HKMU Puts Up to HK$1 Million Behind Student Startups

By Amara Osei

Student founders at Hong Kong Metropolitan University can now climb a funding ladder worth up to HK$1 million per venture. The path runs from an annual Hackathon through the MetroChallenge (HK$100,000 plus 10 months of incubation), the HKMU Incubation Programme (HK$250,000 grant) and finally the HKMU Angel Fund Programme, which invests up to HK$1 million to accelerate long-term growth.

HKMU laid out the system at its Entrepreneurship Day 2026, where 11 MetroChallenge winning teams were showcased alongside roughly 30 innovative exhibits. President Professor Paul Lam Kwan-sing, who delivered the keynote, framed the university's pitch plainly: "Today, having a good idea matters more than where you come from, how much capital you start with, and even what your formal credentials are."

"If you have a good idea and with the support of our university, you might be able to start a company," Lam said.

The event positioned HKMU — Hong Kong's first university of applied sciences — as an incubation engine that converts classroom projects into revenue-generating firms. Three of this year's awardees show how the pipeline works in practice.

What does InfraDTech build?

InfraDTech tackles Hong Kong's ageing building stock: more than 27,000 private blocks are over 30 years old. The founders — Bachelor of Science with Honours in Science (STEAM) students Henry Cheng Tung-hei, Joshua Paul Maguigad and Wong Ting-hin, working with faculty advisor Dr Kenneth Pak Chun-wai, Senior Lecturer in the School of Science and Technology — launched the non-destructive testing venture in their third year.

Their core product is Time-lapse Infrared technology. Traditional façade surveys capture a single afternoon's snapshot; InfraDTech tracks temperature dynamics year over year. Drone thermography plus AI pattern matching flags water seepage, voids and rebar corrosion before concrete spalling endangers the public, cutting overall maintenance costs.

The startup has already moved. It has run surveys across Hong Kong and executed a ground-penetrating radar contract for a major Macau resort within months. The team is now training toward certified signatory standards under the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme.

How does JoyVista AR help the hearing impaired?

JoyVista AR, built by Bachelor of Science with Honours in Computing student Tony Li Sin-chiu and teammates, makes augmented reality subtitle glasses. Conventional apps force users to look down at their phones; JoyVista AR projects real-time subtitles inside the wearer's line of sight, preserving eye contact.

The device handles local speech realities. Custom AI models master Cantonese's "nine tones and six registers", filter speech fillers and process mixed-code "Chinglish". Multi-speaker recognition supports two-way conversation, and a front-facing camera converts first-person sign language into synthesised speech.

"The greatest takeaway from this journey has been empathy," Li said, describing the team's pivot to user-centred design.

Beyond seed capital, HKMU assigned startup mentors for commercial strategy and connected the team with the Hong Kong Science Park and the NGO Silence for field testing. A university-led tour of Guangzhou incubation hubs shaped the business model: confronted with the Greater Bay Area's low operating costs and local subsidies, the team adopted an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) approach to bypass Hong Kong's steep commercial rents and target the cross-border market.

Why mortuary reconstruction needs a university partner?

OnAn Technology pairs AI with high-precision full-colour 3D printing for mortuary aesthetics. Co-founders include Bobo Tsui Pui-chi, a Bachelor of Business Administration with Honours in Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality Management student, and Agnes Ho Yan-tung, a Sports and eSports Management student, plus a student from another institution.

The AI workflow turns a handful of photos into a lifelike 3D facial model within hours, replacing days of manual sculpting and, the team says, overcoming male digital sculptors' aesthetic communication barriers regarding female beauty. The firm operates a Business-to-Business-to-Consumer model through licensed morticians and is pioneering pre-need planning with palliative care NGOs, using 3D scanners so clients approve their own final aesthetic in advance.

"For students like us entering mature, highly sensitive sectors, we need institutional credibility," Tsui explained. HKMU supplied dedicated social enterprise mentors for the delicate commercial operations and the seed funding to test the business with confidence. The team is now weighing opportunities in the Chinese Mainland.

What the pipeline signals

HKMU's stack — hackathon, MetroChallenge, incubation grant, angel fund — gives student founders a structured route from idea to seven-figure investment territory. With three of this year's winners already landing contracts, cross-border deals or accreditation plans, the university is betting that institutional credibility, not just cash, is what moves student ventures into commercial markets.