The Consulate General of France in Hong Kong & Macau and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) are joining hands to establish the France-HKUST Innovation Hub. Mr Eric BERTI, Consul General of France, and Prof Tony F CHAN, President of HKUST, attended the inauguration ceremony on 24 March 2017 at the HKUST Lee Shau Kee Campus.
“Matching the talent of HKUST students and the experience and business culture of the French industry to develop innovation, science and technology is very exciting. We see great potential in this Innovation Hub, both for French companies and for students,” said Consul General Eric BERTI in his inaugural speech. HKUST President Prof Tony F CHAN expressed his appreciation of this promising partnership: “We were delighted to see HKUST join force with the French government to form the hub, a great platform for both sides to collaborate and spur innovation and technology development in tandem with many French industries. The initiative signifies the dedication and devotion of both sides to innovation and technology research – our mission and vision matches with each other’s, and HKUST is honored to be a partner of this initiative.”
The hub will serve as an incubator of ideas, opportunities and innovation, promoting aspiration for excellence in innovative projects. Long-term vision of French Consulate and HKUST is to put in place the necessary conditions for the implementation of research and development projects within HKUST.
The creation of the France-HKUST Innovation Hub aims to provide a one-stop platform to enhance partnerships and strengthen the linkage between French and Hong Kong innovation partners in education, science and technology. Over the years, HKUST has forged close ties with the French academic network to co-develop engineering related postgraduate studies with École nationale de l'aviation civile (ENAC), CentraleSupélec and École nationale supérieure des mines de Saint-Étienne.
French companies are also keen to recruit Asian talents and develop technological cooperation projects and they can make use of this platform to form alliance with HKUST. This can be seen from the strategic partnership established in 2014 between HKUST and Thales or the collaboration established in 2015 by the HKUST-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Research Alliance with Schneider Electric. The presence of French companies will facilitate the sharing of corporate culture, management methods and give students feedback of quality with updates on the latest development of industrial trends.
As a valuable and important strategic partnership between France and HKUST, the Innovation Hub will provide opportunities for students to nurture their creativity and benefit from the experience of some of France’s most successful innovative companies.
About Consulate of France in Hong Kong and Macau Headed by Consul General Eric Berti, the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau administers the French community in Hong Kong and Macau and has the mission to serve and protect the interests of French citizens. It also delivers visas to nationals of other countries willing to travel to France. Under the authority of the French Ambassador in Beijing, the Consul General is in charge of coordinating and furthering the development of political, cultural and economic relations between France and both Hong Kong and Macau.
About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a world-class research university that focuses on science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. HKUST offers an international campus, and a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. HKUST attained the highest proportion of internationally excellent research work in the Research Assessment Exercise 2014 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee, and is the world’s second in the latest QS’ Top 50 under 50 ranking. Its graduates were ranked 13th worldwide and top in Greater China in Global Employability University Survey 2016.
Appendix: List of French companies and institutional partners
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