The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (Astri) has been successfully nurturing young local talent in technology research and development (R&D) for the past decade.
As Astri celebrates its 10th anniversary, chief executive Dr Cheung Nim-kwan looks back on various achievements over the period.
'We have successfully spun off two hi-tech companies, stimulated and helped several other companies in hi-tech and completed more than 230 technology transfers locally and in the Pearl River Delta,' he says, listing only a few of Astri's achievements.
Among other accomplishments are the filing of close to 400 patents and building a big research and development (R&D) team of about 600 after starting from scratch in a small office in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Astri was founded as a result of the need for promoting technology R&D in the city. The institute was formed by the Hong Kong government in 2000 with a mission to enhance the city's competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research.
Since its inception, Astri has been delivering world-class technologies and customer-focused R&D to customers. In April 2006, Astri was designated as the Hong Kong Research and Development Centre for Information and Communications Technologies by the Innovative and Technology Commission, with special goals to perform leading-edge R&D for technology transfer to industry, develop much needed technical human resources and act as a focal point to bring together industry and university R&D assets.
