Hong Kong's HK$5b bid to boost R&D needs more research, academics say
Academics tell of the challenges involved in getting breakthrough work to market
A HK$5 billion injection for the Innovation and Technology Fund that was announced in this year's policy address may not in itself fulfil Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's hopes of boosting the city's record on research and development, said academics, who called for long-term planning on top of cash.
Despite her role in one of the city's major scientific breakthroughs, Dr Cathy Lui Nga-ping, of Baptist University's department of biology, knows from experience that commercialising academic research is no easy task.
And, Dr Alfred Tan Keng-tiong, the head of the university's knowledge transfer office, added that the sums of money involved went way over the sums to be allocated by the technology fund.
Two years ago, Lui and her team announced they had successfully used nano-particles to harmlessly extract stem cells from a rat's brain and then reinject them.
It raised the question of whether the procedure could be used on humans as a cure for brain diseases like Alzheimer's.
"We realised this technological breakthrough could indeed help a lot of people. That was when we started thinking about going commercial," Lui recalled.