PolyU wins 18 awards at Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions — Grand Award retained for second consecutive year and startups claim seven
11 Dec 2025
Developed by Prof. Roderick Slavcev (3rd from right), Associate Professor of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo and Principal Investigator of CEVR and Prof. Huang Chien-ling (2nd from right), Associate Professor of the Department of Health and Informatics at PolyU and Principal Investigator of CEVR, the project “Viromids: A Redosable, Low-Cost Gene-Delivery Platform for Ocular Therapy” snatched the Grand Award and a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury.
Led by Prof. Simon Lee Ming-yuen, Chair Professor of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, and Founder of PolyU startup AIM Pharmaceutical International Limited, and Dr Zhao Chen (centre), a postdoc fellow of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition and Chief Technology Officer of AIM Pharmaceutical International Limited, the project “PD-001R – A New Breakthrough for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases” won the First Prize of Inventions Geneva Award and a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury.
PolyU seized a total of 18 accolades at AEII 2025.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) achieved remarkable results at the 5th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong (AEII), taking home 18 accolades from 16 participating projects and retaining the event’s Grand Award for the second consecutive year. PolyU’s haul comprised one Grand Award, one Special Award, two Gold Medals with Congratulations of Jury, five Gold Medals, eight Silver Medals and one Bronze Medal. Among them, two winning projects were developed by the InnoHK Centre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR), a partnership between PolyU and the University of Waterloo. These outstanding achievements underscore PolyU’s commitment to leveraging research innovation to address pressing societal challenges, contributing to Hong Kong, the Nation and the world.
Prof. Christopher CHAO, PolyU Senior Vice President (Research and Innovation), remarked, “We are greatly motivated by the exceptional accomplishments of PolyU researchers and startups at this prominent event, which marks another pivotal milestone for the University. PolyU takes pride in tackling global issues with innovations and cutting-edge technologies. By harnessing our research excellence and knowledge transfer capabilities, we will continue to proactively translate innovative ideas into real-world applications, creating significant societal impact and driving constructive changes in the world.”
Developed by Prof. Roderick SLAVCEV, Associate Professor of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo and Principal Investigator of CEVR and Prof. HUANG Chien-ling, Associate Professor of the Department of Health and Informatics at PolyU and Principal Investigator of CEVR, the project “Viromids: A Redosable, Low-Cost Gene-Delivery Platform for Ocular Therapy” garnered the Grand Award and a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury. Viromids is a virome-inspired, redosable gene-delivery platform that offers immune silence, large payload capacity (8–15 kb), and bacterial-scale manufacturability. By enabling single-vector delivery of large genes and repeatable dosing while significantly reducing production costs, Viromids offer a practical, globally accessible solution to preserve and restore sight for patients with inherited retinal diseases. Its scalable production model also positions Viromids as a foundational technology for next-generation affordable gene therapy worldwide.
Securing the First Prize of Inventions Geneva Award and a Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury was another project titled “PD-001R – A New Breakthrough for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases”, led by Prof. Simon LEE Ming-yuen, Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Innovation, Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, and Founder of PolyU startup AIM Pharmaceutical International Limited, in collaboration with Dr ZHAO Chen, Postdoc Fellow at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition and Chief Technology Officer of PolyU startup AIM Pharmaceutical International Limited. PD-001R is a first-in-class, novel small-molecule drug candidate for Parkinson’s disease (PD), derived from Alpinia oxyphylla Fructus and synthesised as a new molecular entity. Its primary mechanism of action is the promotion of pathological α-synuclein aggregate degradation. Preclinical studies show that PD-001R efficiently crosses the blood–brain barrier and exerts neuroprotective effects in animal models of PD and Alzheimer’s disease. It also exhibits favourable oral bioavailability and safety.
The exceptional performance of the PolyU teams at this year’s AEII embodies the essence of PolyImpact—PolyU inventions and innovations that benefit the world. Among the award-winning innovations, seven were developed by PolyU startups, a testament to the strength of the University’s signature startup ecosystem, PolyVentures, which provides comprehensive support to PolyU startups throughout their developmental phases. It has nurtured over 600 startups to date, including three unicorns and two listed companies.
