The HKUC gathered more than 500 local GIS professionals for experience and insights sharing.

The 2017 Esri China (HK) User Conference (HKUC) marked the grand conclusion of a series of activities to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Company. The HKUC, held on 24 November 2017 in Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre, gathered more than 500 local GIS professionals. The theme of the event was “Smart City & GIS - Future of Smart”.

Esri China (HK) Managing Director Sr. Paul Tsui delivered welcome speech at HKUC.

The HKUC was a valuable occasion for attendees to gain practical advice and hands-on experience for using GIS tools from Esri, as well as share ideas and best practices of how The Science of Where can improve their works through GIS.

To officiate the conference, we were privileged to have Dr. David Chung Wai-keung, JP, Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology Bureau from the Government of HKSAR as the Guest of Honor to share with us “Smart City in Action for Hong Kong”. Attendees learned how GIS can integrate all types of data through location and how to analyze and solve problems spatially in the HKUC.

Dr. Mashariki: Open data to improve city operations

The keynote speaker of the HKUC Dr. Amen Ra Mashariki, Head of Urban Analytics at Esri, shared with attendees the success stories of the New York City on how data sharing and GIS could drive the operational improvement of the government, as well as help entrepreneurs make better business decisions.

The keynote speaker of the HKUC Dr. Mashariki has been Head of Urban Analytics of Esri since June 2017. Prior to joining Esri, he was the New York City's Chief Analytics Officer and Director of the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics (MODA), using urban analytics along with location intelligence to effectively build solutions addressing crime, public services, and quality of life in the city.

In the HKUC, Dr. Mashariki shared how open data could improve city operations, help entrepreneurs make better business decisions, and also serve as the bridge to drive collaboration among agencies as well.

User inspires new ideas

As Jack Dangermond, President and Founder of Esri said, “The application of GIS is limited only by the imagination of those who use it”. To encourage the sharing of experience, and inspiration of new ideas, we honor outstanding organizations and works in its application.

This year, the Hong Kong Police Force (Force) was awarded the Special Achievement in GIS Award 2017. The awardee was selected from tens of thousands of nominations worldwide. Kenneth Wong, a student from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) also accomplished a remarkable work in monitoring noise pollution of the West District, and won the champion of the Esri Young Scholar Award 2017 in Hong Kong. Mr. Joe Liao, Product Design Specialist of Esri won the Dream City Award 2017, while Wah Yan College, Kowloon became the winner of the Outstanding GIS Application Award in the Inter-school Cross-curriculum on Climate Change Project Competition 2016-17 organized by Education Bureau. Congratulations!

Keynote speech of “The Rise of Smart Societies and GIS” delivered by Prof. Anthony Yeh from HKU. He is also an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Academy of Social Sciences in the UK.

The conference was well attended by GIS users in Hong Kong, and Esri colleagues were happy to answer their questions.

Dr. Winnie Tang (third right) shared her insight with a few local journalists. Photo shows Dr. Tang and two visiting Smart City experts, Dr. Amen Ra Mashariki (third left), a veteran data analyst, and Dr. Susann Roth (centre), a healthcare innovation specialist at the media interview.

Last but not least, we were honored to have Mr. Nicholas Yang, GBS, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology Bureau to give officiating speech and officially announced the establishment of our first Research & Development Centre (R&D Centre) at HK Science Park (HKSP). Several VIPs have been invited from the HKSAR government to join the Senior Executive Summit of the HKUC, including Mr. Thomas Chan, JP, Director of Lands, Lands Department; Mr. YS Au Yeung, JP, Deputy Head of Geotechnical Engineering Office, Civil Engineering and Development Department; Dr. TC Cheung, JP, Director of Buildings, Buildings Department and Ms. Ada Fung, BBS, JP, Deputy Director (Development & Construction), Housing Department. We are also glad to have Mr. Simon Hill from Asia Pacific National Government Team Lead, Esri, to give us an impressive closing remarks.

All VIP guests took a group photo after the Esri China (HK) R&D Centre at HKSP Inauguration Ceremony: (from left) Sr. Paul Tsui, Esri China (HK); Mr. YS Au Yeung, JP, Deputy Head of Geotechnical Engineering Office, Civil Engineering and Development Department; Mr. Nicholas Yang, GBS, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology Bureau; Ms Ada Fung, BBS, JP, Deputy Director (Development & Construction), Housing Department; Dr. Winnie Tang, Esri China (HK); Mr. Thomas Chan, JP, Director of Lands, Lands Department; Dr. TC Cheung, JP, Director of Buildings, Buildings Department; and Mr. Simon Hill, Esri.

In conclusion, the immense success of the HKUC indeed showed that GIS technology is realizing its full potential across different sectors, organizations and government departments. We believe all attendees have taken home mind inspired by GIS leading to their customers, organizations and communities being benefited eventually.

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