Students attending this Hong Kong-based MBA have access to leading R&D centers that drive innovation in areas such as robotics and AI.
In May 2022, the Hong Kong government launched an initiative to fund a research cluster called ‘InnoHK’, enabling more than 2000 scientists and engineers to explore innovation potential in these fields.
This effort boosts Hong Kong’s position as a leader in technology-driven research and development. It also offers unique career and study opportunities to students in his MBA program, one of Hong Kong’s top ranks.
Co-Entrepreneurship Initiative: Combining MBA Students with Leading Innovation Centers
InnoHK works closely with the Hong Kong University Business School (HKU), with approximately one-third of the research clusters funded by HKU being led by HKU professors.
Shortly after launching this initiative, HKU used these links to provide opportunities for students from the school’s flagship MBA program to participate in the research and development process.
The Joint Entrepreneurial Initiative (JEI) allows HKU MBA students to work alongside scientists and engineers within the InnoHK R&D Center. It encourages students to test their business knowledge and apply their entrepreneurial abilities, aiming to turn innovative research into real business opportunities.
Each research cluster is made up of highly technically savvy professionals, and the partnership provides researchers with the expertise they need for business, while providing students with hands-on experience in key innovation areas. Get deep insight.
“We are good at design and research, but to be honest, we are not very good at business,” says Ivan Wong, technical manager at TransGP, one of the research centers participating in the effort. .
TransGP, a high-tech driven research center, is exploring the use of AI and robotics in garment production to improve efficiency and safety in the garment industry.
“Partnering with HKU means that our students give us expert advice on the strengths and weaknesses of our business,” adds Ivan.
Hands-on opportunity to test your MBA knowledge and skills
While the HKU MBA curriculum teaches students basic business knowledge (modules cover subjects ranging from human resources to finance and accounting), JEI allows students to apply this knowledge and develop business acumen. Provides practical opportunities for further development.
HKU part-time MBA students Sissy Zhang and Annie Lu both worked with TransGP as members of JEI.
Participating in this program provided an opportunity to immerse myself in an entirely new industry and explore new technologies for Cissy. (photograph)had a career as a journalist in several countries before moving into the field of marketing and communications.
“I think this is a really rare opportunity, especially when it comes to AI in the R&D industry,” she explains. “They explained to me how the technology worked to understand the basics. I didn’t need to know all the details, but I did need to know the overall logic.”
For Annie, who conducts market research for various companies and start-ups as a business development director for a state-owned company, JEI was an opportunity to explore the process of commercializing her research and immerse herself in a new industry.
Sissy and Annie, along with one other team member, spent time in TransGP’s labs before conducting their own market research and competitor analysis to find opportunities to commercialize TransGP’s technology.
An opportunity to help launch an innovative new business
With limited industry knowledge, the University of Hong Kong MBA team found their research and problem-solving skills tested during the JEI.
“We did a lot of research, read a lot of reports, articles and interviews online. We also did some consulting sessions with industry experts,” says Annie. (photograph) I will explain.
“I had to work with teammates who had different backgrounds and angles to the same question so that I could think of different ways to solve the problem. I felt happy that I was able to do the job.”
After the research and analysis was successfully completed, Cissy, Annie and team members presented the results to Ivan and the TransGP team, providing detailed feedback to help improve their business strategy.
“They gave us insight into some of the fashion brands on the market,” says Ivan. “We are so focused on hardware and technology that sometimes we forget to think about the end user or the fashion market, so this was a really good synergy.”
Combining these insights with the program’s innovative technology to create a business plan, the TransGP team now plans to commercialize the research and launch a spin-off company in late 2023.
This is just one example of successful collaboration between HKU students and researchers affiliated through JEI. Companies successfully launched through partnerships also offer potential career opportunities for students to join executive teams.
Whether or not the career opportunities continue, both Sissy and Annie agree that this partnership has provided them with valuable experience to move on to the next stage of their careers.
“Without this effort, it would not have been possible to have the opportunity to work with scientists on real-world problems and actually participate in the commercialization process,” Sissy says.
