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Commerce and Industry

Research and Development Centres

The government's five R&D Centres drive and co-ordinate applied R&D in selected focus areas and promote the commercialisation of R&D results and technology transfer. The five centres are the:

• Automotive Parts and Accessory Systems R&D Centre;

• R&D Centre for Information and Communications Technologies under ASTRI;

• Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel;

• Hong Kong R&D Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management Enabling Technologies; and

• Nano and Advanced Materials Institute.

Technology Co-operation with the Mainland

The Mainland-Hong Kong Science and Technology Co-operation Committee is a high-level steering committee for the Mainland's Ministry of Science and Technology and Hong Kong's Innovation and Technology Bureau to work together in fostering technology collaboration. Progress in 2015 included completing the first round of applications to establish Hong Kong Branches of Chinese National Engineering Research Centres, resulting in the formation of five new Hong Kong Branches; and making preparations for the first round of reassessment of the Partner State Key Laboratories in Hong Kong, to start in mid-2016.

The HKSAR and Guangdong governments jointly run a Guangdong-Hong Kong Technology Co-operation Funding Scheme to encourage collaboration between their universities, research. institutions and technology enterprises. As at end-December 2015, the ITF has funded 236 projects under the scheme with about $818 million, of which $193 million was for 79 projects jointly funded by the ITF and Guangdong/Shenzhen authorities.

Publicity and Promotional Events

The Innovation and Technology Commission's annual InnoTech Month features a wide range of activities to foster a stronger innovation and technology culture in the community. In 2015, these activities included an InnoCarnival, roadshows, exhibitions, workshops, industry conferences and seminars. The commission also collaborated with the academia and non- governmental organisations in supporting science competitions and activities to increase students' interest in innovation and technology. The Innovation and Technology Scholarship Award Scheme recognises outstanding science undergraduates in local universities and encourages them to pursue careers in science and technology.

Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

Hong Kong maintains a robust regime for protecting intellectual property rights that features comprehensive legislation, convenient registration systems, rigorous enforcement and

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