The University of Macau (UM) Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) yesterday (23 January) held a ceremony to award start-up funds to the first 20 entrepreneurial teams incubated at the CIE. Sponsored by the University of Macau Development Foundation (UMDF), the funds aim to support the teams to put their innovative ideas into practice and establish their own businesses.
Lam Kam Seng, president of the Trustees Committee of the UMDF, says that the foundation has been providing various forms of support to UM, including sponsoring innovative and entrepreneurial projects related to the university, in order to create more opportunities for young adults in Macao and help the local society learn more about the latest developments in innovation and entrepreneurship at UM.
Yonghua Song, rector of UM, says that in view of China’s policy on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, UM has intensified its efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, adding that the university will continue to optimise the network between education, scientific research, and industrialization, and will continue to promote the use of new technologies to support Macao’s economic development, in order to enhance the competitiveness of UM and Macao both locally and internationally.
UM began recruiting entrepreneurial teams for business incubation in 2017. After a rigorous selection process, the first cohort of 20 outstanding teams were accepted for business incubation at the CIE. At the ceremony, the guests awarded start-up funds to the teams. Jerome Yen, interim director of the Institute of Collaborative Innovation, updated the audience on the progress of the projects incubated at the centre. Some entrepreneurial teams shared their experience in innovation and technology and the benefits they reaped in the process.