Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship at SENG

HKUST School of Engineering (SENG) is dedicated to grooming thinkers and innovators, bringing positive impact to society in the future through engineering and innovations. While students and members of the SENG community exert their imagination and endeavors beyond boundaries, we are committed to providing education and holistic opportunities, supporting these talents to embark on their entrepreneurship journey.

“It was not a straight road when we started out. We had to find ways to resolve issues such as capital shortfall, research and prototyping bottlenecks. The biggest lesson is to be ready for whatever surprises come your way, and to learn from mistakes and use them to grow.” - Jack LAU, Chairman of Swanland.AI

Frank WANG, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of DJI

“I started my company in the first year of my PG study and received lots of help from professors who believed in my dreams.” - Frank WANG, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of DJI

ZHANG Yunfei, Founder & President of Zhuhai Yunzhou Intelligence Technology Ltd.

“I’m particularly interested and hope to be able to set up some opportunities for young friends in the Bay Area to move around more and have more exchanges and chances for cooperation.” - ZHANG Yunfei, Founder & President of Zhuhai Yunzhou Intelligence Technology Ltd.

Terry TSANG, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Mad Head Limited

“As graduates of HKUST, we are part of a privileged subset of society who have received a quality education from a worldclass university. I believe it’s our responsibility to give back to society and help others pursue their dreams.” - Terry TSANG, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Mad Head Limited

Vanessa HO , CEO of Pure Living Inc Limited

“While the professors here offer support and provide many new ideas on R&D, our experience running businesses means we can screen whether products can be launched in the market. We can find good people faster and easier as teachers recommend high-caliber graduates to us.” - Vanessa HO , CEO of Pure Living Inc Limited

“Every day we dig into different problems. It’s flexible and this creative way of working and problem solving is quite rewarding.” - Angus LUK, Co-founder of EventX

Lydia LEUNG, CEO of Belun Technology Company Limitedvvvv

“While a startup company may survive and even thrive, there is a good chance that it will not. So we have to be content with the basic working conditions. It is also necessary to have a group of people with same mind and determination.” - Lydia LEUNG, CEO of Belun Technology Company Limited

Calvin ZHANG, Co-founder & CEO of Incus Company Limited

“The TLE program, hosted by SENG, is unique in the way that there are professors from all schools – engineering, science, business and management. Instead of having professors choose the students, we as postgraduate students can choose to work with certain professors.” - Calvin ZHANG, Co-founder & CEO of Incus Company Limited

Issac LEUNG, Co-founder & CEO of AutoSafe

“The entrepreneurial journey has been one of self-discovery. It has been a challenging time, learning to face problems on my own. Overall, I really appreciate the opportunity to have my horizons broadened.” - Issac LEUNG, Co-founder & CEO of AutoSafe

“I noticed that the girls in high schools are reluctant to speak up because they’re afraid of making mistakes. It’s something more fundamental than engineering. It’s about standing up who you are.” - Michelle FNO, Founder of Aromeo

“If you’ve got an idea and wonder if it will work – just try it. Prototyping is so easy now. Then interview people and ask them what they think. If you need help with marketing and raising funds, there are lots of people at HKUST willing to help.” - Jeff CHEN, Co-Founder of Lumos

“We began to think, how could we take our research from the laboratory and turn it into useful products for industries located around us.” - Prof. LI Zexiang

“A research topic good enough for an academic paper may not be translatable into a commercial product. This involves using design thinking, a user-centric approach, to solve problems.” - Prof. YEUNG Sai-Kit

“I’ve been very fortunate to have witnessed so many student entrepreneurs creating startups and in the process, dramatically elevating their capacity to create real world impact.” - Prof. Terrence YEE

Knowledge Transfer at SENG

Culture of knowledge transfer has taken root among members of the SENG community. With the wealth of support through education, advising and networking, efforts of the SENG community bore fruits, evident by the establishment of start-ups and accomplishments of its members.

160 plus patent applications and 60 plus patents granted per year

A video collection showcasing the knowledge transfer stories of our faculty and alumni

Electronic Nose

New Smart Antimicrobial Coating

StayHomeSafe App

Ultrasound Drug Delivery System

Entrepreneurship Support

Evolving from prototypes and innovative ideas, the knowledge has to be transferred effectively to the community to maximize its utility. As such, the University has taken incentives to facilitate knowledge transfer through financial support, advising and networking among students, faculty members, outstanding alumni and the industry.

Entrepreneurial Education

We strive to equip the aspiring young entrepreneurs with practical knowledge and skills, as well as inculcating the entrepreneurial mindset through education and experiential learning experiences.

UG Minor Program in Entrepreneurship

The program is jointly offered by the School of Engineering, School of Science and School of Business & Management for undergraduate students to equip them with the fundamentals and specific skillset for future entrepreneurship.

MSc in AI and Entrepreneurship

The program trains students in the design, development, and deployment of practical AI applications, while preparing them for both intrapreneurial and entrepreneurial careers. Through a combination of courses, seminars and a year-long internship, students will gain profound technical knowledge and advanced skills in AI, enabling them to contribute original insights and innovative solutions to complex challenges in the field.

Experiential Learning

Supported with guidance from faculty members and abundant hardware resources such as the Dream Team Open Lab and the USEL Lab, students are engaged in real-life projects and put their ideas into action through experiential learning, to develop their entrepreneurial skills and spark their spirits.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Outside classroom, students are encouraged to take part in competitions and activities, to ignite their entrepreneurial spirit. Faculty members, alumni and their seniors are also dedicated to pass the torch, to guide and assist the young talents in transforming as leaders and innovators.

Competitions

Honoring the spirit of innovation and challenge, students are encouraged to participate in competitions to sharpen their skillset and pursue their innovative ideas as part of the entrepreneurial learning process.

Fireside Chat Series

Seminars and events are held throughout the year, aiming to cultivate students’ entrepreneurial mindset. As one of the initiatives, SENG invited prominent leaders and alumni to give insightful sharing at the Fireside Chat Series hosted in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Center.

Career Exposure

Internship and part-time opportunities at start-ups are provided for young talents with various job functions including research, software engineering, etc. Through immersive experience, students could gain entrepreneurial insights and deeper understanding of how a start-up functions, and sharpen their interpersonal and problem-solving skills in the process.

More News & Stories

Explore about the aspirations, innovations and accomplishments of our faculty, students and alumni.

Recognition

(From left to right) Dr. Zheng Zexiao (Research Assistant Professor of HKUST), Ms. Zhang Yu (PhD candidate of HKUST), Ir Dr. Raymond K. L. Chan (Chairman of the HKIE Environmental Division), Ir Prof. Irene Lo (Chair Professor at HKUST), Mr. Roger Wong Yan-Lok (Director of the Water Supplies Department (WSD)), Mr. Gary Yip Ka-Chun (Assistant Director of WSD), Mr. Kwok Yau-Ting (Project Assistant Secretary (Water Safety) of Development Bureau) and Ms. Leung Chui-Fan (Chemist of WSD)

Prof. Irene LO’s Research Team and Water Supplies Department Won 2024/2025 HKIE Best Environmental Paper Award for Pilot-Scale Phosphate Removal System for the Cleanup of Local River Water

Research & Innovation