Prof. Li Zexiang

Colin Lam Ko Yin Professor of Engineering, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, HKUST
Founder of XbotPark

• From Lab to Startup: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area

Prof. Li Zexiang has been a professor of the Department of Electronic Engineering at the HKUST since 1992, during which he founded the Automation Technology Center and the Robotics Research Institute, and collaborated with his students to establish companies such as DJI, QKM, and ePropulsion, etc. In 2015, Prof. Li was appointed as a member of the Commission on Strategy and Development of the Hong Kong Government. In 2016, he co-founded the Hong Kong X Technology Entrepreneurship Platform to promote the development of innovation and entrepreneurship culture in Hong Kong. In 2019, he was awarded the IEEE Robotics and Automation Award, which is one of the most important awards in the field of engineering and technology in the world, and Prof. Li and his student, Mr. Wang Tao, are the first Chinese scholars and entrepreneurs to win the award.

Mr. Liang Zhe

Founder and Chairman of the Xeno Dynamics

• Entrepreneurship is a Marathon

Mr. Liang Zhe graduated from the HKUST, a Master student of Prof. Li Zexiang. He has been engaged in robotics development for more than 10 years and has developed a variety of commercial robotics products. His main R&D direction is power wearable exoskeleton robotic system, and he is the person in charge of the National Natural Science Foundation of China's key projects and the Military Science and Technology Commission's thematic innovation projects. He is a director of Shenzhen Science and Innovation Institute, an industry mentor of Southern University of Science and Technology, an external instructor of Shenzhen Graduate School of Tsinghua University, and an innovation and entrepreneurship instructor of Beijing University of Science and Technology. In 2015, Mr. Liang founded the Xeno Dynamics, which is a leading kinetic exoskeleton robotics company in China, focusing on providing revolutionary products and solutions for the medical and healthcare, industrial production, and sports and consumer sectors. The company has received hundreds of millions of dollars of investment from top venture capital firms in China, including Source Code Capital, Co-stone Capital, Glory-Ventures, and Grains Valley Venture Capital.

Mr. Xuan Junpeng

Founder of Jian Cong Technology

• From Robot Race to Entrepreneurial Battlefield

Mr. Xuan Junpeng graduated from the HKUST with an MPhil of Science in Architectural Robotics, an interdisciplinary research program. He was one of the top 10 project recipients of the Cyberport Greater Bay Area Young Entrepreneurship Programme in 2019, and was awarded the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund. In 2020, he was awarded the Special Award for "Robotics and Artificial Intelligence" in the HKUST-Sino One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition. In September 2020, Mr. Xuan founded Jian Cong Technology, which is dedicated to promoting automation in the construction industry and career enhancement for construction-workers by innovating the construction process based on robotics technology. Currently, the company has received more than 10 million RMB in financing.

Mr. Pan Jie

Founder of Skyland Innovation

• A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls in Early Entrepreneurship

Mr. Pan Jie graduated from the HKUST with an MPhil degree. He has been engaged in robotics research and development for seven years, and founded Skyland Innovation in 2021, which is dedicated to providing comprehensive 3D data for construction digitization and helping the construction industry to transform into a digitized industry. Skyland Innovation's products have been used in the construction of the Palace Museum in West Kowloon, Community Isolation Facility in Hong Kong, the Chinese Medicine Hospital, Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel, and other key projects.

Prof. Zhang Qian

Tencent Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, HKUST
Director of Digital Life Research Center of the HKUST Fok Ying Tung Research Institute

Dr. Zhang joined Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2005 where she is now Acting Head of Division of Integrative System and Design, Tencent Professor of Engineering. Before that, she was in Microsoft Research Asia, Beijing, from July 1999, where she was the research manager of the Wireless and Networking Group, research interests including Internet of Things (IoT), smart health, mobile computing and sensing, wireless networking, as well as cyber security. Dr. Zhang has published more than 400 refereed papers in international leading journals and key conferences. She is the inventor of more than 50 granted international patents. Dr. Zhang is a Fellow of the IEEE and the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Science (HKAES).