Innovation Labs Feedback
- "Thank you for the program, it was an unforgettable entrepreneurial experience."
- "For me personally this Lab has helped me in equipping myself to take the entrepreneurial journey. Thanks again for the great course content and the way it was delivered."
- "We had an exceptional year in 2017 and our would become impossible without your enlightenment in the businesslab."
- "We would like to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to you for guiding us throughout the entrepreneurship journey and connecting many professional and experienced talents with us. We gathered today to incorporate our project!"
- "Thanks for everything! What a great collaboration experience to work with the UXAthon team. Honestly, the whole businesslab program is so inspiring and it did bring much value to us."
- "A great conclusion to the one week SDG BIZathon between HKUST MBA and HKU MBA. Great entrepreneurial ideas from the HKU MBA students through their businesslab program, which I believe benefited from this BIZathon by digging deep when considering CSR and UN SDGs goals to be incorporated into business models. Starting a company with CSR and UN SDGs in its DNA will undoubtedly have a bigger impact on the company's future and to the wider society and environment."
- "I found the entrepreneurial energy from the HKU students to be very palpable and infectious. It's absolutely lovely to see that responsible leadership and sustainability are becoming increasingly important in business. It is due to the efforts of inspirational people such as yourself that are changing mindsets and spearheading this paradigm shift."
- “I am very happy to be a part of the BIZathon and was very impressed with the incubation projects and the nurturing provided to the participating entrepreneurs. It will be a wonderful learning opportunity and platform to make a meaningful contribution. I am so happy to get this opportunity. Thank you for everything"
- "I had a really great time working with the students in Hong Kong, it was a pleasure."
- "Congratulations on a great kickoff event for the SDG BIZathon last Friday. We believe that the project we worked on can be a vehicle of change and a source of good for Hong Kong and its communities."
- "I was very glad to participate in the BIZathon program! I worked at a technology startup focusing on offering smart, green sharing electric scooter platform before my MBA. CSR and sustainability are the topics that I was exposed to frequently at that time. Not only we can share diversified opinions, but also we can understand CSR better and help the business in the future."
- "I really enjoyed the UXAthon and hope to do more cross-University collaborations like this."
- "The 2017 edition of the businesslab program truly exceeded expectations."
INITIATIVE & ACTIVITIES HIGHLIGHTS
Joining Macau Startup Week 2018 (MIS2018) Opening Keynote Session, Macau September 2018Opening ceremony including Clare Ma (National Smart City), Pedro Eloy (CEO PelhamGrey, Chairman Youth and Women Entrepreneurship UN ESBN Taskforce ESBNYWE), Stephon Marbury (Former NBA professional Player), Felix Lio (Founder and Director KoofyInnovation).
International Panel at ExpoBlockchain in Sao Paulo, Brasi, Connecting Blockchain Ecosystems, April 2018Showcasing Asia-Pacific Blockchain to entrepreneurs, investors & researchers and to bridge business opportunities in Brazil, Europe and AsiaPacific
Connecting FoodForward,
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Integrating CSR & SDG's at the core of early-stage incubating startups
A cross-discipline businesslab BIZathon program for HKU MBA businesslab and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology MBA students to work as startup teams on a cross-discipline one week intense program (hackathon) focusing on the integration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG;s) on early startup projects.
During the 1-week program, students from both business schools ideated, iterated, evolved and pivoted CSR and SDG concepts for this edition's incubation projects. Two teams were awarded for their social and business impact approaches.
During the 1-week program, students from both business schools ideated, iterated, evolved and pivoted CSR and SDG concepts for this edition's incubation projects. Two teams were awarded for their social and business impact approaches.
SDG BIZATHON 2017 PROJECTS
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AWARDS
The six participating cross-discipline teams' focus, speed and efficiency in framing CSR and SDG's concepts within the core of their incubation projects were of high professional standards. Two teams were awarded for their excellence in business & social impact:
Best CSR & SDG Business Impact
Winner: 3Beebox
Best CSR & SDG Social Impact
Winner: U3
The jury panel of the businesslab SDG BIZathon program finals included:
Laurent Timmermans, CEO & Managing Director at Athenasia Consulting
Ronald Kwok, Partner Channel Manager at Microsoft
Isabella Carvalho Silva, FinTech Consultant and Angel Investor
Musheer Ahmed, General Manager at Hong Kong FinTech Association
Pritish Sanyal , Director of Business Development at Hype
Best CSR & SDG Business Impact
Winner: 3Beebox
Best CSR & SDG Social Impact
Winner: U3
The jury panel of the businesslab SDG BIZathon program finals included:
Laurent Timmermans, CEO & Managing Director at Athenasia Consulting
Ronald Kwok, Partner Channel Manager at Microsoft
Isabella Carvalho Silva, FinTech Consultant and Angel Investor
Musheer Ahmed, General Manager at Hong Kong FinTech Association
Pritish Sanyal , Director of Business Development at Hype
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS - SDG's
On 19 July 2014, the UN General Assembly's Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forwarded a proposal for the SDGs to the Assembly. The proposal contained 17 goals with 169 targets covering a broad range of sustainable development issues. These included ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests. On 5 December 2014, the UN General Assembly accepted the Secretary-General's Synthesis Report which stated that the agenda for the post-2015 SDG process would be based on the OWG proposals.
ESCAP resolution 72/6 ‘Committing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific’ requests the Executive Secretary to “strengthen support to member States in their efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda in an integrated approach, inter alia, with analytical products, technical services and capacity-building initiatives through knowledge-sharing products and platforms, and to enhance data and statistical capacities”.
In addition, Member States, in the third session of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) highlighted how the 2030 Agenda provides an opportunity to shift away from “business as usual” and to more effectively address multi-sectoral challenges. More holistic approaches that integrate the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development were seen as indispensable to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY - CSR
Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship or responsible business)is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a self-regulatory mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and national or international norms.
With some models, a firm's implementation of CSR goes beyond compliance and statutory requirements, which engages in "actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law".
With some models, a firm's implementation of CSR goes beyond compliance and statutory requirements, which engages in "actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law".