International HealthTech Forum 2021
Global academics and experts set sights to introduce healthtech trends

To promote the development of healthcare technology and foster cross-sector collaboration, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) hosted and live-streamed the International HealthTech Forum 2021 today, gathering over a dozen local and overseas academics, experts and representatives of the medical and healthcare industry to exchange insights on the latest healthtech innovation trends. The Forum also featured physical and virtual exhibitions showcasing an array of innovative healthtech projects created by industry partners and VTC students.

Mr Alfred SIT Wing-hang, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, noted in a pre-recorded video speech that the HKSAR Government attached great importance to innovation and technology (I&T) and smart city development. The Government firmly believed it could address many city management challenges and improve people’s livelihoods through I&T. As the post-pandemic world was gradually taking shape, he saw this as an opportune time to navigate the opportunities across innovation and promote wider application of I&T in healthcare services, ranging from new treatments and applications to new methods of accessing and delivering quality healthcare. Mr Sit also stressed that while the government was driving I&T and smart city development at full speed, nurturing skilled and tech-savvy talent was of paramount importance. Building a robust technology ecosystem would require tripartite efforts between the government, industry and academia.

Mr Tony TAI, VTC Chairman, noted in his welcoming speech that the VTC, as the major vocational and professional education and training (VPET) provider in Hong Kong, was committed to nurturing new talent with industry-relevant curriculum and smart facilities. It also strove to foster co-creation with academia and industries to explore solutions to address real-world challenges in the digital era. Mr Tai was glad to witness many VTC talent putting their professional knowledge into practice and making good use of technology in developing innovative healthcare solutions to benefit the community and create social impact.

Today’s Forum gathered distinguished academics and industry experts from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Mainland China and Hong Kong who shared invaluable insights into healthtech through keynote speeches and webinars on latest healthtech topics. Among them was Dr Andrzej RYS, Director of Health Systems of Medical Products and Innovation at DG Sante, the European Commission’s health and food safety authority, who explained how the European Commission was accelerating the adoption of innovative health technologies among EU member states to foster cross-border healthcare collaboration and knowledge sharing; and Professor Aleskandar SUBIC, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (STEM) and Vice President of Digital Innovation at RMIT University, who shared how Digital Twin Technology can enable healthcare professionals to identify optimal medical solutions for patients according to their individual health conditions using data analytics, promoting personalised healthcare services.

Panel Discussion and Parallel Session were also featured where Dr LAM Ching-choi, Chairman of the Elderly Commission of Hong Kong, discussed in depth with local and overseas academics and industry representatives how innovative technologies could set the stage for opening up new frontiers in the healthcare industry. Other speakers also explored how artificial intelligence, big data analytics, virtual reality and augmented reality were being deployed in the industry.

Complementing the Forum were various HealthTech exhibitions displaying some of the innovative healthtech projects created by industry partners and VTC students, including the AR smart devices invented by MAD Gaze, a start-up established by Jordan CHENG, graduate of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE), a member institution of the VTC. The AR devices include Smart Surgery Navigation which allows surgeons to visualise X-ray images with the smart glasses during orthopedic surgical operations, improving efficiency of medical services; as well as the Smart Assistant for People with Visual Impairment which can scan images with textual elements, identify the objects and read out information to provide assistance for visually impaired people in their daily lives. For details, please visit: http://healthtechforum.org/.

Established in 1982, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) is the largest vocational and professional education and training provider in Hong Kong. The mission of VTC is to provide a valued choice to school leavers and working people to acquire the values, knowledge and skills for lifelong learning and enhanced employability, and also to provide support to industries for their manpower development. VTC has 13 member institutions, namely the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) , the Institute of Professional Education And Knowledge (PEAK) , the School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE), the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) , the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) , the Hotel and Tourism Institute (HTI) , the Chinese Culinary Institute (CCI) , the International Culinary Institute (ICI) , the Maritime Services Training Institute (MSTI) , Youth College , Pro-Act by VTC , the Integrated Vocational Development Centre (IVDC) and the Shine Skills Centre.
 
Website: www.vtc.edu.hk

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