Innovate for Future (IFF) is an open competition of innovation & technology to inspire our young people in Hong Kong to create innovative products or services for solving and improving our real life challenges, though idea generation to prototype development. The competition may apply to all local schools including primary, secondary and tertiary. Students will pitch how to move human society forward with feasible innovation and products in our coaching process.
This competition is supported by our international partner, San Jose State University (SJSU) Silicon Valley Center for Global Studies (SVCGS). The final champion or winners will have opportunity to submit their projects to SJSU global program such as Silicon Valley Innovation Challenge (SVIC) Competition and Showcase.
This competition is supported by our Technology & Support Sponsors of IFF2023. The final champion or winners will have opportunity to be nominated to join their industry support programs.
IFF2023 Competition Theme
Social Innovation & Sustainability for Future
Social Innovation is hot topic today, it is a process to improve the welfare and wellbeing of our society. It is also an innovative way to take care of social needs and resolve our environmental challenge. We expect that it is a long term goal to foster social innovation and bring us a sustainable future. Social innovators are playing a crucial role to design new principles and tools of sustainable development and put them into practice. To achieve this mission, our Innovate for Future (IFF) and competition event will develop an innovative platform for young people to design innovative products or services that can improve our environment, our health and our society. Students will be inspired to create their ideas in an innovative way, raise out the concern of our society and learn to resolve our real life challenges through IFF competition with supported by academic partners, industry mentorship and other global programs.
IFF2023 Competition Event Highlight
- One-Day Competition Pitch cum Conference
- Pitch & Demonstration by Student Projects
- Half-day Conference & Technology Speakers Sharing
- Exhibit Past IFF Projects Showcases in Conference
- Local & Global Technology Partners Support and Sharing
- Global Competition Submission to SVIC/SJSU
- Internship Program and Continue Supports for Post-Event
Awards & Prizes
Total Cash Awards: HK$32,000
Awards with Cash and Certificate
(For Secondary & Tertiary Streams)
- Champion – HK$8,000
- 1st Runner up – HK$5,000
- 2nd Runner up – HK$3,000
- Certificate of Excellence (2 teams)
- Certificate of Merit (5 teams)
Certification of Participation for All Participants
- SJSU Global Program: Winners will be nominated to submit their projects to SVIC Showcase.
- Public Exposure in EXPO: Winners will be invited to our Exhibition Partners to present talks and showcases.
- Industry Support Program: Winners will be nominated to our Technology & Support Sponsors to extend their projects through their industry support and other training programs.
- Funding Program: Winners will be nominated to our HKETA partners to apply funding scheme to extend their project for commercialization.
Remark : The organizer reserves the rights to make final decisions for the nomination and invitation.
IFF2023 Winners Benefits
- Access HKETA’s Industry Community, Youth Membership, and Start-up & Mentorship Program
- Join SJSU Global Program & Entrepreneurship
- Present by Talk & Showcase at Exhibition, EXPO & Tech Conference
- Extend Project for Commercialization by Industry Support Program & Training
Opening Remarks
Time : 9:30-10:00am Guest of Honour for Opening Remarks
- Mr. Howard CHENG, COO, Cyberport
Pitching Session
Time : 10:00am-12:45pm Top 5 Teams Pitch to Judge Panel
Conference Talks
IFF2023 Conference also invites global speakers from the world class of technology and education to discuss the latest technological advancements and applications. The conference will feature four talks, each offering a unique perspective on technological fields. They cover industry 4.0/5.0, artificial intelligence/AI and its transformative power, the use of generative AI in developing industrial metaverse applications, and emerging technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, robotics, drones, and holograms for online learning technology in our future of next generation.
Time: 2:00-3:30pm
Talk 1: Enabling Digital Transformation in Small and Medium Enterprises – Overcoming Obstacles and Realizing Opportunities (in Virtual Base)
Speaker: Dr. Ben CHENG, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Manufacturing, Materials and Mechatronics, School of Engineering, STEM College, RMIT University, Australia
Description: This talk will unpack the core concepts of Industry 4.0 and 5.0, their implications for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and the challenges and opportunities they present. Using real-life examples from our experiences with local Australian businesses, we’ll shed light on the common obstacles encountered during digital transformation and discuss how to turn them into opportunities. We’ll further discuss the exciting potential of integrating artificial intelligence into these transformations, exploring how this can catalyse growth and efficiency in the ever-evolving landscape of SMEs.
Talk 2: Generative AI and its Application in Industrial Metaverse
Speaker: Dr. Charles CHEUNG, Ph.D., Senior Data Scientist and Deputy Director, NVIDIA AI Technology Center Hong Kong, NVIDIA
Description: ChatGPT attracts a lot of attention recently for text generation and its downstream task. Diffusion model can generate photorealistic images according to your given description. Generative AI also play a very important role in the development of industrial metaverse application. Technology such as Domain randomization can create different scene and scenario to develop robust AI applications. In this talk, we will talk about generative AI and how it can be applied to industrial metaverse.
