2025 HKU International Techno-Entrepreneurship Challenge

2025 HKU International Techno-Entrepreneurship Challenge is jointly organised by HKU Institute for China Business (ICB) and HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Core (TEC), with robust support from various partners across the government, academia, and industry sectors.

The purpose of the competition is to promote technological innovation and industrial development, strengthen international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation. It does not only focus on the display and exchange of technological innovation, but also focuses on stimulating the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. The competition will invite leading technology experts, renowned investors and investment institutions, and industry leaders from around the world to form a judging panel. They will conduct rigorous evaluation and provide guidance for the participating teams, offering rich resources and support to the outstanding projects.

The 2025 HKU International Techno-Entrepreneurship Challenge will be divided into a Start-up Division and a Growth Division, with 5 competition zones including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong (including Overseas). The competition schedule is divided into four parts: Registration and Preliminary Selection, Empowerment, Preliminary Competition, and Grand Finale. Teams advancing from each competition zone will gather at the University of Hong Kong for an on-site showdown to vie for honors.

• International Perspective: The 2025 HKU International Techno-Entrepreneurship Challenge will not only have strong support from domestic and overseas institutions, but also attract outstanding science and technology innovation projects from all over the world, providing an international platform for participants to showcase and exchange.

• Strong Panel of Judges: The judges are all renowned experts from academia, industry, and investment sectors. They have rich experience and profound professional knowledge and can provide valuable feedback and suggestions for participating projects.

• Abundant Reward Resources: The winners will be awarded with relevant honorary certificates from the University of Hong Kong, but will also receive generous reward resources, including entrepreneurial support and media coverage.

• In-depth Industry Connection: This competition is not only a challenge, but also a platform for industry connection. Through the competition, participants can establish connections with upstream and downstream enterprises, investment institutions, government departments, etc. in the industry chain, and promote the industrialisation and commercialisation of projects.

• Extensive Media Exposure: This competition will provide extensive media exposure opportunities for participating teams, enhance the visibility and influence of participating projects, and bring more attention and support to participants.

Application starts from the announcement and ends at 16:00 on 28 June 2025 (HK Time/GMT+8).

The competition is divided into the Start-up Division and the Growth Division. The Start-up Division aims to cultivate the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of startup teams, while the Growth Division focuses on discovering future unicorn companies. This year’s competition covers various industry domains, focusing on the frontier and key sectors of innovation and technology, including AI & Digital Technologies, New Materials & Manufacturing, Biotech & Medical Healthcare, New Energy & Green Tenhnologies, and Financial Technologies. The judges will evaluate the projects based on their performance in various aspects, such as technical innovation, market analysis and marketing plan, sustainability, and intellectual property. For the Start-up Division, they will also focus on the creativity of the products and services. For the Growth Division, the technical description of the projects, business model, organisational management and team capabilities, as well as financing strategy, financial planning, and risk assessment, these factors will also be considered.

Start-up Division

1. The company or institution to which the participating project belongs must be registered and established on or after 14 February 2023. The projects must have received no more than one round of equity investment from institutions or individuals (including seed or angel investments).
2. There must be at least two core team members.
3. Applicants must be students, staff, or alumni of the University of Hong Kong, or be nominated by any of the aforementioned individuals.
4. Projects must comply with current laws, focus on business model innovation or technological innovation, and possess uncontested proprietary intellectual property rights or key technologies related to the product or technology. They should also exhibit innovation, uniqueness, and potential for commercial development.
5. Projects that have previously participated in the University of Hong Kong’s innovation and entrepreneurship competition are prohibited from re-entering this year’s contest. Should there be any violation, the Organiser will revoke their eligibility to compete.
6. Projects that have placed in the top three in any region’s innovation and entrepreneurship competitions on or before 14 February 2025, are not eligible to participate.

