Hong Kong

For funding relating to knowledge transfer, the Office of Knowledge Transfer (OKT) administers three funding programs, namely the Bridge Gap Fund (BGF), the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (TSSSU) and the HKUST Entrepreneurship Fund (E-Fund). The Entrepreneurship Center (EC) manages three funding programs, namely Entrepreneurship Acceleration Fund (EAF), U*Star Award (U*STAR), Yeung Wing Yee Entrepreneurs Fund (YWYEF). Other various funding programs relating to research are administered by the Research Office under the Office of the Vice-President for Research and Development. Click here to view the Technologies & Entrepreneurship Funding Eco-System @ CWB, HKUST for relevant funding programs available.

Bridge Gap Fund - Programme Introduction and Related Technologies

The Bridge Gap Fund (BGF) presents a transformative opportunity for ambitious researchers who are eager to elevate their innovative projects from conceptual frameworks to impactful market solutions. The structured support from BGF includes mentorship from seasoned industry experts and access to an extensive network, equipping researchers with the necessary tools and guidance to navigate the complex path of bringing research to market. BGF is tailored to foster industry collaborations, form technology startups, and license cutting-edge technology, promising not just commercial success but also societal benefits.

Objectives

BGF is to strengthen the commercialization of HKUST technology for licensing technology to industry, forming technology start-up companies, industry collaboration or application to funding with industry partnership.
BGF aims to translate HKUST’s research intellectual property into a comprehensive business proposal to attract and motivate industry partners to work with HKUST to create commercial and societal impact.
OKT staff will work with research teams by leveraging university resources, engaging mentors and industries to build commercially viable business strategies and plan with customer discoveries and product development to attract industry partners, venture capital and government fundings.

Form of Funding Support

Each project team can opt for Startup Track (Aiming to form a DeepTech Startup by the team itself) or Technology Transfer Track (Aiming to license the Background/ Foreground Intellectual Properties). 
Each approved project will typically receive funding support of up to HK$ 0.5M for up to twelve (12) months (from the project commencement date) with tangible deliverables.

For more details, please refer to the OKT website here (http://okt.hkust.edu.hk/bridge-gap-fund) and the BGF Guideline.

Application Deadline: 28 March 2025

Applicants should complete the BGF Application Form in English, with the Online Research Project Submission Approval (ORPA) Form and approved record of Committee on Research Practices Review (CRP) Form (if applicable) on or before the application deadline.

TSSSU - Programme Introduction, Startups and Related Technologies

In 2014-15, the Innovation and Technology Commission (“ITC”) set up, under the Innovation and Technology Fund (“ITF”), the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (“TSSSU”), with the below objectives:

to encourage our students and faculties to start up technology businesses and commercialise their research and development (R&D) results
to provide better support for technology start-ups to translate new ideas into business opportunities

ITC will provide an annual funding of up to HK$8 million to each university on a reimbursement basis for expenses incurred by the University recommended technology start-ups. To further strengthen the support for start-ups, in addition to the original component of the Scheme (which will be termed “TSSSU O” hereafter), an enhancement measure will be introduced with effect from 2023-24 to provide dollar-to-dollar matching funds to those start-ups which have demonstrated good growth potential through securing investment from private sector (which will be termed “TSSSU+” hereafter). In other words, TSSSU will comprise TSSSU O and TSSSU+ starting from 2023-24, the annual funding of up to HK$16 million is provided to the University. An overview is illustrated below for reference.

	TSSSU‑O	TSSSU+
(a) Annual funding ceiling for each university	HK$8 million	HK$8 million
(b) Annual funding ceiling for each start-up	HK$1.5 million	HK$1.5 million
(c) Maximum number of funding years for each start-up	3 consecutive years^{^[1]}, provided that the respective start-up has not been funded under TSSSU+.	3 consecutive years, same as TSSSU‑O.

