The Hong Kong Applied Science & Technology Research Institute (Astri) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to implement a smart city technology course.

The course at CUHK’s faculty of engineering will educate up to 30 master students. Astri will provide paid full-time employment opportunities to enrolled students for four to eight months and engage them in one of the its on-going smart city projects.

The programme supports the Hong Kong government’s recently released initiative, the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong 2.0, which strives to build Hong Kong into a world-class smart city.

“Developing scientific talent in Hong Kong is one of Astri’s goals,” said Lucas Hui Chi-kwong, acting co-CEO of Astri. “We are pleased to cooperate with CUHK to equip the new generation with scientific research talents to excel in all areas of smart cities.”

Astri’s other acting co-CEO Martin Szeto Sin-ho added: “This practitioner programme for technology professionals is supporting the initiatives to develop smart people as indicated in the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong, with the purpose of cultivating more human capital to promote technological development.”

The programme welcomes applications from students enrolled in master’s degree programmes under the CUHK’s faculty of engineering in the academic year 2021-22. Up to 30 students will serve as paid full-time research assistants in Astri, starting from the first quarter of 2022. They will be involved in smart city related projects and solving problems for organisations through research and development of applied technology, facilitating operations in a more intelligent and efficient way, and benefiting people and business in society.

“This is a strategic partnership which connects our CUHK engineering faculty and students with Astri, a leading applied research institute in Hong Kong, through a work-study programme which enables our participation in state-of-the-art research and development that drives Hong Kong’s smart city initiative,” said Martin Wong, dean of the CUHK’s faculty of engineering. “I am confident and excited that the CUHK-Astri partnership will be pivotal in realising the vision for a smart city as laid out in the blueprint.”

Astri has formulated technology for government departments, public institutions and enterprises over the years with the adoption of international and industry standards throughout, while considering public policies, legal requirements, and stakeholders’ needs and concerns.

Students participating will gain work experience and lay a foundation for future employment in innovation and technology as well as the smart city industry.

The engineering faculty has evolved into an integrated engineering school. Its strength lies in its position with quality research facilities and a commitment to the latest applications of modern technology. The faculty prides itself as one of the pioneers in research on artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning. It has received awards in international challenges for face recognition and visual recognition.

Astri was founded by the Hong Kong government in 2000 with the mission of enhancing the city’s competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research. Astri’s core R&D competence in various areas is grouped under five technology divisions: AI and big data analytics; communications; cyber security, cryptography and trusted technologies; integrated circuits and systems; and IoT and sensors. These are applied across smart cities, financial technologies, intelligent manufacturing, health technologies, and application specific integrated circuits.

To date, Astri has transferred nearly 750 technologies to the industries and been granted more than 850 patents in mainland China, USA and other countries.

Astri has been proactively engaging in smart city-related research and development projects including:

• Smart mobility: Cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), autonomous vehicle, and smart indoor and outdoor geographic information system;
• Smart living: Chatbot, GeronTech and Health Tech, 5G private network and more;
• Smart environment: Direct current building, power hub and safe battery technologies;
• Smart people: Launching a fintech career accelerator scheme with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and establishing cyber range and fintech innovation hubs;
• Smart government: Conducting over 40 research and development projects for various government bodies, including open data, smart water meter and intelligent knowledge management platform; and
• Smart economy: Promoting the development of fintech with the HKMA, including blockchain technology, alternative credit scoring of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and developing intelligent manufacturing initiatives.

Founded in 1963, CUHK is a forward-looking research university. The faculty of engineering was founded in 1991, offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes through its six departments: biomedical engineering, computer science and engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering, mechanical and automation engineering, and systems engineering and engineering management.