Five research projects from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) were granted funds from the HKSAR Government’s Research, Academic, and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+ Scheme). This demonstrates CityUHK’s commitment to promoting excellence in high-quality research and innovation, driving the transformation of the University’s world-class scientific research into applications, thereby creating commercial and social value.

The Innovation and Technology Commission recently announced the first round of review results of the RAISe+ Scheme. CityUHK was awarded five projects, covering areas such as biomedical sciences, material sciences, big data, energy and the environment.

Professor Freddy Boey, CityUHK President, congratulated all the CityUHK research teams. He pointed out that their significant achievements reflect CityUHK’s pursuit of innovation and excellence, its commitment to cultivating talent through innovation and pioneering research, and its full support and promotion of the development of innovative technology. With a number of innovative and impactful projects, CityUHK is determined to make a significant contribution to Hong Kong society and the world.

The five funded projects are as follows:

Microfluidics-Based Detection Platform for Circulating Tumor Cells and Its Applications in Cancer Early Screening and Disease Monitoring led by Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Yeung Kin Man Chair Professor of Biomedical Sciences. The research team is committed to developing an internationally leading fourth-generation Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) detection technology platform with compatible gene and protein detection assay kits for downstream CTC analysis. The project aims to fulfil clinical demand in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Commercialisation of Pulse Hollow Cone Hybrid Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) /Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) led by Professor Chen Fu-rong, Chair Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The project aims to design and manufacture a commercialised pulse electron hollow cone illumination hybrid TEM/SEM compact system, based on technology incubated in the CityUHK Futian Research Institute, and establish a mass production line.

Scalable Production of Next-Generation High-Performance Printable Solar Cells led by Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, Lee Shau Kee Chair Professor of Materials Science. The team aims to manufacture stable, effective and low-cost printable perovskite solar cells (PSCs), which can be used in a wide range of applications. For example, they can be developed into versatile building- or vehicle-integrated photovoltaic systems, as well as power supplies for Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors and electronics. The team also aims to establish a pilot production line with an annual capacity of 25 MW.

To address the challenge of information silos, Professor Ma Jian, in the Department of Information Systems, College of Business, and his team have developed and continuously improved ScholarMate since 2007. ScholarMate has emerged as the largest professional collaborative innovation network platform in China, connecting government funding agencies, universities/research institutes and technology companies. The platform enables the seamless exchange of research outputs such as academic papers and patents, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing. Based on this successful case, the team is developing Federated Learning Technology with Research Knowledge Graphs and Large Language Models for the digital transformation of science, technology and innovation services.

Revolutionising Climate Resilience: A Universal Solution via Next-Generation Radiative Cooling Technologies for a Greener Community led by Professor Tso Chi-yan of the School of Energy and Environment. The team aims to advance passive radiative cooling (PRC) technology further, expanding the benefits and applications of PRC technology into three additional realms: cooling ceramics for building envelopes, pedestrian paths and public squares; cooling asphalt and cement mortar for roads; and thermal management textiles for personal clothing.

Launched in October 2023, the RAISe+ Scheme aims to unleash the potential of local universities in the transformation and commercialisation of research and development outcomes, and facilitate relevant collaboration among the Government, industry, university and research sectors. The RAISe+ Scheme will fund, on a matching basis, at least 100 research teams in eight universities also funded by the University Grants Committee, which have good potential to become successful start-ups. Funding support from HK$10 million to HK$100 million will be provided for each approved project.

For details about CityUHK’s funded projects, please click here.