Connecting the World, Hong Kong Science Park Builds a New Coordinate for Innovation and Technology Talents in the Greater Bay Area.

Backed by Hong Kong's strong international network and resources, the Hong Kong Science Park has incubated 13 unicorn enterprises such as "SenseTime", "SmartMore" and "Lalamove" in the past 20-plus years. These enterprises cover multiple fields including artificial intelligence, robotics, new energy, and life services, boosting Hong Kong's construction of a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem.

The newly established Shenzhen Branch of the Hong Kong Science Park in 2023 (hereinafter referred to as the Shenzhen Branch) is an epitome of Hong Kong's achievements in becoming an international innovation and technology center and strengthening the "bringing in" and "going out" strategies. Specifically, "bringing in" means fully supporting Hong Kong and international innovation and technology enterprises to develop innovation and technology in the Greater Bay Area or the broader mainland. At the same time, it is necessary to give full play to the advantages of "going out", taking on the role of a "bridge" for Chinese technology enterprises to go global, and providing comprehensive support for mainland enterprises that plan to expand overseas markets. Located in the core area of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (hereinafter referred to as the Greater Bay Area), the Shenzhen Branch is becoming an important emerging hub for the interconnection of many innovation and technology elements in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and even the entire Greater Bay Area.

The Shenzhen Branch of the Hong Kong Science Park, located in the Futian Bonded Zone in Shenzhen, adjacent to the Shenzhen River

Based in Hong Kong, Rooted in the Greater Bay Area, Attracting Global Innovation and Technology Elites

The Shenzhen Branch covers an area of over 30,000 square meters. Up to now, it has attracted more than 50 innovation and technology enterprises to settle in, becoming a major emerging innovation highland in the Greater Bay Area. Its leading scientific research and office environment, laboratory space, and top-notch ecological resource supply trigger the "siphon effect" of regional talents, attracting elites from various fields in the Greater Bay Area and the world.

The purpose of the Shenzhen Branch can be summarized as "bringing in and going out". Wong Hak Keung, CEO of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, explained in an interview with the media: "We hope to use this park's cooperation with Shenzhen to attract the best enterprises and talents from Hong Kong and the world to develop businesses in the mainland. At the same time, we should also take advantage of the 'going out' strategy to attract the best Chinese enterprise talents to use this channel to develop the global market."

One of the cores of "bringing in and going out" is talents. The exchange of talents between Hong Kong and Shenzhen can drive the accelerated flow of innovation elements such as resources, technology, and capital, and strengthen the hematopoietic capacity of the innovation and technology ecosystem.

In terms of talent exchange, the Hong Kong Science Park has carried out various practices. According to the "Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation 2023 - 2024 Annual Report" (hereinafter referred to as the Annual Report), the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation actively integrates young people into a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem through various collaborations and programs. For example, the "Talent Power Up" Innovation and Technology Career Expo 2024. The expo attracted more than 6,000 participants, and more than 300 park companies provided more than 3,000 job opportunities and provided professional job matching services, with 70% concentrated in the technology and R & D fields.

"Hong Kong itself is a small market with a population of only over 7 million, but it is a good starting point. Our technology goes from 0 to 1, 1 to 10, and then from 10 to 3000 in a population of 1.4 billion. This is the path we hope to take." Wong Hak Keung concluded. Therefore, the Hong Kong Science Park is exploring more ways to achieve "bringing in and going out" by holding diverse and rich innovation incubation activities and projects.

In addition to recruitment activities, innovation competitions, internship programs, and industry matchmaking are also several key aspects of the Hong Kong Science Park in cultivating the innovation and technology echelon. Through cooperation with various academic institutions, non - profit organizations and other groups, hundreds of internship opportunities are provided. It is understood that this year's summer internship program in the park organized by the Hong Kong Science Park attracted more than 2,000 applications, and many of them are from prestigious overseas universities such as the University of Oxford, University College London, and the University of California, Berkeley. After layers of screening, more than 300 people finally successfully obtained the internship qualifications. These projects provide more and more young people at home and abroad with practical opportunities to participate in the innovation and technology industries in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. In the Hong Kong Science Park located in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, countless innovators and entrepreneurs are finding opportunities for entrepreneurship, innovation, breakthroughs and value realization.

