On December 4, 2025, the HKU Collaborative Innovation Center (HKUCIC), in collaboration with the Jingjinji National Center of Technology Innovation, organized a briefing session that drew a record attendance of over 100 participants. The event focused on the Disruptive Technology Innovation Key Project (國家重點研發計劃---颠覆性技術創新重點專項), a major national research and development initiative aimed at accelerating the cultivation of disruptive technological innovations and securing a strategic high ground in science and technology. The program supports projects across early, mid-term, and near-term stages, emphasizing applied research over purely theoretical studies. Attendees gained insights into the program’s objectives, funding mechanisms, and application strategies. Additionally, the session also introduced the 2026-2027 HKU-BICI Joint PhD Program admission, highlighting the new initiative for this unique, entrepreneurship-focused doctoral program.   The event commenced with a warm welcome from Professor Alice Wong, Associate Vice President (Research) and Co-Director of HKUCIC. She highlighted the center’s achievements since its establishment and expressed enthusiasm for the new opportunities presented by the Disruptive Technology Innovation Key Project.   Following her remarks, the session featured a keynote presentation by distinguished guest Professor Junbiao Peng, Deputy Director of the Jingjinji National Center of Technology Innovation and Executive Deputy Director of the Guangzhou Center for Disruptive Technology Innovation. Professor Peng provided an in-depth overview of the objectives, scope, and strategic importance of the Disruptive Technology Innovation Key Project, offering attendees a comprehensive understanding of the initiative and the selection criteria.   A highlight of the session was the sharing of practical experience by Professor Nicholas Fang from HKU’s Faculty of Engineering. As the principal investigator of HKU’s first project funded under this scheme, Professor Fang offered valuable insights into the application process and key success factors.   The event also included an introduction to the HKU-BICI joint PhD program, outlining its unique structure and the detailing the new admission policy and procedure for the upcoming academic year.   The session concluded with closing remarks from Professor Xuechen Li, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science and a member of HKU CIC Cooperation Committee. Professor Li expressed optimism about future collaborations and reaffirmed the university’s commitment to advancing national innovation strategies.   Throughout the event, participants had ample opportunities to engage directly with representatives from the Jingjinji National Center of Technology Innovation through Q&A sessions and informal discussions over lunch. The event fostered meaning dialogue, allowing participants to clarify their understanding and exchange project ideas. We look forward to HKU teams achieving success in securing funding for the Disruptive Technology Innovation Key Project in the coming year.

  HKU Faculty of Dentistry, in collaboration with CUHK (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Stomatology Hospital (Pingshan) of Southern Medical University, Peking University National Biomedical Imaging Center, and Shenzhen Freedom AI Technology Co., Ltd., has jointly developed and launched the world’s first multimodal large language model purpose-built for dental-image recognition: DentalGPT. Trained on an extensive, professionally curated dataset of dental images and refined with reinforcement-learning strategies, the model achieves a marked boost in discerning fine-grained radiographic details and in conducting complex clinical reasoning. DentalGPT accurately analyzes intra-oral photographs, panoramic x-rays, and other routine dental images, identifies a wide spectrum of common oral diseases, and delivers explanatory, image-based answers. Evaluations show that DentalGPT attains an average score of 67.1 on multiple disease-classification datasets annotated by licensed dentists — outperforming GPT-5’s 59 points — and surpasses existing commercial multimodal large models overall, demonstrating exceptional promise as a clinical aid. The breakthrough is expected to power a closed-loop “hospital – home – community” health-management ecosystem, bringing AI-driven care to Greater Bay Area residents, gradually generating a regional map of oral-health epidemiology, and informing public-health policy. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration and smart empowerment, it will guide dental AI from merely “usable” to genuinely “helpful and routinely used.”Junjie Zhao, a Year 2 PhD student of the HKU-BICI Entrepreneurship Joint Educational Placement Programme under the co-supervision of Professor Junwen Wang from the Faculty of Dentistry and Professor Liangyi Chen from Peking University, is a co-first author of a paper on this study, titled DentalGPT: Incentivizing Multimodal Complex Reasoning in Dentistry (https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.11558).

  From August 18 to 21, 2025, the Jingjinji National Center of Technology Innovation, the GBA Institute of Collaborative Innovation (GICI), and Huangpu Innovation College jointly organized an orientation camp for the 2025 cohort of the Doctoral Programme in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Huangpu Innovation College in Guangzhou. Five students from the HKU-BICI Entrepreneurship Joint Educational Placement Programme for PhD students participated alongside peers from other prestigious universities, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beihang University, South China University of Technology and Sun Yat-sen University. Together, they engaged in a diverse range of programmes and exchange activities.Over the course of this three-day event, participants visited exhibition centers at Huangpu Innovation College and toured leading high-tech enterprises specializing in semiconductor technology, such as Zenithnano and Lumida. They also explored startups focused on healthcare equipment and biomedical engineering, including ChromX Health, AciMicro, and Sigpharm (SIG), gaining insights into their cutting-edge technologies, operational models, and entrepreneurial journeys.The HKU-BICI Entrepreneurship Joint Educational Placement Programme for PhD, operated jointly by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI), is open for applications. Click here to learn more about the programme details.

