​The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Alfred Sit, officiated at the Global AI Challenge for Building E&M Facilities – Technical Conference today (October 12).

     The event was held jointly by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Guangdong Provincial Association for Science and Technology. The international technical conference focused on AI technologies in the building electrical and mechanical (E&M) industry and gather innovators from around the world who share a common interest in practical solutions for smart cities through AI innovation.

     The Innovation and Technology Bureau together with the General Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs, China Association for Science and Technology, as the event advisers, participated in the opening ceremony. Also attending the ceremony was the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR , Mr Ye Shuiqiu. More than 40 organisations around the globe have supported in this event as co-organisers and supporting organisations.

     Addressing the ceremony, Mr Sit said that AI application has revolutionised traditional E&M industry, laying the groundwork for smart cities. "Together with big data, data analytics and robotics, AI has unlocked a whole new world of potential opportunities, driving business transformations and changing our way of life, especially in the post-COVID-19 era. All industries can now benefit from the ever more intelligent machines and systems. More importantly, the adoption of AI and robotics technology releases human capital from difficult, dangerous, dirty and tedious jobs, so that we can focus on higher value added work, thereby driving business growth, increasing productivity and improving our daily living," Mr Sit added.

     The Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr Eric Pang, said that "The Global AI Challenge for Building E&M Facilities" with today's conference and the upcoming AI competition offers a rare opportunity to gather leading researchers, scientists, experts, engineers, industry leaders of whatever age from around the world for a single unified objective - to share and to co-innovate on AI development for building E&M facilities.

     The line up of speakers included renowned researcher, AI and energy aspect leaders from various world-famous organisations from Hong Kong, Greater Bay Area, China and around the globe. The conference promoted international innovation and technology ideas, through exchange and cooperation which attracted over 2 000 participants including researchers, students, start-up companies, and corporations from around the world joined the online conference. 

     The Global AI Challenge for Building E&M Facilities will last for six months with a series of activities including the international technical conference, an AI contest, a pre-contest workshop and prize presentation ceremony. More details can be referred to the event webpage www.globalaichallenge.com.

Ends/Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Issued at HKT 19:05

NNNN