Talk 3: AI for Video Analytics
Speaker: Mr. Hiroshi OCHIAI, Director Alliances, Portfolio and Customer Services, APAC, Axis Communications.
Description: AI for Video Analytics is a cutting-edge approach that leverages the power of machine learning and deep learning to transform video surveillance systems. By equipping video surveillance with advanced analytical capabilities, AI-driven video analytics promises to revolutionize the way monitor, process, and interpret vast amounts of video data in real-time. It helps our lives becomes smarter in several ways, traffic management, crowd monitoring, waste management, optimize traffic signals and etc.
Talk 4:The Role of Instructional Technology in a Library’s Technology of Things (in Virtual Base)
Speaker: Dr. Anthony S. CHOW, PhD., Director and Professor, School of Information, San José State University, USA
Description: Dr. Anthony Chow is a full professor and the director of San Jose State University’s School of Information. He holds a PhD in instructional design and a Master of Science in Educational Psychology from Florida State University and has served as the director of online learning for two universities. He recently founded the Library Technology Integration (LTI) Lab which teaches libraries, librarians, faculty, staff, and students emerging technologies including VR, MR, and AR as well as drones, robots, and holograms. Dr. Chow also has a federal grant working in preserving the language and culture of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Nation in virtual reality. Dr. Chow believes that equity of access to digital literacy is a fundamental goal and role for educators and libraries so that all children and people are aware of technologies they may not be able to afford or have access to. He is committed to the saying that “competence breeds confidence” in how and why the use of emerging technologies are important for our future.
Showcases Session
Past IFF Winners Showcases
| IFF2021/22 | Care-E-Bot by St. Stephen’s Girls’ College |
| IFF2021/22 | PresentAR by IVE (Shatin) |
| IFF2020 | Driver Drowsiness Detection System by Heung To Secondary School (Tseung Kwan O) |
| IFF2020 | An AI-based Progression Risk Assessment System for Knee Osteoarthritis by CLAIRE |
| Seondary Top 5 team | CommunicateNow by Elsa High School Care of you by Heung To Secondary School (Tseung Kwan O) Eat It All by St. Stephen’s Girls’ College Wearable Stress Tracker by Diocesan Girls’ School Miss Pauline 2.0 by St. Paul’s Convent School |
| Tertiary Top 5 Team | Brain Computer Interface Feedback System for Dementia Patients by Hong Kong Metropolitan University SOWER by IVE (Haking Wong) ZeroVio 零暴 by IVE (Sha Tin) EcoQuest – Turn Gaming into Green Action by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University SEAT: A General Framework for Seat Management in Public Space by Lingnan University |
Awards Ceremony
Time : 4:30-5:30pm Guest of Honour for Presenting Awards
- Mr. Francis WONG, Executive Director, Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia
Timeline for IFF2023
Deadline : 15/5/2023 12:00nn Closed
Deadline : 31/5/2023 12:00 nn Closed
- Announce result in mid-Jun by post/email for :
Top 5 to Pitch & Showcase - 5 of Certificate of Merit
- 14/7/2023 2:15-3:15pm IFF2021/22 Champions Talks in Business GOVirutal Tech Conference
- 15/7/2023 2:00-5:00pm Industry Visit and Training at Axis Lab
- 22/7/2023 Mentorship Meeting for Pitch Teams by Zoom
(CLICK the link for more event photos)
9:30am to 5:30pm at Cyberport Function Room 1-2
- 10:00am-12:45pm Pitching Session
- 2:00-3:30pm Conference talks
- 3:30-4:30pm Past + Present Showcases
- 4:30-5:30pm Awards Ceremony
- 02/11/2023 Registration for Project Submission
- 14/11/2023 Finalist Notification
- 28/11/2023 Finalist Showcase
Judges:
- Dr. Charles CHEUNG, Ph.D., Senior Data Scientist and Deputy Director, NVIDIA AI Technology Center Hong Kong, NVIDIA
- Mr. Walter CHEUNG, Project Manager, Smart Living, Cyberport
- Dr. Ning FAN, Founder, Health in Action
- Mr. Hiroshi OCHIAI, Director Alliances, Portfolio and Customer Services, APAC, Axis Communications
- Professor Eric Wing Kuen SEE-TO, Ph.D., AsDr. sociate Professor, Department of Computing & Decision Sciences, Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Mentors:
- Dr. Jeff AU, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer, Department of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, School of Science and Technology, The Hong Kong Metropolitan University
- Mr. Kelvin TO, Senior Project Officer, Smart City Innovation Centre and VTC STEM Education Centre, Vocational Training Council
Partners & Sponsors
Organizer
Premium Supporting Organization
Venue Sponsors
Exhibition Partners
Awards Sponsors
Technology & Support Sponsors
Supporting Organizations
