ASTRI establishes research centre with HP to foster adoption of information technology in Hong Kong

Dec. 17, 2013 - PRLog -- Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) announced today (16 December) the establishment of the “ASTRI-HP Information Technology Research Centre,” a collaboration with HP Hong Kong.

At a special ceremony commemorating the inauguration of the Centre held today, Dr Cheung Nim-kwan, CEO of ASTRI, and Ms Cally Chan, Managing Director of HP Hong Kong, signed an agreement regarding the research and development (R&D) collaboration between the two companies with the Centre as the basis. The signing was witnessed by Mr Wong Ming-yam, Chairman of the Board, ASTRI; Miss Janet Wong, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, HKSAR Government; Mr Christopher Whitney, Director, Enterprise Group, HP Asia Pacific & Japan; and Mr Albert Yee, Business Operations Manager, Enterprise Group, HP Hong Kong.

The “ASTRI-HP Information Technology Research Centre”, which signifies the R&D collaboration of the two partners, is aimed at promoting advancement and adoption of information technology in Hong Kong business applications. The goal is expected to be achieved through collaborative projects and open innovation R&D, amongst other means.

The collaboration will cover related technical areas in big data analytics and cloud computing. The Research Centre will embark on an Industry Collaborative Project in which ASTRI and HP Hong Kong will jointly conduct applied research to provide technologies and software components for the HP HAVEn big data analytics platform.

Dr Cheung is very pleased that ASTRI and HP Hong Kong can join hand in IT research. He said, “HP is not only an internationally renowned company, but also a global leader in IT research. ASTRI will benefit by this collaboration supported by the Research Centre in at least three ways. Firstly, our researchers and engineers no doubt can learn from the invaluable experiences of HP, who has more than 70 years of technology innovation.

“Secondly, guided by the business insights of HP, our research efforts will be conducted more effectively to meet the needs of industry and the community at large. Thirdly, ASTRI will be able to create jobs and training opportunities in cloud computing and related new technologies for Hong Kong.”

In addressing the Ceremony, Ms Cally Chan said, “Guided by a clear vision of where the market is headed, HP is making R&D investments in areas such as big data and cloud. HP Hong Kong is collaborating with ASTRI to drive the development of solutions for the HP HAVEn big data analytics platform that will enable Hong Kong enterprises to transform their businesses and profit from big data.”

The Research Centre will be directed by an Executive Board composed of management representatives from HP Hong Kong and ASTRI and an advisory panel comprising industry experts in Hong Kong. Operationally, it will be mainly supported by HP Hong Kong and ASTRI’s Exploratory Research Laboratory, and will physically be located in ASTRI. The fund contributed by ASTRI comes from Innovation and Technology Fund managed by the Innovation and Technology Commission.