But Wong said the government had rejected the company's application to operate in Hong Kong's Science and Technology Park, so it went across the border. Earlier media reports also said DJI moved out of Hong Kong because it was not given sufficient government funding.

Wong's comments come as the Hong Kong government struggles to establish an innovation and technology bureau to steer IT developments. A vote on funding for the proposed bureau was delayed last month for the third time until after the Legislative Council's Finance Committee's summer break.

Wong, a founding member of HKUST who rejoined the university in 2006 as vice-president before later moving to Open University, said he knew DJI founder Frank Wang Tao, a mainlander, quite well at that time.

Wang decided to open in Shenzhen because it supported him with funding and land on which to operate, Wong said.

"It is not true that Hong Kong lacks talent," said Wong. "Every year, hundreds of PhD students graduate from Hong Kong's universities. It is not true that Hong Kong doesn't have money. Hong Kong is up to its ears with money. We only lack people to push this."

Wong said there were several industrial areas, including the Science and Technology Park, that had not been used efficiently. He said although the park was full, many of the businesses were unrelated to technology.

Wong, a National People's Congress deputy, said developing technology could ease the city's reliance on tourism, which had increasingly had a negative impact on people's livelihoods.

"Hong Kong has been driven by several economic engines such as finance, logistics and trade, and tourism," Wong said. "But now the tourism engine has been so loud as to affect people's lives. We might as well develop innovation and technology, which can make money, create jobs and won't make us overloaded with tourists."

Wong said Open University had not historically been a research university but had started to promote applied research. This would cover areas such as environmental sustainability, testing and certification, food safety, corporate governance and bilingualism in education.

But Wong admitted the university, which started in 1989 as a distance-learning institution and did not begin full-time programmes until 2001, was not as well known as others. There have been cases where students who received offers from the university opted for the Vocational Training Council instead.

He said that from an educational point of view, the eight public tertiary institutions had similar qualities. Open University also had many popular programmes, such as nursing, which turned down many applicants due to heated competition.

From next month the university will start a new master's programme in Chinese medicine nursing for holders of bachelor's degrees in nursing. Wong believed the programme had great potential because the government was planning to build a Chinese medicine hospital in Tseung Kwan O and more such hospitals might spring up.

There would also be a new master's programme in autism spectrum disorder for holders of bachelor's degrees in psychology, education, counselling or other relevant disciplines. This was to meet the increasing demand for autism care and treatment services, Wong said.

"In all, our academic and research activities are very much focusing on Hong Kong's livelihood and economic development issues."