The Global Research and Industry Alliance of National Cheng Kung University (GLORIA NCKU) is planning to launch a new start-up incubation program next year with Hong Kong Polytechnic University, with the aims of cultivating more local innovative talents and entrepreneurs.

The program can serve as a good platform to help bridge the gap between their innovative technologies and market demand for the start-ups, according to the Tainan-based alliance. Through such a dialogue and process, the start-ups may find more possibilities, amend their development direction, and make more market-friendly minimum viable products, the group said.

It is the process that helps find a feasible business model, and start-ups can benefit from it, speed up the product development time and enhance success rate, GLORIA NCKU noted.

To initiate cooperation with PolyU, GLORIA NCKU would like to exchange instructors, industrial professionals and work teams, mulling a new edition in 2020.

PolyU kicked off the Lean Launchpad Programme with its inaugural Lean LaunchPad Class in Hong Kong from April 11 to 12. The 10-week program focuses on the fields of smart city & AI, health technology, and fashion & wearable technology.

After a first successful program in 2018, PolyU continued to offer different projects to distinctive start-up teams, said Raymond Chu, assistant director of the school’s Institute for Entrepreneurship. A prize money of 50 thousand Hong Kong dollars will be given to each team once they finish the program, he added.

Wong Poh Kam, senior director of the NUS Entrepreneurship Centre at National University of Singapore, was invited to share his insightful observations on Business Model Canvas, a strategic management and lean startup template for developing new or documenting existing business models.

The class includes full discussion about target customers, value proposition, channels, customer relations, revenue sources, key resources and key partners and cost structure.