PolyU International Future Challenge - Huizhou Region

Cash Prize: Up to RMB 100,000, plus the opportunity to compete for an additional HK$500,000 at the Grand Final.

Matching Services: Provide industry resources, investment and financing matching, project guidance and other services according to project needs to help accelerate its development. 

Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: Participating teams can join PolyVentures and engage in various innovation exchange activities hosted by PolyU and its partners, connect with industry talents, and expand opportunities for cooperation. 

Access to Incubation Centre: Utilise the MTRI's resources to facilitate commercialisation. 

Apply HERE

Application Deadline: 31 July 2025

Important Notice:

Participants must agree to be bound by and accept the competition rules of the competition. 

• By applying for the competition, participants must represent and warrant that all information and materials submitted with the application are their original work and that they have all the rights, licenses, permissions, and consents necessary for the submission. The information and materials filled in and submitted must be true, legal, complete, and valid. In cases of plagiarism, misappropriation, or fraud, the participants shall bear all responsibilities and consequences.
• At any time, if the Organiser determines or finds that the participants or the project does not meet the entry requirements, it has the right not to approve, reject, or cancel their application.
• Participants must not make any statement, comment, or issue any materials that are political, violent, discriminatory, unlawful, infringing, hateful, sexually suggestive, defamatory, or adverse to the reputation of any sponsors/ partners and Organiser during the Competition or the related events.
• The Organiser may capture video and photos during the competition, as well as use the information of participants and basic information of participating projects within a reasonable scope for any purpose (e.g. reporting, display, publicity) related to the Competition.
• The Organiser reserves the right to interpret and change the Competition rules and other provisions and conditions. Participants shall not raise any objections to such interpretation and changes.

Please visit the Terms and Conditions of the competition for details.

The Huizhou Region focuses on the following industry domains and the application of AI in these

New Energy and Materials
Research Focus: Ultra-thin composite polymer electrolytes, flexible batteries, high-energy-density lithium metal batteries.
The development and commercialization of new energy materials hold vast potential. In ultra-thin composite polymer electrolytes, the center will optimize products and refine manufacturing processes to rapidly capture market share post-mass production while achieving industry-leading cost competitiveness, thereby supporting high-density battery industry growth. For flexible batteries, rising demand for wearables will accelerate commercialization, driving widespread adoption of wearable technologies. In lithium metal batteries, continuous performance breakthroughs through innovation will expand applications across sectors.

Green Chemistry and Sustainable Catalysis
Research Focus: Eco-efficient green catalysts for diversified conversion of petrochemical and biomass feedstocks.
The center is building an AI-powered high-throughput catalytic evaluation platform to revitalize R&D for Huizhou’s petrochemical sector through performance assessment, mechanism validation, and structure optimization. Future support will include advanced instrumentation, multi-scale characterization technologies, and data analytics to deepen material insights, accelerate product development, and foster global partnerships for international expansion.

Spatial Computing and Imaging
Research Focus: Fundamental color science; color management for imaging systems, metaverse technologies (displays, cameras, AR/VR/MR systems); LED lighting and sensor technologies.
Specializes in:

Enhancing light quality in LED systems for architectural, virtual, and automotive environments
Color calibration for next-gen displays and near-eye devices (VR/AR/MR)
Algorithm optimization for imaging systems
By addressing technical challenges for Huizhou’s LED, display, and automotive industries, we deploy tailored solutions into production while spinning off startups leveraging these innovations.

Green and Intelligent Manufacturing
Research Focus: Glass/ceramics manufacturing, novel human-machine interaction (HMI), and materials-energy-chemistry integration.
We pioneer innovations in micro-nano optics, green catalysis, glass-ceramics, haptic controls, and advanced materials to fuel industrial progress. Key applications include:
Production platforms for display-tech glass and functional ceramics
Precision manufacturing for HMI, energy, and petrochemical sectors
Future collaborations with Huizhou’s high-tech ecosystem will industrialize research outcomes, emphasizing sustainable manufacturing through material science advancements and mathematical modeling to elevate precision and reliability.

Artificial Intelligence
Research Focus: Domain-specific LLM pretraining, cross-domain model fusion paradigms, and Agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for generative AI.
Gathering top AI experts, the center democratizes decentralized LLM applications via a collaborative public service platform, enabling enterprises to:
Train proprietary domain models with reduced compute/technical barriers
Resolve deep integration challenges for enterprise data
Leveraging Huizhou’s industrial base, we deploy vertical AI solutions in smart manufacturing, logistics, retail, and healthcare to accelerate the city’s industrial digital transformation.

*Top 4 will be invited to the Grand Final

*The following conditions must be met to qualify for the cash prize :

1. Complete company registration procedures at the competition region

2. Reside in the entrepreneurship center of PolyU Mainland Translational Research Institutes.

The suggested contents outlined below are only for reference. 

1. Problem Identified

• Industry pain points
• Who are the target beneficiaries?

2.  Product/Services Description

• How can your solution solve your identified problem
• What is the innovativeness of your solution?
• What are the technologies adopted in the solution?

3. Benefits to Industry and Community

• Main value and benefits your solution provides to beneficiaries
• Explain the ease of adoption in the industry and community
• What are the advantages of your idea/solution over the existing products and solutions on the market?

4. Business Model

• Brief analysis of market size and growth potential
• Overview of how your business will operate (e.g., revenue streams)

5. Team Profile

• Team members and relevant qualifications/experience

6. Roadmap and Future Plan

• Product development plan
• Action plan for the industry adoption
• Growth strategy

• Declaration Form for Principal Applicant and Team Member(s)
• Declaration of Use of PolyU Knowledge/Innovations/Technologies
• Letter of Confirmation

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