HKUST Sweeps 20 awards at 48th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has achieved remarkable success at the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, as all 19 teams on the delegation have won a total of 20 awards. These accolades include one Prize of the Chinese Delegation for Invention and Innovation, three Gold Medals with Congratulations of the Jury, five Gold Medals, six Silver Medals, and five Bronze Medals.

The research on protein biomarker panels for assessing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) led by HKUST President Prof. Nancy IP won the Prize of the Chinese Delegation for Invention and Innovation, as well as Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury. This biomarker-based detection system can identify AD five to ten years before symptoms manifest by detecting changes in blood biomarker levels.

Other Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury winners from HKUST include advanced polymer-based therapeutics for chronic diseases led by HKUST Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Prof. CHAU Ying, and metal 3D printing by ultrasonic excitation and active temperature control led by HKUST Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Emeritus Prof. Matthew YUEN Ming-Fai.

This year is HKUST's first institutional participation in the world's most prestigious award devoted exclusively to inventions, with a record high of 19 projects ranging from cell therapy, histological imaging, nanomembrane materials, and manufacturing 3D printing. Four of the 19 inventions on water treatment are in collaboration with the Drainage Services Department (DSD) of the HKSAR Government. These inventions feature new technologies such as odor control, solid-liquid separation, and pipeline monitoring.

HKUST Vice-President for Research and Development, Prof. Tim CHENG said, "We are proud that HKUST’s inventions and technologies have been well recognized at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva. It demonstrates our strong research capabilities on frontier research, which best positions us to help fill the gap by building a robust ecosystem from basic research to impact. Our success also shows the entrepreneurial spirit of our students, alumni, and faculties. We will continue to advance the readiness of our research and technology, while at the same time engage our industry and government partners at an early stage to shorten the journey of tech transfer and push the boundaries of knowledge to create meaningful impact to society, not only in Hong Kong but all over the world.”

According to Nature’s Leading 200 academic institutions by patent influence metric rankings, HKUST is the best Chinese university and comes 33rd globally based on data collected from 2000 to 2020.

The 48th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva is being held from April 26 to 30 in Switzerland with a record number of inventors, universities, institutes, and companies showcasing nearly 1,000 inventions from about 40 countries and regions. A total of 293 inventions from Hong Kong are participating in the show.

For more details on HKUST’s inventions at the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, please refer to the full list here.

About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (https://hkust.edu.hk/) is a world-class research intensive 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. Over 80% of our research work were rated “Internationally excellent” or “world leading” in the Research Assessment Exercise 2020 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee. We were ranked 3rd in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2022, and our graduates were ranked 30th worldwide and among the best from universities from Asia in Global Employability University Ranking and Survey 2022. As of early 2023, HKUST members have founded 1,645 active start-ups, including 9 Unicorns and 11 exits (IPO or M&A), generating economic impact worth over HK$400billion. InvestHK cited QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021 to demonstrate the performance of five world’s top 100 local universities in several innovation-centric areas, among which HKUST ranked top in four engineering and materials science subjects.