Hong Kong Teams Shine at MiC Global Contest 2024, Securing Second and Third Places in Innovation Awards.

Hong Kong representatives triumph at Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest Final

The Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest (MiC Global Contest) 2024 Final was held at Nansha, Guangzhou, today (December 3).Hong Kong representative teams achieved outstanding results.Among them, the next-generation photonic integrated circuits for future high-bandwidth optical links, sensing and computing by Kokoxili Photonics Limited and the all-scenario rapid testing platform against antimicrobial resistance by MicroFlow Innovation Limited were awarded Second Place and Third Place in the global contest, respectively.

The Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Tony Wong, congratulated the award-winning Hong Kong teams. He said, "Representatives from Hong Kong have stood out among the winning teams from other regional chapters, with two teams being awarded Second Place and Third Place. This exemplifies Hong Kong's outstanding achievements and strong capabilities in innovation and technology (I&T) development. I firmly believe that the Hong Kong representative teams will continue to achieve more breakthroughs in I&T through their relentless efforts with the strong support of the MiC platform, thereby making greater contributions to the high-quality development of our country and Hong Kong."

The MiC Global Contest Final 2024 featured winning teams from local contests in Hong Kong, Macao, Europe, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, Korea, and Central and Western Asia.The awards received by Hong Kong representative teams are as follows:

Representative team (Project name)

Award

Kokoxili Photonics Limited (Next-generation photonic integrated circuits for future high-bandwidth optical links, sensing and computing)

MiC Global Contest Final 2024 Second Place

MicroFlow Innovation Limited (All-scenario rapid testing platform against antimicrobial resistance)

MiC Global Contest Final 2024 Third Place

HK Highsolve Technology Limited (Electron Beam (EB) irradiation technology application)

MiC Global Contest Final 2024 Excellence Award

Participating teams will visit the I&T park in Nansha tomorrow morning (December 4) to promote their innovation projects to industry representatives in Mainland China.

The MiC Global Contest is organised by the SME Development Promotion Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China and the China International Cooperation Association of SMEs. It is one of China's innovation and entrepreneurship contests at the state level with significant global influence. Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest- Hong Kong Chapter (MiCHK) is an important platform for Hong Kong start-ups and SMEs to better integrate into the overall development of the country and expand their business opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. Apart from representing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to join the MiC Global Contest Finals in Mainland China, winning teams can also gain business matching opportunities with a number of Mainland investors and enterprises, facilitating the establishment of their businesses in various cities in the Greater Bay Area. For more details about MiCHK, please visitmakerinchina.hk/.

Hong Kong representatives triumph at Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest Final Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong representatives triumph at Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest Final Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

GREEN@COMMUNITY has taken over recycling service of waste plastics

​The "Pilot Scheme on Collection and Recycling Services of Plastic Recyclable Materials" (Pilot Scheme) of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) concluded yesterday (January 18). The collection service of waste plastics in all 18 districts of Hong Kong has been taken over by the operators of GREEN@COMMUNITY.

A spokesman for the EPD said: "After the conclusion of the Pilot Scheme, the recycling service of plastics has been handed over to the GREEN@COMMUNITY recycling network in the respective districts, and the door-to-door collection service of waste plastics provided by the GREEN@COMMUNITY operators to relevant housing estates has also been successfully extended across the territory. The EPD conducted site inspections across districts yesterday and today (January 19) and found that the situation of plastic recycling of residents and housing estates is in order and the operation of GREEN@COMMUNITY recycling stations is generally smooth. The department did not receive any complaint regarding collection service of waste plastics from the relevant housing estates, nor were there any cases observed of certain types of waste plastics not being collected or left unattended. The EPD will continue to monitor the situation."

"After the taking over of waste plastic collection services by GREEN@COMMUNITY, the operators may pass the collected plastics freely to any EPD-approved recyclers for handling, from merely the three designated recyclers under the Pilot Scheme to the current 10 downstream recyclers for processing. The EPD is expediting the approval process and will gradually add more qualified downstream recyclers to the list, further opening up market competition to reduce the cost of collection and recycling of waste plastics," the spokesman added.

The EPD stressed that it will strive to ensure that the plastic collection services for housing estates will remain unaffected after the conclusion of the Pilot Scheme. GREEN@COMMUNITY operators will continue to liaise with the housing estates for more flexible collection services for plastics, as well as other recyclables, with a view to enhancing the cost-effectiveness.

The EPD will continue to strengthen collaboration with GREEN@COMMUNITY operators, downstream recyclers, and relevant housing estates to provide the required plastic recycling services, ensuring that the recycling situation of residents and housing estates remains as usual. The EPD will also step up monitoring of the work of downstream recyclers, including conducting more frequent spot checks, to ensure that all collected waste plastics are properly processed and converted from waste into valuable resources.