APAC Innovation Summit

InnoAsia, an annual flagship event supported by the HKSAR government, is celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year.   As such InnoAsia has been renamed "APAC Innovation Summit" (AIS) with the theme of "Shaping the Future".  The summit, to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 1 to 6 December 2014, will comprise the “International Knowledge Transfer (KT) Conference” on the first day, followed by Tech Forum, a main conference and a Hong Kong Technology Showcase at the Inno-Design-Tech Expo.  For details of the Summit please refer to Attachment A.

With the support from Hong Kong’s universities, R&D centres and over 70 trade associations, AIS aims to create a landmark forum where leading minds and influencers from Asian Pacific nations can converge to mutually inspire through new thinking models and engage in forward-thinking dialogue on policy implementation and market adaption with uniquely Asian characteristics.

International Knowledge Transfer (KT) Conference

Knowledge transfer (KT) is generally regarded as the "third mission" (apart from teaching and research) by the higher education sector.  After years of efforts, the overall development of KT is considered healthy in Hong Kong, with policy frameworks and resource supports like provision of hardware and software, as well as funding for universities, research institutes and industry.  Nonetheless, there is still room for improvement and much to learn from other countries and regions.

In this regard, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) jointly organizes the International Knowledge Transfer Conference (the Conference) on Day 1 of the Summit (1 December 2014), with the theme of "Getting the Best out of Knowledge for Innovation and Entrepreneurship".  The Conference aims to highlight and explore the role of university KT and its impact on economies driven by innovative and entrepreneurial endeavours through exchange and sharing of ideas, experience and best practices.

The Conference features Keynote Presentations, The Presidents Forum and parallel interactive sessions to explore the role of universities in the areas of KT models and best practices, social innovation and entrepreneurship.  Confirmed speakers include:

• Mr Pekka Soini, Director-General & CEO, Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation), Finland
• Prof. Pradeep K. Khosla, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego, United States
• Prof. Khin-Yong Lam, Chief of Staff and Vice President (Research), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• Prof. Mordechai Sheves, Vice President for Technology Transfer, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
• Prof. Huey-Jen Jenny Su, Executive Vice President, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan
• Ms Katharine Ku, Director, Office of Technology Licensing, Stanford University, United States
• Mr Lei Shi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics Group Company Ltd, People’s Republic of China
• Other local speakers including Presidents of PolyU, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and City University of Hong Kong were invited.

For a detailed rundown, please refer to the forum programme (Appendix B).

As one of the organizers of the Conference, PolyU sincerely invites senior management and scholars from ISTA member institutions to attend the Conference and other events of the AIS. The participation in the discussion and exchange with speakers and other participants on KT models and practices in other countries and regions will certainly be beneficial in driving the further development of KT in Chinese universities.

For more details, please visit: http://www.innoasia.net/cn/