All of the above are the practices of the Hong Kong Science Park to continuously enhance its own development momentum. The Hong Kong Science Park is not only an innovation and technology park, but also an innovative frontier with a comprehensive resource and ecological support. As Wong Hak Keung said: "The main function of the Hong Kong Science Park is to promote the development of the innovation and technology ecosystem, cultivate scientific and technological talents and promote exchanges and collaborations, in order to better integrate into the development of the Greater Bay Area and create social and economic benefits for the entire region."

The Hong Kong Science Park located in Pak Shek Kok, Hong Kong

Scientific Research Strength, Complete Services, Building a Talent Pool for Innovation and Technology in the Bay Area

In May this year, the Shenzhen Branch held the "Greater Bay Area Innovation and Technology Talent Exchange and Recruitment Fair" (hereinafter referred to as the Recruitment Fair). The event was hosted by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and the participating enterprises covered fields such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence and robotics, microelectronics, green technology and fintech. The aim is to introduce the innovation and technology opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, link up with Shenzhen, and promote the exchange of students between Hong Kong and Shenzhen - providing a window and opportunity for many college students to understand Hong Kong's innovation and technology, the Hong Kong Science Park and related internship programs, as well as providing an exchange platform for Hong Kong students to further understand the development opportunities in Shenzhen.

The Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch holds the Greater Bay Area Innovation and Technology Talent Exchange and Recruitment Fair

This recruitment fair attracted innovation and technology talents from Hong Kong and the mainland to participate, including those from Tsinghua University, Peking University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Harbin Institute of Technology, etc., more than half of whom have a master's degree. Many participants at the scene said that the direction of their job search is not limited to a specific region, and they are actively looking for development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. The demand for talents by park enterprises coincides with that of job seekers. Many enterprises believe that the Hong Kong Science Park located in Hong Kong and Shenzhen has a huge attraction to college talents from around the world, providing a strong boost to the enterprise's talent reserve and talent echelon construction.

Dr. Chu Ngai Ho, the founder and CEO of "i2Cool", a startup focused on the research and development of electricity - free refrigeration technology, said that the Hong Kong Science Park will "accurately diagnose" the development status and pain points of startups and selectively select suitable talents for them: "The park will help us see which aspects of talents our team lacks, and selectively match some suitable talents to come and help us expand the team to make up for some deficiencies of our founding team."

i2Cool

Since its establishment, "i2Cool" has carried a deep Hong Kong imprint - the three founders and the team are all from top universities in Hong Kong such as The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and City University of Hong Kong. During the incubation period, it received support from City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Science Park, and obtained investments from well - known institutions in the Greater Bay Area such as the Shenzhen Angel Mother Fund, HKX, Qingshuiwan Capital, and Towngas (Hong Kong) Company Limited.

At present, after the application of "i2Cool"'s electricity - free refrigeration coating, electricity - free refrigeration film and other products in projects such as the "Revitalization of Central Market Historical Building" and "Hong Kong Kai Tak Cruise Terminal" in Hong Kong, it is gradually exploring the Greater Bay Area and the broader mainland market, bringing cutting - edge technology products and talents with an international perspective to the mainland. Through some activities held by the Hong Kong Science Park, "i2Cool" provides many young people in Hong Kong with opportunities to exchange and work in the mainland. Dr. Chu Ngai Ho shared: "This summer, the office of our Shenzhen Branch received more than 20 young people from Hong Kong who participated in the summer internship program. We can also screen out some talents that are more suitable for us from them."

