Knowledge transfer (KT) has long been one of the strategic focuses of PolyU. With the guiding principle that all PolyU IPs of practical value should leave campus to create societal impact, the University granted an accumulative total of 134 licences in the fiscal year of 2019/20, 6.3% more than that in the previous year; and this number was the highest among the eight UGC-funded universities.

In terms of income generated from core KT activities (including collaborative research, contract research, IP commercialisation, consultancy and spin-off companies in Hong Kong and Mainland China), PolyU took second place among the UGC-funded universities with KT income of $431.6 million, 40% more than the amount recorded in the previous fiscal year.

Motivated by the goal of creating impact for the benefit of the society, PolyU strives to translate its research into real-life solutions with partners in both the industry and public sectors in a diverse range of domains, including drug development and health science, AI and big data, sustainable infrastructure and environment, and many more. Some examples are:

• Development of a rapid automated multiplex diagnostic system for testing infectious respiratory diseases
• Early warning model of drug-induced liver injury in tuberculosis patients based on machine learning
• 3D ultrasound imaging for scoliosis assessment
• New dual-task exercise for stroke patients to effectively reduce the risk of falls and fall-related injuries
• Development and optimization of the novel transparent heat insulation nano-coating and its application on local building glazing façade
• Design, supply and installation of a structural health monitoring system for Cross Bay Link, Tseung Kwan O - Main Bridge
• Smart transit transportation system and application platform for the Sanmen County Government, China
• AI robotic in-line inspection system for assessing the health conditions inside the pipes of water mains
• Smart Work Injury Management System (SWIM) powered by AI provides analytics for rehabilitation from work-related injuries
• Wearable and sustainable energy harvesting insoles
• Construction of an interlanguage corpus for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students in Hong Kong

In addition, PolyU has been strategically partnering with local government and/or industry partners to establish joint translational research platforms to advance research, technology development and commercialisation in various research domains, such as aerospace & aviation, biotechnology, sustainability, new energy, as well as AI and big data. Under this backdrop, a number of new research and innovation platforms, including the PolyU-Shenzhen Technology and Innovation Research Institute (Futian), the Guangdong-Hong Kong – Macao Joint Laboratories of Environmental Pollution Processes and Control, as well as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for photonic-Thermal-Electrical Energy Materials and Devices have been established in the past year. More collaborations are underway.

To learn more about PolyU’s achievements on Knowledge Transfer, view the full report.