UK universities are invited to participate in the British Council’s Marketing Mission to Hong Kong from 24 to 28 October 2019. The marketing mission is specifically designed to support UK universities looking to explore market opportunities in the emerging sectors – Esports, FinTech, Cyber security, Game design.
One of the highlights of this mission is the UK’s institutional involvement at InnoCarnival 2019. InnoCarnival is an annual event hosted by the Hong Kong Government, which aims to enhance public understanding of, and interest in, innovation and technology – particularly among the younger generation.

BENEFITS TO THE UK INSTITUTIONS

• Involvement at government-hosted public facing event, which will attract intensive media attention.

• Match-making meetings with local institutions and potential business partners and delegation visits to Science Park and Cyber Port, where they are the major creative digital communities with a cluster of technology start-ups

• Mini recruitment fair to meet prospective students and career counsellors. Students from local schools and international schools will be invited and there will be digital promotion campaign to attract the public.

THEMES AND EVENT FORMAT

Public facing event at InnoCarnival 2019

Four areas that we would highlight at InnoCarnival 2019 are:

• E-sports
• Game design
• Cyber security (Ethical hacking)
• Fintech

We would like to invite experts from these fields to put together programmes that will encompass a wide range of activities including: 

• E-sports Experience corner

  The E-sports Experience corner could feature esports gaming, gaming tools, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. We would like to invite a UK e-sports team to be there to compete with local gamers.

  

  Photo credit: Pengta Network Technology: https://www.techinasia.com/china-esports-centers

• Seminars/talks
• The talks will be presented in collaboration with employers, industry bodies and university academics and will focus on career opportunities in game design, e-sports, cyber security  and fintech. The target audience will be senior secondary students who are interested in Science and Technology subjects and their parents.

• Workshops
• We expect UK institutions to showcase their research outcomes through student work and cutting-edge equipment. They will also provide the opportunity for students to participate in interactive learning activities, such as role-plays, mini games and exercises, and on-site science experiments.

B2B mission

Apart from the public facing event, British Council Hong Kong will also host a B2B mission, which is specifically designed to support UK universities looking to explore market opportunities in Science and Technology sector in Hong Kong. The emerging industries like E-sports, game design, cyber security (Ethical hacking) and Fintech will be the major focus for this mission.

Highlights for this mission:

• Match-making meetings with local institutions and potential business partners (e.g. technology start-ups).
• Delegation visits to Science Park and Cyber Port

The event will be supported by Department for International Trade UK and the local association e.g. HK E-sports association, ISACA China and Hong Kong Chapter etc

Student recruitment mini fair

In Hong Kong, parents and students are increasingly making study decisions based on employability. This student recruitment event will be presented together with academics, employers and alumni, helping parents and students in these markets to make informed decisions about higher education and graduate outcomes.

Structure of Study and Career Options Events

Each event will include:

• Talks on studying subject area in the UK, presented by institutions.
• Career options in related industries and skills employers seek, presented by industry associations and employers.
• Alumni sharing
• Mini exhibition area for student consultations and recruitment.

The event will be supported by e-flyers, newsletters to our student database and other mass/target promotions. Seminar content must cater to career counsellors, parents and senior secondary students, who are looking for in-depth information on studying the relevant subject area in the UK and resulting career options.

Tentative programme

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Raising the institution’s profile by participating the government-hosted public facing event.

• Promote the employability of these subject areas – E-sports, Cyber security and Fintech, and to nurture more talents in these fields

• A greater understanding of e-sports and ethical hacking among the public and a more positive view of these sectors.

• Engage with potential students and their parents, agents and school counsellors directly through the face-to-face recruitment event

MARKET CONTEXT

Science and Technology

From the recent government’s policy address, the Chief Executive has pledged to set aside an additional HK$50 billion to support innovation and technology development this financial year, especially in the areas of biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), smart cities and fintech. Hong Kong is determined to play an integral part in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) plans and aim at turning the city into an innovation and technology hub. It is therefore not surprising that STEM subjects will be dominated the employability tables for graduate salaries and career prospects in Hong Kong. 

E-sports/ Video game industry

Over the past year, the Hong Kong government strengthened its support for esports industry by allocating HK$100 million, half of it will be used to build an esports competition venue at the park and to nurture talent for local business startups. 
With the new venues for e-sport, it could help to train gamers to compete at the 2022 Asian Games, where esports will be recognised as an official event.  City University study in 2017 showed there were more than 300,000 players in the city with nearly 90 percent of them aged between 13 and 21.

Accounting firm PwC has predicted annual revenues in Hong Kong’s video game industry would grow to US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion) by 2021, underlining its potential. However, there is very limited education programme about this area in Hong Kong, the only  recognised programme is the Diploma in eSports Science offered by Cyberport and HKUSPACE, so there is much room to grow among this emerging sector.