On May 9, 2025, the HKU Collaborative Innovation Center and Jingjinji National Center of Technology Innovation (京津冀国家技术创新中心) successfully co-organized a pivotal event at the University of Hong Kong’s Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, focusing on the 2025 National Key R&D Program – Disruptive Technology Innovation Key Project in biomedical engineering. The seminar attracted over 60 participants, including researchers, academic leaders, and industry professionals, who gathered to gain insights into the program’s objectives, funding mechanisms, and application strategies.   The event commenced with a comprehensive presentation led by Professor Liu Xianguo, Director of the Biomedical Engineering Institute at the Guangzhou Disruptive Technology Innovation Center. Professor Liu, alongside a panel of experts, detailed the program’s emphasis on fostering groundbreaking innovations that align with national technological priorities. They highlighted the exclusion of purely theoretical studies, stressing the need for projects with tangible real-world impact, particularly in areas such as advanced medical devices, AI-driven diagnostics, and regenerative medicine. The session also clarified the three-tiered funding structure: early-stage “Yuzhong(育种)” projects (1–2 million RMB per phase), mid-term “Yumiao（育苗）” projects, and recent “Yucai（育材）” projects (5–10 million RMB per phase), all eligible for rolling support. Eligibility was confirmed for universities, research teams, and companies across Mainland China and Hong Kong, encouraging cross-regional collaboration.   Following the presentation, attendees engaged in a lively 30-minute Q&A and networking session, during which participants clarified application requirements and exchanged ideas over lunch. The seminar’s interactive format was further enhanced by eight pre-scheduled one-on-one consultations in the afternoon, allowing project teams to receive personalized feedback from experts. These discussions delved into proposal refinement, commercialization pathways, and strategies for scaling innovations, underscoring the program’s focus on practical, scalable solutions.   For event recordings or inquiries about project applications, please contact: Victoria Tian at victoria.tian@hku.hk. Official program guidelines: https://service.most.gov.cn/kjjh_tztg_all/20250214/5632.html.      

  The 2024 National Disruptive Technology Innovation Work Conference cum Huangpu Innovation College Inauguration Ceremony was successfully held on September 26, 2024 in Huangpu District, Guangzhou.  The event was hosted by Jingjinji National Center of Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou Disruptive Innovation Projects Agency and Huangpu Innovation College, co-organised by Shanghai Disruptive Technology Innovation Center and Wuhan Disruptive Technology Innovation Center, and supported by China Construction Science and Industry Corporation Ltd.  Over 300 participants attended the event to witness the inauguration ceremony of Huangpu Innovation College, and the award presentation ceremony of the National Disruptive Technology Innovation Competition.   Disruptive technology innovation project representative Dr Lin Feng, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Micro-Nano Robot, Dr Junqi Wang, Founder and CEO of ChromX Health, as well as Ms. Pei Xu, a PhD student of the HKU-BICI Entrepreneurship Joint Educational Placement Programme, spoke at the ceremony and shared their experiences in research development, entrepreneurship and study journey.   “Huangpu Innovation College is different from other institutions. Not only does it transfer knowledge, but it also cultivates innovative and entrepreneurial skills to nurture all-round innovative talents. To me this is a valuable opportunity,” says Xu.  Looking ahead, Xu will make use of the valuable platform, resources and opportunities provided by the Center to continue to explore, study and participate in disruptive technological innovation, and contribute to the promotion of scientific and technological advancement.   For more details about the ceremony, please visit the GBA Institute of Collaborative Innovation’s website: https://www.gba-ci.cn/home/article/detail.html?id=1292 (Chinese version only).Application for the 2025/26 HKU-BICI Entrepreneurship Joint Educational Placement Programme for PhD is now open.  Click here to learn more.

  The HKU-BICI Entrepreneurship Joint Educational Placement Programme for PhD jointly operated by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI) is now open for application.  If you are interested in participating in practical entrepreneurship training and developing your research commercialisation skills, this is your chance to enter an excellent network of top scientists in different disciplines contributing to solving real-world problems and making positive impact to the world. Admitted students will receive scholarships for up to four years fully funded by BICI.   Apply now to unlock your potential in real-world experience!   Key Research Areas Optoelectronics Materials Environment Engineering Biomedical Engineering Intelligent Manufacturing   Programme FeaturesStudents under this Programme will be registered as a full-time 4-year PhD student in HKU, and be mentored by supervisors of both HKU and BICI. Admitted students will commence study on September 1, 2025, and will spend two years at HKU and two years at BICI’s research centres in Beijing or Guangzhou and be engaged in practical project-based training together with peers across universities and disciplines. Upon successful completion of the programme and fulfilment of the graduation requirements of both HKU and BICI, students will be conferred a single PhD degree by HKU.   Financial SupportStudents admitted to this joint programme will receive scholarships for up to four years provided by BICI. During the student’s study period in HKU in Hong Kong, students will receive scholarships in accordance with the standard HKU Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS) rate. During the residency at BICI or BICI’s designated project locations, the scholarships will be granted by BICI in accordance with its regulation and policies (up to RMB 20,000 per month).   ApplicationInterested applicants should contact the proposed supervisor at HKU and obtain his/her consent in advance before submitting an online application.  In addition to the usual supporting documents required, applicants should also submit (i) an additional Application Form in simplified Chinese, (ii) a Study Plan in consultation with their intended supervisors and (iii) a Chinese CV.  Online application deadline for the 2025-26 admission:Round 1: December 1, 2024Round 2: February 28, 2025Competition is keen, please submit your application as early as possible. Application in Round 2 will only be considered if there are vacancies left in Round 1.   EnquiryHKU Collaborative Innovation Center (Ms. Celia Ying: cyying@hku.hk)Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI) (Ms. Claire He: icollege@jingjinji.cn)   Click here to learn more.