Growth Division

1. The company or institution to which the participating project belongs must be registered and established before 14 February 2023, and the projects have completed at least one angel investment round or higher, with cumulative funding not exceeding RMB 50 million.
2. The participating companies must have at least 10 employees.
3. Applicants must be students, staff, or alumni of the University of Hong Kong, or be nominated by any of the aforementioned individuals.
4. Projects must comply with current laws, focus on business model innovation and technological innovation, and possess uncontested proprietary intellectual property rights or key technologies related to the product or technology. They should also exhibit innovation, uniqueness, and potential for commercial development.
5. Projects that have previously participated in the University of Hong Kong’s innovation and entrepreneurship competition are prohibited from re-entering this year’s contest. Should there be any violation, the Organiser will revoke their eligibility to compete.
6. Projects that have placed in the top three in any region’s innovation and entrepreneurship competitions on or before 14 February 2025, are not eligible to participate.

Chinese or English

1. Application & Preliminary Selection

(1) Time: Application starts from the announcement and ends at 16:00 on 28 June 2025 (HK Time/GMT+8)
(2) How to Apply: Scan code above to apply or click here
(3) Review of Qualification and Information: After the registration deadline, the competition judges will conduct eligibility review and confirmation for the applied projects.
(4) Preliminary Selection: The Organising Committee of each region will organise the evaluation of the projects and determine the list of projects that will advance to the Prelimary Competition based on the evaluation results.
(5) Application materials:
[Start-up Division]: Application form; Copy of the project leader’s ID card/passport, Copy of the highest academic degree certificates; Roadshow presentation PPT; Other relevant materials (if necessary)
[Growth Division]: Application form; Copy of the project leader’s ID card/passport, Copy of the highest degree certificates; business plan, Roadshow presentation PPT; Other relevant materials (if necessary)

2. Empowerment

Techno-Entrepreneurship Theme Workshop + Celebrity Sharing: Invite successful entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts to share their experiences. These sessions will address issues encountered during the development of technology-driven enterprises, covering topics such as technology, industry trends, business models, market strategies, and presentation skills. For more details, please follow updates on the official website and official WeChat account
Knowledge Transfer Forum: Leverage the rich academic resources of the University of Hong Kong to accelerate the intensity and pace of knowledge transfer, promoting the transformation and application of innovative knowledge into products and services, infusing energy into enterprises and the innovation economy
Exclusive Pre-competition Coaching: Help participants in identifying project issues and provide optimization suggestions to help improve the quality and competitiveness of their projects
Entrepreneurial Pioneer Talk: Entrepreneurship experts share their experiences and insights, accompanying the participants throughout the competition

3. Preliminary Competition

Time: July – August 2025
Venues: Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong (including Overseas)
Rules: Offline participation is mandatory, requiring on-site roadshows and oral defenses for participating projects. The Organising Committee will determine the finalists based on the number of applications submitted and the performance in regional competitions

4. Grand Finale

Time: 17 January 2026
Location: The University of Hong Kong
Rules: Offline participation – main participant in the project development are required to conduct the on-site roadshow and oral defense. The Organising Committee will invite industry experts, renowned entrepreneurs, venture capital institutions and other professionals to participate in the evaluation and determines the list of award-winning projects based on the final scores of the projects. The winning projects will be awarded the Champion, First runner-up and Second runner-up prizes, and the Intellectual Property Award and ESG Excellence Award respectively. An award ceremony will be held after the Grand Finale

Partners:

• Intellectual Property Department, The HKSAR Government
• InvestHK, The HKSAR Government
• China Unicom Global Limited
• Qiming Venture Partners
• Asia Innovation and Intellectual Property Society
• Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
• Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited
• HKU Technology Transfer Office
• HKU iDendron
• HKU Super Angel Network
• HKU Entrepreneurship Engine Fund – Partners:
  Defta Partners, Casstar, Gobi Partners, Innoangel Fund, Beyond Ventures, Everbright Limited, Zhen Fund, Bioworld Ventures, Verge Health