The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Guangzhou Yiyu Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Yiyu Network, commonly known as Eyu Network) held a donation agreement signing ceremony at the HKU Foundation Chamber on October 16. Representatives from both sides and distinguished guests witnessed the signing ceremony, marking the official launch of a collaborative partnership to advance the "Frontier Builders Programme"(the Programme) and jointly nurture tech-innovation talent.
The ceremony was officiated by Professor Yang Wang, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Advancement) of HKU and Co-Director of HKU Web3 Institute; Professor Chen Lin, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Business) of HKU and Co-Director of HKU Web3 Institute; Ms Haibing Yan, Assistant to the Chairman and Senior Vice President of Yiyu Network; and Ms Wenyuan Chen, Board Member and Secretary-General of Guangzhou Eyu Foundation.
The Programme is supported by a total donation of HK$10 million from Yiyu Network over a five-year period. Spearheaded and executed by the HKU Web3 Institute, the programme aims to build a "practical innovation and entrepreneurship internship platform" for students. It is expected to fund 30 to 50 student teams annually, encouraging young talents to engage in hands-on exploration in cutting-edge fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Web3, financial technology, decentralised applications, and data governance, guiding them through the entire training process from initial concepts and prototype development to market validation.
Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Yang Wang, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Advancement) of HKU, stated, "This programme is truly inspiring. Not only are we making it international and fully open to outstanding students worldwide, but more importantly, we are free from commercial burdens-as long as students have great ideas and potential, we will give them full support. The donation of HK$2 million per year over five years provides the first set of resources and practical internship opportunities for the creators of tomorrow's tech giants, further igniting HKU's innovative spirit and cultivating future talent to new heights."
Ms Haibing Yan, representative of Yiyu Network, shared, "It is deeply meaningful to collaborate with The University of Hong Kong, an institution with a century-old academic legacy, to empower youth and drive scientific and technological innovation. We support opening up industry scenarios, mentors, and internship resources to transform great ideas from the laboratory into marketable products. We uphold a bottom-up and open environment to provide fertile ground for youth innovation, jointly witnessing cutting-edge ideas take root and flourish."
The Programme is not only open to HKU students but also attracts exceptional young talents worldwide, using HKU as an anchor for cross-disciplinary collaboration. Each year, the programme will host demo days, inviting real venture capitalists to facilitate connections, helping outstanding teams bridge to the market.
