderly in underserved communities, in a project involving community and industry partners in Hong Kong. GUM AI takes only a few seconds to complete its analysis and has an accuracy rate of over 90%.

The Faculty has also been designated a Global Hub for Future Dentistry to drive dental innovation and entrepreneurship, in close collaboration with HKU’s TEC and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, for the region’s unique theme-based dental-specific incubation programme.

GETTING A FOOTHOLD

iWalk developed by the team led by Raissa Yeung (first from left) offers a transformative solution to enhance children’s foot health, setting a new benchmark for AI health-tech innovation.

Digitoe Limited was named Champion in the Tertiary Category of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2024–25.

A student-initiated start-up that uses AI and health technology to promote children’s foot health, won top awards at several major competitions in 2024–25. Digitoe Limited was founded by Raissa Yeung, who graduated in 2025 with a Bachelor of Social Sciences. She and her team created iWalk, an AI-powered smart insole that collects real-time walking data and gait analysis and integrates it with software to create personalised exercise recommendations. The information enables health professionals to detect and address foot and posture issues early on and facilitates the creation of custom-made insoles tailored to individual needs.

The technology is advancing through the research and development phase, with formal clinical trials planned in close partnership with Queen Mary Hospital, Duchess of Kent Children’s Hospital and HKUMed’s Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Among its honours, it was named Champion of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2024–25, Winner of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s Start-up Express 2025 and a Top 30 Start-up in Alibaba’s JUMPSTARTER 2025, beating out hundreds of entries in each event.

FIRST AI MODEL FOR STAGING THYROID CANCER

An HKUMed research team developed world’s first AI model for thyroid cancer diagnosis, with over 90% accuracy and reduced consultation preparation time.

A groundbreaking model that uses four advanced large language models to streamline thyroid cancer management has been developed by a team from HKUMed. Thyroid cancer is a common malignancy, but effective treatment depends on determining the cancer stage and risk category. This determination has traditionally been done manually and is time-consuming – meaning the patient must wait longer for treatment. The new model was developed using the pathology reports, operation records and clinical notes from pseudo thyroid cancer cases or those from open-source datasets, which were fed into four offline large language models (LLMs) for privacy preservation. The output from the four LLMs was then assembled by the model.

The impressive testing results found up to 100% accuracy in risk stratification and nearly 98% accuracy in staging. Importantly, the model reduces the diagnostic preparation time by nearly 50%. The model can also be readily integrated into various healthcare and research settings – public, private, local and international. The HKUMed team was led by Professor Joseph Wu Tsz-kei, Sir Robert Kotewall Professor in Public Health and Managing Director and Lead Scientist of InnoHK Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D²4H), Dr Matrix Fung Man-him of the Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Medicine, and Dr Carlos Wong King-ho, Senior Research Director of InnoHK D²4H.

Community Impact

HKUMED LAUNCHES COMMUNITY CLINICS

The HKUMed Community Pharmacy, situated in the Faculty’s Academic Building on 3 Sassoon Road, adjacent to Queen Mary Hospital, serves as a platform for interprofessional healthcare services and research.

The Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine brings its expertise closer to patients and gives students valuable clinical exposure through community clinics based at its Sassoon Road campus. The first HKUMed Community Pharmacy, which opened in November 2024, is Hong Kong’s first university community pharmacy. Established with funding from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, it provides medication consultation and advice on chronic diseases and minor ailments and promotes health literacy and safe use of medication. As project partner, HKUMed is also helping create operational guidelines and build capacity for future community pharmacies across Hong Kong.

HKUMed also has several other specialist clinics that were recently established, including the Integrative Medicine Clinic (integrating Western and Chinese medicine), HKUMed Immunology and Allergy Clinic, HKUMed Travellers’ Clinic and HKUMed Sports Health Clinic. In May 2025, it also launched the HKUMed Sports Health initiative, which is harnessing research and expertise to improve performance and prevent injuries in athletes and community players, and to promote their long-term health and well-being.

The HKUMed Sports Health initiative aims to promote a transformative sports health landscape in the city.

A COOKBOOK FOR SCRAPS

HKU teamed up with local chefs and sustainability advocates to turn scraps into delicious dishes with the Cookbook Conscious Cooking – Asian Delights.

A cookbook that aims to help reduce the mountainous problem of food waste (amounting to more than 3,400 tonnes a day in Hong Kong, or 30% of total waste) has been launched by a team led by Professor Jetty Lee Chung-yung in the School of Biological Sciences. Conscious Cooking – Asian Delights is based on findings by the School’s Food and Nutritional Science team that nine commonly discarded kitchen scraps, from onion skins to tea leaves, were edible and rich in nutrients. The cookbook features 20 original recipes, including contributions from HKU students and nine celebrated Hong Kong chefs.

The book is a collaboration with the sustainability NGO GREEN Hospitality and the food-saving app CHOMP, and is part of an initiative funded by the HKU Knowledge Exchange Fund, called Food Waste to Good Taste, that aims to raise awareness about Hong Kong’s food waste problem and equip food and beverage practitioners with practical skills and menu ideas for minimising waste. Profits from the book are being donated to Foodlink Foundation, a charity dedicated to fighting hunger, building self-sufficiency, and fostering nutritional wellness among those in need.

IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH IN THE ELDERLY

The JC JoyAge project has been expanded to provide mental health support to a wider age range.

Professor Terry Lum Yat-sang (fifth from right) and his team were awarded the University’s Knowledge Exchange Excellence Award 2024 for their project ‘JC JoyAge – Holistic Support Project for Elderly Mental Wellness’.

About one in 10 older people in Hong Kong suffer from clinically significant depressive symptoms, a situation that motivated Professor Terry Lum Yat-sang, Henry G Leong Professor in Social Work and Social Administration, to develop a wide- ranging, long-term solution with a team of multidisciplinary researchers. Between 2016 and 2019, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust funded Professor Lum’s team to develop and pilot a stepped-care intervention for older people living with depressive symptoms in the community. The pilot was very successful, and the project, called JC JoyAge, has been expanded to all 18 districts in Hong Kong since 2020. It has reached more than 100,000 older people and provided direct clinical services to more than 10,000 elderly. It has also trained more than 7,600 older people to be mental health ambassadors and more than 1,200 to be peer supporters, and trained more than 250 social workers to provide evidence-based psychological intervention.

An assessment of JC JoyAge’s impact found it was 3.6 times more effective in treating existing depressive symptoms than care-as-usual and 5.7 times more effective in preventing depression. In 2024, the Jockey Club provided new funding for a pilot project targeting mental healthcare in middle-aged people. JC JoyAge received the University’s Knowledge Exchange Excellence Award 2024.