The annual “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest – Macau Chapter Final, co-organised by the Industry Development and Promotion Centre of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China International Cooperation Association of SMEs and Macau’s Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT), took place yesterday at the Macao Young Entrepreneur Incubation Centre in Nape, during which 10 selected local teams focusing on projects involving smart health systems, innovative technology and the industrial internet fought for a place in the top three to represent Macau in the “international finals” in the mainland.
The names of the three top local teams were not immediately announced. Their winning products comprise a scar repair gel, high frequency equipment for electrosurgery, and a motor fault detection system based on the Internet of Things (IoT). The date and location of the “Maker in China” contest have not yet been announced either.
SME stands for small- and medium-sized enterprise.
According to a statement handed out during yesterday’s contest, a total of 89 local innovation and entrepreneurship projects were received in Macau, covering artificial intelligence (AI), biomedical and health information sciences, advanced materials and cultural and tourism entrepreneurship, among other industrial fields, among which 10 teams were able to conduct one-on-one exchanges with investors and representatives of mainland enterprises in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s contest, Wang Hailin, a first-level inspector of the Small and Medium Enterprise Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in Beijing, pointed out that since its launch in 2018, the annual contest has held more than 30 online and offline competitions in 13 regions and countries, attracting more than 5,000 teams from around the world to submit their innovative projects, and promoting international cooperation and exchanges among SMEs. Wang added he believed that the contest will further stimulate the innovation and entrepreneurship vitality of SMEs in Macau, promote exchanges and cooperation between Macau and the mainland, help the GBA gather more innovation resources, and better integrate into the overall situation of the nation’s development.
In a speech during the opening, DSEDT Director Tai Kin Ip described the 10 outstanding teams as the “most dynamic and creative group in civil society”, saying he believed that the introduction of innovative ideas into the GBA through the global contest will help the area become an economic region boasting “international competitiveness”.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, male representatives of two of the 10 local teams, surnamed Huang and Chou, both said they hoped that the Macau competition could serve as a platform to promote their projects, such as Smart Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) Gateway and AI-Based Smart Quality Inspection for Industrial Products, in places such as the GBA and Southeast Asia.
Three male participating PhD candidates from the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), surnamed Pang (from left to right), Huang and Chou, talk to the media on the sidelines of yesterday’s “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest – Macau Chapter Final at the Macao Young Entrepreneur Incubation Centre in Nape. – Photo: Yuki Lei
