Technology transfer from academia to industry

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Service Quality Wing recently organised a second Experience Sharing Session in pursuance of the Force's Three Year Strategic Action Plan to strive for even higher levels of professionalism. The session provided an opportunity for senior officers to interact with the Chair Professor of Information Engineering, the University of Hong Kong.

The session, held in the Police Training School Auditorium on Saturday December 7, was hosted by Deputy Commissioner (Management), Mr Fung Siu-yuen. The guest speaker was Professor Victor Li On-kwok, who attained his Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the MIT by the time he was 27 years old. He then joined the University of Southern California (USC) and became the Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the USC Communication Science Institute.

Since September 1997, Professor Li has been with the HKU Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering as Chair Professor of Information Engineering and Managing Director of Versitech Limited, the university's technology transfer and commercial arm, which was formed to accelerate the transfer of university-spawned technologies to industry.

Professor Li shared his experience in 'The Strategy for Technology Transfer' with more than 160 senior officers from chief inspectors to deputy commissioners.

"Technology development plays a very important role in the economic development of society. The university is a major source of technology innovation but there are many challenges to be overcome to achieve successful transfer," said Professor Li. He then went on to share his experience as a managing director with the audience and explained how to bridge the cultural difference between academia and industry by providing incentives to encourage technology transfer. The audience learned how an academic faculty evolved from conducting basic research in a closed environment to carrying out applied research in a user-oriented approach to suit the market needs.

At the end of the presentation, Professor Li demonstrated the function of his recent technological innovation - e-eye, a remote surveillance product.

In closing, Assistant Commissioner (Service Quality), Mr Wong Doon-yee, highlighted the importance to any organisation of technology transfer in achieving a competitive edge ensuring sustainable growth. After the session, officers continued to interact with Professor Li in an informal tea gathering in the Officers' Mess.

To further enhance the sharing of knowledge, the whole talk has been videotaped. The tape can be loaned to formations for viewing by officers who were unable to attend the session. If you want to know more about the shared experience, please contact SQW at 2866-6525 or 2866-6937 to get hold of the tape.