Esri Launched Its First Research
& Development Centre for Smart City Development
Esri China (HK) is proud to announce the establishment of its first Research & Development Centre (R&D Centre) at HK Science Park (HKSP) to support the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong. The R&D Centre will focus on developing innovative GIS solutions and integration with other emerging smart city enabling technologies to facilitate the development of Hong Kong into a smart city.
The R&D Centre will actively participate in the Smart Region initiative fostered by Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP). The Smart Region serves as an ideal testbed for the R&D Centre to integrate GIS technology with sensor technology, artificial intelligence algorithms, big data analytics and mobile communication for smart city applications. An exclusive program for the start-up partners will also be run in the Park to support the adoption of GIS technology in their products and solutions.
The first collaborative partner of the R&D Centre is the Health GeoLab Collaborative which is supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Esri, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN). This is important for better health service planning, disease prevention and health promotion, and response to disease outbreaks and disasters. This exactly demonstrates how smart GIS technology makes smart people healthier.
Mr. Nicholas W. Yang, GBS, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology welcomed Esri to invest in R&D to better support smart city development. It also helped cultivate a culture of collaboration and co-create smart solutions, which was essential to build a smart city and nurture talents in Hong Kong, he added.
Mr. Nicholas W. Yang, GBS, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology Bureau from the Government of HKSAR, officially announced the establishment of the first R&D Centre of Esri China (HK) at the HKUC on 24 November 2017.
The Hon. Mrs. Fanny Law Fan Chiu Fun, GBS, JP, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, HKSTP said, “Esri China (HK)’s R&D Centre is a most welcome addition to the Science Park ecosystem, as we turn the Science Park and the Chinese University of Hong Kong into a smart region and a testbed for smart city initiatives.”
Mr. Mark Landry, Regional Advisor, Health Situation and Trend Assessment at the WHO said, “Geo-enabled public health data and analysis using GIS generates powerful evidence for policy and planning, especially in this new era of Sustainable Development Goals.”
Dr. Winnie Tang, Founder and Chairman of Esri China (HK) said, "Spatial thinking is of paramount importance to our daily life. People can gain insight from geospatial data and identify pattern and spatial relationship that help better decision-making. I hope our R&D Centre can help nurture more local talents in Geospatial Science and develop more innovative solutions that help build Hong Kong as a spatially enabled smart city."
(From left) Sr. Paul Tsui, Managing Director of Esri China (HK); Mr. Nicholas Yang, GBS, JP, Secretary of Innovation and Technology Bureau; Dr. Winnie Tang, Chairman of Esri China (HK) and Mr. Simon Hill, Asia Pacific National Government Team Lead, Esri officiated the Inauguration of Esri China(HK) R&D Centre @ Science Park.