Bright Minds Converge at Science Park to Discuss the Future City Models at APAC Innovation Summit 2015 Series: Smart Cities

HONG KONG, Sept. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation ("HKSTP") today concluded the Smart Cities conference of its APAC Innovation Summit 2015 Series. Comprising an audience of academics, industry players, government officials and investors from 13 economies around the world, the two-day flagship event registered an attendance of over 800 persons and served as an excellent platform for those involved in smart cities development across sectors to exchange knowledge, and present innovative ideas on applications ranging from smart transportation to green buildings and energy management.

With Hong Kong's well-developed IT infrastructure, smart city was identified in the 2015 Budget Speech as one of the key development pillars in innovation and technology. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government intends to use Kowloon East as a pilot area to explore the feasibility of developing a smart city. As Hong Kong's most active agent for driving and facilitating innovation development and technology applications, HKSTP also views Smart City as one of the three over-arching cross-disciplinary platforms for focused development; the other two are Healthy Ageing and Robotics. In organising the Smart Cities conference, HKSTP connects some of the world's most influential innovators in this space to create an opportunity for stakeholders in its extensive innovation and technology ecosystem to collaborate and accelerate Hong Kong's transformation into a smart city.

"We have an excellent collection of like-minded individuals here today to explore the important subject of smart cities, not only for Hong Kong but for all cities around the world," said Mr Allen Ma, CEO of HKSTP. "AIS 2015 Series addresses some of today's most significant global technology megatrends that are critical to improving the competitiveness of Hong Kong as a regional hub for innovation and growth. It requires a collaborative approach to explore the idea of smart city, and HKSTP is pleased to take the lead in bringing together professionals to share ideas and discuss how we can realise these ideas in Hong Kong or elsewhere."

"Hong Kong has long been recognised worldwide for its state-of-the-art information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and wireless connectivity -- core elements that fuel a smart city," he continued. "There is no better time than now for Hong Kong to harness its competitive advantage to enhance its urban systems, operations and service delivery to enable a higher quality of life and a more sustainable environment for the future."

For the first day of the conference, speakers focused on the overall vision, challenges, solutions and future trends of smart cities development.

"We once estimated that there would be about 100 smart cities by 2025, but now I realise that this number is far too conservative -- there could easily be five times more smart cities by then," said Mr Brian Cotton, Information & Communication Technologies Growth Consulting VP, Frost & Sullivan, who provided an introduction to the concept of smart city and acted as panel moderator. "That is because a critical mass of cities is starting to realise what smart city means to them, and what a smart city can do for them."

Ms Winnie Ho, Deputy Head of Energizing Kowloon East Office of the HKSAR Government, gave a preview of Smart City initiatives in Kowloon East, which sparked lively discussions of Hong Kong's readiness for developing as a smart city. Representatives from Torino City Council, Politecnico de Torino and Government of Catalonia -- key driving forces behind the transformation of Torino, Italy and Barcelona, Spain into world-class smart cities -- inspired the audience through sharing their cities' development roadmap and showcased some of their work-in-progress.

Local public sector and private enterprises have been seizing opportunities arising from Hong Kong's most recent developments, and various technological applications of smart cities were spotlighted at the conference, including electricity and transportation, two core elements of a smart city study. Mr Paul Poon, Managing Director of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited highlighted the immense benefits of the smart grid's myriad of applications, while Mr Alok Jain, Head of Planning & Development Department of The Kowloon Motor Bus (1933) Company provided a glimpse of the company's advances on integrating smart mobility into the public transport experience so as to provide better information to the commuters and reduce the environmental impact of busses on the road.

The programme on the second day, which consisted of a total of 34 speeches as well as pitching sessions, was dedicated to the different applications of smart cities technology, covering the topics of Smart Transportation, Smart and Green Buildings, Energy Management and Low Impact Development. A number of companies based at Science Park were offered the opportunity to connect with potential business partners and showcase their technology via exhibitions: Scania (Hong Kong) Ltd. presented smart technology solutions that enable heavy duty vehicles to improve vehicle safety and reduce environmental impact, and Waste & Environmental Technologies Ltd. showcased their award-winning Water and Wastewater Treatment System, amongst other companies. As part of its commitment and comprehensive value added services to nurturing and supporting technology start-ups, HKSTP will support partner companies in capturing potential business opportunities that arose from the conference.

Upcoming in the 2015 AIS Series: Advanced Materials

HKSTP is committed to fostering innovation in Hong Kong and in the region. The two-day Smart Cities conference was the third part in the APAC Innovation Summit 2015 Series, HKSTP's annual flagship event. The next in series, APAC Innovation Summit 2015 Series -- Advanced Materials, is scheduled for November.

For more the latest information, please visit http://www.apacinnosummit.net/.

More photos can be downloaded from the FTP below:

About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Comprising Science Park, InnoCentre and Industrial Estates, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is a statutory body dedicated to building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem to connect stakeholders, nurture technology talents, facilitate collaboration, and catalyse innovations to deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region.

Established in May 2001, HKSTP has been driving the development of Hong Kong into a regional hub for innovation and growth in several focused clusters including Electronics, Information & Communications Technology, Green Technology, Biomedical Technology, Materials and Precision Engineering. We enable science and technology companies to nurture ideas, innovate and grow, supported by our R&D facilities, infrastructure, and market-led laboratories and technical centres with professional support services. We also offer value added services and comprehensive incubation programmes for technology start-ups to accelerate their growth.

Technology businesses benefit from our specialised services and infrastructure at Science Park for applied research and product development; enterprises can find creative design support at InnoCentre; while skill-intensive businesses are served by our three industrial estates at Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long.

More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.

Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150918/8521506188LOGO-a