City University and TFI Digital Media Limited have established joint research centre in the field of digital media technology

The Department of Computer Science (CS) of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and TFI Digital Media Limited (TFI) have established a joint research centre to carry out research in advanced digital media technology.

The TFI Applied Research Centre for Advanced Digital Media Technology will provide a platform for research professionals to engage in deep technology research with high potential for commercial success in the digital media sector. This demonstrates the commitment of both parties to develop local R&D talent and enhance the competitiveness of the Hong Kong technology ecosystem through close collaboration among entrepreneurs, academia, the Government and researchers.

The Centre will focus on research topics in computer science, specifically video technology, computer vision, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, which TFI aims to apply to the global digital media industry through its domain expertise.

The naming ceremony for the research centre was held on 9 August, officiated by Mr Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung, GBS, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Hong Kong SAR Government; Mr Wilson Yuen Yiu-fai, Founder and CEO of TFI Digital Media Limited; and Professor Way Kuo, President of CityU.  Guests attending the ceremony included representatives from the University, TFI, and government departments.

In his welcome remarks, Professor Kuo expressed his gratitude to Mr Yuen for his generous donation, which he said would further strengthen CityU’s collaboration with industry to promote knowledge transfer. He also thanked Mr Yang for his unfailing support, as well as his recognition of CityU’s efforts and achievements in promoting the development of innovative technologies.

“CityU will continue to actively promote knowledge transfer and to contribute to society by transforming outstanding research into products and services for everyday use,” said Professor Kuo.

Mr Yang said he was pleased the Centre would provide a platform for research collaboration among Government, industry¸ academia and research institutes to nourish innovation and technology, and promote scientific and technology exchange.  “This is an excellent example of the synergistic approach that the Government is committed to implementing to promote and develop Hong Kong’s thriving technology industry for the good of the HKSAR as a whole,” he added.

Mr Yuen said TFI and CityU have been working together on various research initiatives. “This Research Center further strengthens the relationship between TFI and CityU, bridging the gap between academic research and commercialisation, realising our core vision to ’Bring Content, Culture and People Together’,” he said.

TFI already has an ongoing project supported by the Innovation and Technology Fund - University-Industry Collaboration Programme with Professor Sam Kwong Tak-wu, Head of the Department of Computer Science of CityU. Entitled “Advance Video Rate Control for High Efficiency Video Coder”, the project has resulted in the filing of two US patents.

“At CityU we are committed to producing a new generation of computing professionals, and this Centre will provide further resources and expertise to help us achieve this aim,” said Professor Kwong. He also took the opportunity to thank TFI for its strong support in the establishment of the joint Research Centre, which will encourage private sector participation in R&D and foster the development of innovation and technology.

Albert Wong, CEO of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), congratulated TFI on the launch of the Research Centre. “We have witnessed TFI’s journey towards becoming a valuable contributor in the ecosystem, when the company has grown during and after the three-year incubation with HKSTP from a 10-person operation to a 100-strong company based in InnoCentre, delivering cutting-edge R&D on AI and big data analytics. We look forward to seeing TFI’s collaboration with CityU activity driving deep tech R&D and enabling other forms of advanced digital technology.”  

Naming Ceremony Highlights