PolyU researchers and start-ups garner four prestigious awards at HICOOL 2025 Global Entrepreneur Summit and Entrepreneurship Competition
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) showcased 12 innovative projects led by PolyU researchers or start-ups at the HICOOL 2025 Global Entrepreneur Summit and Entrepreneurship Competition (HICOOL 2025). Among them, four projects were awarded one Second Prize, two Third Prizes and a Winner Prize, underscoring the University’s outstanding research achievements and innovative capabilities. During the event, PolyU hosted a dedicated pitch session—the only pitch stage organised by a single university this year—engaging in in-depth exchanges with potential investors and industry leaders to foster collaboration and commercialisation of research outcomes.
HICOOL 2025 was held in Beijing from 16 to 18 October and attracted over 450 exhibitors from around the world. This year’s entrepreneurship competition drew more than 10,000 start-up projects and 13,000 entrepreneurs from 139 countries and regions. In addition to cash prizes, the winning teams also received entrepreneurship support.
Leading the PolyU team, Prof. Christopher CHAO, Senior Vice President (Research and Innovation), said, “The continued success and breakthroughs of PolyU research and start-ups affirm the vision of PolyVentures, the University’s start-up ecosystem. PolyVentures is committed to providing comprehensive support through all stages of entrepreneurship—from education and research ideation to incubation, project acceleration and fundraising—so as to continuously empower PolyU entrepreneurs, drive the sustainable development of start-ups and support their growth. By leading start-ups to participate in large-scale entrepreneurship events in Chinese Mainland, we aim to provide them with valuable opportunities to explore the domestic market, connect with investors and build partnerships, thereby facilitating the translation of research into real-world applications that can benefit society and contribute to the Nation.”
The four winning PolyU research projects at the HICOOL 2025 were:
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Project |
Award |
Introduction |
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Bluetooth Direct-to-Satellite Technology and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Bluetooth Satellite Constellation System
Principal Investigator: Mr CAI Lingfeng, Founder of Beijing BlueLink SatCom Technology Co., Ltd (a PolyU start-up) |
Second Prize |
BlueLink SatCom Technology’s independently developed Bluetooth satellite IoT technology provides minute-by-minute service during satellite passes, enabled by an end-to-end approach spanning integrated satellite-and-payload design, manufacturing, launch and constellation networking.
Its core innovation is that no hardware modification is required. A direct satellite link can be activated through a firmware upgrade to the Bluetooth chipset. This reduces terminal costs by more than 50 times and extends battery life by more than 10 times, fundamentally addressing the traditional limitations of satellite communications, namely high cost, high power consumption and dependence on highly specialised, proprietary hardware.
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A pioneering therapy for treating obesity via lowering arginine levels
Principal Investigator: Prof. Thomas LEUNG Yun-chung, Lo Ka Chung Charitable Foundation Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor of the PolyU Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Director of the University Research Facility in Life Sciences, and Co-founder of ABRAM Therapeutics Limited (a PolyU start-up)
Prof. Alisa SHUM Sau-wun, Associate Professor of the School of Biomedical Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Co-founder of ABRAM Therapeutics Limited
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Third Prize |
ABarginase, a first-in-class therapy for obesity treatment by reducing arginine levels, is a next-generation long-lasting formulation of recombinant human arginase developed with innovative drug design and advanced protein engineering. It is designed to deliver sustained therapeutic effects, enhance efficacy and reduce dosing frequency simultaneously.
Preclinical data have demonstrated that ABarginase exhibits exceptional potential in significantly reducing body weight, restoring healthy body composition, reversing insulin resistance and alleviating inflammation. These properties can effectively target the root causes of obesity-related chronic diseases, providing a groundbreaking therapeutic approach for metabolic diseases. |
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Evolutionary AI+ High Performance Computational Fluid Dynamics Solution
Principal Investigator: Mr WANG Zhe, CEO of Mainflow Technology (a PolyU start-up) |
Third Prize |
This project focuses on High-Performance Computing and AI-driven acceleration for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), utilising cutting-edge technology to revolutionise industrial design efficiency and propel Industry 5.0.
The core product, the aLBM Virtual Wind Tunnel, is a next-generation, full-stack CFD solution that seamlessly integrates heterogeneous parallel computing, AI-accelerated algorithms and digital twin technology. Through extreme software and AI optimisation, aLBM delivers an unprecedented 10,000-fold leap in comprehensive R&D efficiency, setting a new standard for high-end smart manufacturing.
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Innovation and Application of Microwave-responsive Carbon-coated Functional Aggregate (MrCFA) in Smart Cities
Principal Investigator: Prof. LENG Zhen, Professor of the PolyU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Associate Director of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality
Mr ZHANG Shaowei, PhD student of the PolyU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
Winner Prize |
MrCFA replaces natural aggregates for asphalt pavement construction, effectively addressing the uneven dispersion issue in traditional carbon material modification processes. Beyond this, MrCFA has excellent electrical, microwave heating, thermal and mechanical properties. Its nanocarbon-coated technology not only enhances the pavement’s mechanical performance but also enables highly efficient conversion of electrical/microwave energy, achieving a breakthrough improvement in the microwave/conductive heating deicing and self-healing performance of asphalt pavements. Furthermore, MrCFA can function as a piezoresistive sensor to realise intelligent perception, applicable to traffic detection. It also assists in improving the identification accuracy of hidden defects (e.g., cracks) for determining the optimal timing for self-healing when combined with 3D ground-penetrating radar and AI.
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In addition to leading the PolyU team at HICOOL 2025, Prof. Christopher Chao served as the keynote speaker at the themed forum held alongside the event, titled “Global Technology Trends and Innovation Vision,” where he shared his insights on innovation and technology collaboration with Chinese Mainland. Speaking on the theme “Innovation Without Borders: A New Paradigm of Cross-regional Collaboration”, he explored the trends of high-quality economic development and the roles played by Hong Kong and, in particular, PolyU. He also introduced the strategic positioning of PolyU’s Mainland Translational Research Institutes and shared some of the University’s achievements and practices in research, knowledge transfer, start-up incubation and cross-regional collaboration, highlighting PolyU’s strength in innovation and technology that is rooted in Hong Kong, connected to the Nation and with a global outlook.
PolyU also staged its first-ever dedicated project pitch session at HICOOL 2025, allowing its scholars and start-ups to present the potential of their projects. The projects covered a wide range of areas, including healthcare, artificial intelligence, food science and supply chain management. Many investors and industry representatives expressed their interest in gaining a deeper understanding of the work of the PolyU teams and exploring collaboration opportunities to jointly promote the commercialisation of research outcomes.
With strong support from the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, HICOOL 2025 was dedicated to connecting top international investment institutions, industry-leading enterprises, media organisations and renowned universities, with the aim of building and continuously improving a full-chain entrepreneurship ecosystem. It seeks to encourage and inspire entrepreneurs to develop the vision and the determination to change the world, while creating a first-class platform for innovation and entrepreneurship.
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