AEII is a prestigious annual exhibition cum competition devoted to innovations and inventions in Asia, organised by The Hong Kong Exporters’ Association in partnership with Palexpo, the organiser of the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva. This year the event attracted about 140 projects from around Asia. Project details:
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/kteo/docdrive/Press/20251211_AEII_Appendix_Eng.pdf
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Projects |
Principal Investigators |
Awards |
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Viromids: A Redosable, Low-Cost Gene-Delivery Platform for Ocular Therapy |
Prof. Roderick SLAVCEV Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo; Principal Investigator, InnoHK Centre for Eye and Vision Research
Prof. HUANG Chien-ling Associate Professor, Department of Health and Informatics, PolyU; Principal Investigator, InnoHK Centre for Eye and Vision Research |
Grand Award
Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury |
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PD-001R: A New Breakthrough for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases
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Prof. Simon LEE Ming-yuen Cally Kwong Mei Wan Professor in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Innovation; Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, PolyU; Founder, AIM Pharmaceutical International Limited (a PolyU startup)
Dr ZHAO Chen Postdoc Fellow, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, PolyU; Chief Technology Officer, AIM Pharmaceutical International Limited (a PolyU startup) |
1st Prize of Inventions Geneva Award
Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury |
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Intelligent Construction Site Layout Design Platform
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Dr WANG Dong Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Building and Real Estate, PolyU; Founder, ICC (Hong Kong) Limited (a PolyU startup) |
Gold Medal
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PolyPi: Edge-AI Empowered Autonomous Robot for Pipeline Inspection and Maintenance |
Prof. CAO Jiannong Vice President (Education); Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Data Science; Chair Professor of Distributed and Mobile Computing, PolyU; Founder and Chief Scientist, UbiquiTech Innovations Limited (a PolyU startup)
Dr LIANG Zhixuan Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Computing, PolyU; Founder and CEO, UbiquiTech Innovations Limited (a PolyU startup) |
Gold Medal |
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WING: Wireless Infrastructure for Next-Generation EV Charging
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Prof. CHAU Kwok-tong Chair Professor of Electrical Energy Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, PolyU
Prof. Lucian LIU Wei Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, PolyU |
Gold Medal |
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Intelligent Driving Training and Evaluation System for Heavy-duty Trucks
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Prof. FU Xiaowen Professor, Head of Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, PolyU
Dr TANG Yuk-ming Senior Lecturer, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, PolyU |
Gold Medal |
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BodyMate: A Smart Textile-Based Health Monitoring Vest for Continuous Elderly Vital Sign Detection
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Ms Sisi TANG PhD student, School of Fashion and Textiles, PolyU; Founder, Leopitorca Global Limited (a PolyU startup) |
Gold Medal |
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ProMuki - Wearable Ultrasound Monitoring and Analysing of Muscle Activities for Fitness, Sports, and Rehabilitation
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Prof. ZHENG Yongping Henry G. Leong Professor in Biomedical Engineering; Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, PolyU |
Silver Medal |
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ORal-motor Assessment and Rehabilitation mobile App (ORAR App)
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Dr WONG Wing-sze Research Assistant Professor, Department of Language Science and Technology, PolyU; Clinical Consultant and Co-inventor, Feelings Group Ltd (a PolyU startup)
Ms YIP Chi-hay Founder, Feelings Group Ltd (a PolyU startup) |
Silver Medal |
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MetaBridge: A 3D Gaussian Splatting and Blockchain Platform for Cultural Heritage Digital Assetisation and Immersive Experience
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Prof. Peter NG Hiu-fung Assistant Professor, Department of Computing and Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, PolyU |
Silver Medal |
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A Proactive Early Warning System for Structural Health Monitoring of Wind Turbine Blades and Towers Based on Finite Element Simulation, Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing and Reinforcement Learning
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Prof. YU Changyuan Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, PolyU
Ms MA Zhiqin PhD student, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, PolyU |
Silver Medal |
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Dr. Fresh: Natural and Eco-friendly External Preservation Technology
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Mr HE Shuidong Doctoral student, Food Science and Management Department of Food Science and Nutrition, PolyU; Co-founder, Dr. Fresh Biotech Limited (a PolyU startup) |
Silver Medal |
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PipeInspect: Cutting-Edge Inspection on Water Distribution Network with Fiber-optic Positioning |
Prof. DING Xiaoli Chair Professor of Geomatics, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, PolyU |
Silver Medal |
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Automated Freeform Eyeglass for Instant Refractive Control |
Dr Elie Aymard Jonathan de LESTRANGE-ANGINIEUR Research Fellow, School of Optometry, PolyU
Prof. George WOO Senior Advisor, School of Optometry, PolyU |
Silver Medal |
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Biomimetics Nanoplatform for the Treatment of Retinal Diseases |
Prof. DO Chi-wai Associate Professor, School of Optometry, PolyU; Principal Investigator, InnoHK Centre for Eye and Vision Research
Prof. Emmanuel HO Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo Principal Investigator, InnoHK Centre for Eye and Vision Research |
Silver Medal |
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Non-invasive, Ultrasensitive and Portable Saliva Glucose Sensors |
Prof. YAN Feng Chair Professor of Organic Electronics, Department of Applied Physics, PolyU; Co-founder, Intellisense & Cognisense Technology Limited (a PolyU startup)
Dr ZHAO Zeyu Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Applied Physics, PolyU; Co-founder, Intellisense & Cognisense Technology Limited (a PolyU startup) |
Bronze Medal |
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