Calendar 2019-20

8 Part 1 • General Information Part 1 Licensing income from technology transfer and the number of licences granted have increased significantly over the years. Collaboration agreements were concluded with prominent commercial firms both in mainland China and elsewhere in the world. The Knowledge Transfer Project Fund has supported a total of 192 projects since 2009, many of which were interdisciplinary efforts which promised various social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits. CUHK encourages students and researchers to contribute to society with the knowledge gained through their research. Launching startups is a direct and visible way of applying academic knowledge and skills for the benefit of the community. ORKTS has collaborated with other units to foster an entrepreneurial environment on CUHK’s campus conducive to innovation and creativity. The CUHK Pre-Incubation Centre (Pi Centre), established in early 2014, provides workspace, facilities, development and mentorship support to successful CUHK student applicants from all disciplines. Since its inception, the Pi Centre has admitted 81 student teams, 41 of which have already graduated to advanced incubation programmes outside the campus. Meanwhile, the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (TSSSU), funded by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC), encourages both faculty members and students to start technology businesses and commercialize R&D results. Since the inauguration of the scheme in late 2014, the TSSSU has supported 46 startup companies with close to HK$30 million. A new Sustainable Knowledge Transfer Project Fund (S-KPF) was introduced in 2015 to provide seed funding for innovative social enterprises; sustainable ventures that are dedicated to applying professors’ research findings to solve some of our community’s problems. Nine social enterprises have been launched under the S-KPF scheme to serve disadvantaged segments of the locals. To complement these schemes, CUHK offers mentorship and training workshops, and connects TSSSU companies to resources such as the Science Park, accelerators, and investors. Through TSSSU, the University’s intellectual property is translated into products and services to benefit the society. CUHK’s mentorship service has facilitated discussions between TSSSU startups and investors. Some startups have secured significant funding as a result. Finance Funding from the Hong Kong SAR government is the main source of income and constitutes 52% of the University’s revenue for capital and recurrent expenses. Income from tuition, programme and other fee, being the next important source of revenue, accounts for about 22% of total income. In addition, the University and its constituent Colleges have endowment funds at their disposal and also receive financial support from private donors for research and other designated purposes. The annual total income for the University is about HK$9.5 billion. Negotiations between the University and the government are conducted through University Grants Committee, which is the committee advising the government on the financial requirements of the University.