[1] If a funded start-up has made reasonable progress in its R&D and/or business performance, the associated university may recommend such start-up for continued funding for the second or the third year. The three-year period should count consecutively from the first year that a start-up is approved for TSSSU‑O or TSSSU+ funding. If a start-up is first approved for funding in 2023-24 (Year One) and only applies for continued funding in 2025-26 (Year Three), it will not be eligible for seeking further funding in 2026-27 (Year Four).

Please click here for more details. (http://okt.hkust.edu.hk/tsssu)

E-Fund - Programme Introduction, Startups and Related Technologies

The HKUST Entrepreneurship Fund (E-Fund) was set up in 2019/20 to support the development of startups at HKUST – especially those in their early stage. The fund seeks to facilitate knowledge transfer, promote entrepreneurial spirit among HKUST stakeholders, and bring about social and economic impact.

Please click here for more details. (https://e-fund.hkust.edu.hk/)

U*STAR - Programme Introduction, Startups and Related Technologies

Supported by the Knowledge Transfer Fund from the University Grant Committee (UGC) of the HKSAR Government, the U*Star Award encourages technology transfer with new business creation based on the University technologies and research output.

Please click here for more details. (https://ec.hkust.edu.hk/events/ustar-award)

Entrepreneurship Acceleration Fund (EAF)

The Entrepreneurship Acceleration Fund (EAF) supports startups of all entrepreneurial stages in order to facilitate their ideation, development and acceleration. The Fund aims at promoting and engaging HKUST members in cross-disciplinary collaboration to transform innovative ideas into concrete and value-added solutions for society.

For details, please visit https://ec.hkust.edu.hk/events/hkust-entrepreneurship-acceleration-fund.

Yeung Wing Yee Entrepreneurs Fund (YWYEF)

The Yeung Wing Yee Entrepreneurs Fund (YWYEF) is an acceleration seed fund that aims to support early-stage startups owned by HKUST members to pursue their entrepreneurship dreams, develop their entrepreneurial potentials and promote innovation and entrepreneurship. The Fund can be used to cover partial costs of the initial stage of startups.

For details, please visit https://ec.hkust.edu.hk/events/yeung-wing-yee-entrepreneurs-fund-0.

Tech-ship Award

As part of the Tech-ship Program, which aims at bridging faculty technologies with student entrepreneurship, the Tech-ship Award supports faculty members who have partnered with HKUST students for technopreneurship development based on application of university technologies and research outputs.

For details of the Program and Award, please visit https://ec-techship.hkust.edu.hk/takeaways-sub.

HKUST Collaborative Innovation Center (HCIC)

The HKUST Collaborative Innovation Center (HCIC) was jointly established by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI). HCIC aims to promote the various types of cooperation between HKUST and BICI in projects beneficial to both Parties and society. The main research areas for HCIC include, but not limited to, Advanced Materials and Devices, Electronics and Devices, Energy and Environment, Healthcare, and Intelligent Systems and Robotics.

For more information about HCIC, please email hcic@ust.hk.

HKUST-Kaisa Joint Research Institute (HKJRI)

The HKUST-Kaisa Joint Research Institute (HKJRI), was established in November 2019 to develop technology and knowledge to be commercialized for practical applications and products via platforms of Kaisa Holdings Limited (Kaisa).

HKJRI focuses on the technological areas of New Materials, IOT (Artificial Intelligence), Big Data, Fintech, and Healthcare Technology. HKJRI will work closely with Kaisa to facilitate the technology transfer process, including the formation of spin-off start-up companies, with strong supports from both OKT and Kaisa’s incubation hubs mainly in Shenzhen, China.

For more information about HKJRI, please email hkjri@ust.hk.

HKUST-BDR Joint Research Institute (HBJRI)

The HKUST-BDR Joint Research Institute (HBJRI) provides a unique platform to facilitate and strengthen the collaboration between University and Industry in talent development and technology innovation, with focus on the mutually interested strategic areas including construction and restaurant robotics, artificial intelligence and big data, smart cities and smart living, thus supporting the transition of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area into a knowledge-based economy. The Guangdong Bright Dream Robotics Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Country Garden, will provide strong support for applied research and deployment of research results from the Joint Research Institute.

For more information about HBJRI, please email hbjri@ust.hk.