The new material enterprise Papkot, which settled in the Shenzhen Park last year, also affirmed the talent delivery capacity of the Hong Kong Science Park. Papkot is from France and is committed to the research and development of plastic - free coating technology, enabling paper to have the properties of plastic and achieving the application of packaging materials that are fully recyclable, fully biodegradable, food - grade and plastic - free.

Papkot

When it comes to the cooperation with the Hong Kong Science Park, Matteo Pallotta, the General Manager of Asia Pacific and Middle East of Papkot, said that the Shenzhen Branch is their "pleasant surprise": "This is very important to us. The Shenzhen Branch has an important role in promoting our business growth in the mainland." Matteo直言 that the advantage of the integration of Hong Kong and Shenzhen is the real reason why Papkot chose the Hong Kong Science Park as a base to explore the Asia - Pacific and mainland China markets.

Growing in this context, Papkot has recruited a large number of industry elites from Hong Kong: "There are three universities in Hong Kong that are among the best in the world, and these universities are very advanced in the field of materials science," commented Manuel Milliery, the founder and CEO of Papkot. He pointed out that nearly 60% of Papkot's employees are from these top universities. "We want to recruit talents who can really shape the future of the company. And the Hong Kong Science Park has supported our recruitment work."

Papkot

Recently, many leading enterprises in the Greater Bay Area have also settled in the Hong Kong Science Park and set up R & D centers in the park, including "MGI Tech", the "first stock of gene sequencing". It is reported that "MGI Tech" has opened the "αLab" laboratory in the park. The core component of it - the Zhihui Laboratory, is a life informatization system that provides digital management from sample extraction to data analysis, as well as environmental factor monitoring, which can provide support for artificial intelligence R & D, application transformation R & D and other aspects for park enterprises. At the same time, this is also a major move for "MGI Tech" to increase its global layout, further enhance its advantages in the R & D and production of the life science and technology track, and promote the construction of the biomedical industry in the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area, achieving the development goal of "MGI Tech" of "Based in Hong Kong, Rooted in the Greater Bay Area, Facing the World".

It can be seen that for these relatively mature enterprises, tax relief, office space, rent subsidies, talent subsidies and other conditions are no longer their primary considerations. These enterprises are more attracted by Hong Kong's strong scientific research strength, Hong Kong's geographical advantages - with innovation and technology resources from both the mainland and the world, as well as a developed financial system, efficient and complete trade services, and "Hong Kong characteristic industries" such as biomedicine, artificial intelligence, and microelectronics at the global forefront, forming a complementary industrial advantage with the Greater Bay Area.

Whether it is Hong Kong and overseas innovation and technology enterprises that are interested in the Chinese mainland market, or mainland high - precision innovation and technology projects that hope to go global, they can all find a way to achieve their goals in the Hong Kong Science Park in both places.

Top Talents, Vibrant Ecosystem, Achieving Future Innovation and Technology Giants

According to the Annual Report, the Hong Kong Science Park has focused on areas such as biotechnology, real estate technology, big data applications, artificial intelligence and data in the past. It starts from aspects such as financial support, introduction of external capital, assistance in exploring landing scenarios, and attraction of industrial resources to achieve future innovation and technology giants.

Wong Hak Keung pointed out: "Since the establishment of the Science and Technology Parks Corporation, it has been vigorously attracting and nurturing scientific and technological innovation talents, accelerating the commercialization of scientific and technological innovation achievements, providing all - round support for entrepreneurs on their scientific and technological innovation journey, thriving in Hong Kong, and expanding to the Greater Bay Area, Asia and the world."

Following the concept at the beginning of its establishment, the mission of the Hong Kong Science Park is to promote the more vigorous emergence of innovation elements, to promote the faster growth of innovation and technology talents, and to lead innovation and technology enterprises to develop with more global influence. It will promote scientific and technological innovation, jointly develop the innovation and technology industry in the Greater Bay Area with the whole society, and enhance the international competitiveness of innovation and technology enterprises.

Contact information of the Shenzhen Branch of the Hong Kong Science Park: gba@hkstp.org