Newsletter No. 401

14 No. 401, 19.8.2012 Prof. Wong Kam-fai Associate Dean (external affairs), Faculty of Engineering What is creativity from an engineering point of view? From an engineering point of view, innovation is the use of technology to turn creativity into reality, to bring the value of technology outside the lab for the benefit of society. Industry does it. Academia does it. But the motives are different. The former stresses application; it is driven by the market and monetary returns. The latter emphasizes conceptual design and breakthroughs in research; its objective is to develop new theories and knowledge. How has the University fared in this regard? The University has a tried and tested system that provides technology transfer services to students with the creativity and the will to become entrepreneurs. The aim is to give them the appropriate guidance while cultivating leaders of the future for industry. The University holds frequent interdisciplinary activities, such as the Vice-Chancellor’s Cup of Student Innovation, to identify talent and technology with potential. Then through its vast alumni and social network, it will put the award-winning students in touch with the right people, and create commercial opportunities for them. The University also collaborates with downstream partners, such as Hong Kong Science Park, to help students set up companies to bring their ideas to fruition. What's the situation for technology transfer in Hong Kong's institutions of higher learning? The local institutions of higher learning devote a lot of effort to promoting innovative technology, but with varying aims. Some focus on application; some on basic academic research. The former is more proactive and has closer links with industry. The Chinese University belongs to the latter. From its base in teaching and research, the University invests resources to help the would-be inventors among its students to realize their potential. In terms of marketing, CUHK takes part in technology fairs every year, including the China Hi-Tech Fair, the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, to showcase the creative outcomes of its researchers and students. What is the situation of government, industry, academia and research collaboration in mainland China? The mainland is more zealous than Hong Kong about promoting technology research. Once a policy is launched, the provincial and municipal governments would complement the efforts of the central government and render active support to national development. The 12th Five-Year Plan for Science and Technology Development is a case in point. That said, CUHK has been keeping in pace with the mainland, by encouraging faculty to take part in its important research projects and contribute to the country, and by capitalizing on its own research strengths and reputation to attract research funds and talent from the mainland and overseas, and bring about international collaboration. You've been working at CUHK for almost 20 years. How does it feel? I started working here when I returned from Germany in 1993. Not long after I joined, the Faculty of Engineering put me in charge of innovation promotion and technology transfer in the Centre for Innovation and Technology. Over the years, the centre has slowly built a system of innovation with the support of the Faculty's staff and teachers, and our achievements today show that our hard work has paid off. What are your hopes for the future? Looking into the future, I hope the government can set up a Bureau of Technology as soon as possible and draw up an effective innovation and technology policy, so that the research results of CUHK and other institutions can be more widely applied to industry. 黃錦輝教授 工程學院副院長（外務） 從工程學的角度看，怎樣才算「創意」？ 從工程科學角度而論，創新是利用科技實踐創意，令科技的價值走出 實驗室，令普羅大眾受惠。創新科技，工商業界在做，大學也在做，但兩 者的出發點不一樣。業界較着重科技應用，以市場為主導，與經濟回報 緊緊掛鈎；大學則偏重設計意念及學術研究上的創新成果，志在開拓 新理論、新知識。 中文大學在這方面做得怎樣？ 中大設有一套行之有效的創新體制，目的是為富創意及有志創業的學 生提供多方面的科技轉移服務，使他們得到適當的啟 導，同時為工商業界培育未來的領袖。大學常 舉辦跨學科的校內活動（如校長盃創意 比賽），從中發掘具潛質的創新科技及 團隊；繼而透過龐大的校友及業界網 絡為得獎學生鋪橋搭路、製造商機。 中大也與不同的下游夥伴機構經常合 作，如香港科學園，藉此協助學生實踐設 計意念，成立新公司，將創意轉化為產品。 香港大專界的科技轉化，情況如何？ 本地的大專院校推動創新科技不遺餘力，但目標各有不同。有 些院校注重科技應用，有些則注重基礎學術研究。前者與業界 聯繫較密切，且較為主動，而中大屬於後者。中大以教學及科研 為本，投放適當資源，為有志創新發明的學子創造有利發揮創 意的條件。在市場推廣方面，大學每年都會參加不同規模的科 技展覽會，包括中國國際高新技術成果交易會、香港電子產品展 等，藉此對外推廣教研人員及學生的創意成果。 內地官、產、學、研合作的發展如何？ 內地在推動科研方面比香港積極。各省市政府往往在中央政策一推 出，便會全力配合，爭相支持國家發展，國家十二五規劃便是例子之 一。中大亦不敢怠慢，一方面鼓勵教職員多參與國家重大研究項目，為 國家作出貢獻，另一方面利用自己的研究實力及國際知名度吸引國內 外的研究基金及人才進駐校園，以推動國際科技合作。 來到中大快二十年了，感覺怎樣？ 我1993年從德國回港便在中大工作，上任不久便獲工程學院委派於創 新科技中心（前稱訊息網絡研究所）從事創意推廣及科技轉移事務。 多年來，得到工程學院同事及教授的幫忙，中心一步一步建立了創新體 制，目睹今天的成果，過往多年所付出的努力，總算沒有白費。 對未來有何寄望？ 展望將來，我希望政府能盡快落實科技局，有效地制定 創新科技政策，使中大及其他院校的科研成果 能更廣泛地應用於工商業界。 請掃描QR碼 閱讀全文版 Scan the QR code for the full version Photos by Keith Hiro