Innovation Contest 4CSRtech : Innovative projects at HKUST and Orange [fr]

The Innovation Contest 4CSRtech, co-organized by the Consulate General of France, Orange Group, and the France-HKUST Innovation Hub, was held on November 3 and 4, 2018, on the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) campus. First event organized by the Hub to be open to the general public, this contest started by a prestigious opening ceremony where the Dean of Engineering, Pr. Tim Cheng, marked the French cooperation with HKUST in the fields of innovation and development. Mme Paule Ignatio, Deputy Consul General, insisted on the blooming entrepreneurial ecosystem of France, benefiting from governmental incentives and a 12 billion euros fund dedicated to startups. The Chief CSR Officer of Orange Group, Mme Brigitte Dumont, elaborated on Orange’s commitments regarding corporate social responsibilities, and the Joint Audit Forum strategy, an annual event gathering 16 of the biggest telecommunication companies, before a presentation by M. Shunxi Bian, CSR Director of Orange China.

This first edition aimed at highlighting a major area and one of the biggest challenges for corporations nowadays, which is fully in line with the United Nations 17 objectives for sustainable development, making companies a responsible place for goods production and services toward society, on an environmental as well as a managerial point of view. Today’s solutions are limited and quickly outdated by emerging technologies like blockchain, IoT or big data. This event is a great opportunity for bright young minds to showcase their alternatives.

After a few crossed exchanges between competitors, the teams, coming from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan and India, started working on their project with the help of experienced mentors from Alcatel-TSl, Orange, SGS and Ucommune. Two hectic days of hard work before a pitching session to the jury, where all the members praised the quality of ideas and projects showcased.
4 Laureates have been designated.

  Students of the French International School presented their SOFI project, designed to improve internal exchanges between students, teachers and schools’ staff but also with outer schools and alumni through the creation of a messaging system. The critical mass of users would already be reached thanks to the database on the existing platform.

  The Goodwill Coins team proposal aims to build a level of trust and objectivity in the CSR system by making the contributions and impacts quantifiable and comparable, open to anyone who wants to see it. The project envisages a blockchain based system that monitors the flow of CSR funds/donations in the system and the corresponding social impact with minimal to no human interface or subjectivity.

  HKUST students proposed to facilitate companies in taking preventative measures by introducing a mental health monitoring system that enables executives from departments to observe current mental states of employees, detect traces of anxiety and stress alongside the capability to act upon aiding the individual through a remote and anonymous way.

  The company BeeInventor Ltd, a startup incubated at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, showcased Dasloop, an integrated smart device that can be mounted on safety helmets. It provides real time health and safety monitoring and site management through a range of sensors and connecting to a cloud-based management portal. It solves one of the biggest CSR challenge of the construction industry which is health and safety. Dasloop will redefine the safety helmets with many features such as body temperature and heart rate sensors, accelerometer, GPS, Altimeter and BLE module (for indoor positioning).

Project initiated for over a year by the Consulate General of France as part of its missions of cooperation and economic diplomacy in Asia, our thanks go to the teams of Orange and HKUST for their dynamism, as well as to the mentors and jury members for their involvement.