Being an entrepreneur is no longer a far-fetched dream! The “HKMU Entrepreneurship Weekend Market”, organised by the Student Affairs Office of Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU), was successfully held last Saturday and Sunday (25 and 26 February) at D2 Place, Lai Chi Kok, giving students a chance to try their hand at entrepreneurship. Attracting over 2,000 visitors, the weekend market was an exuberant setting, with stalls complemented by workshops and fascinating musical performances by students. The winners of the 2021/22 “MetroChallenge”, another entrepreneurship programme of the University, presented their innovative projects to the public and shared their experience at the event.

Addressing at the opening ceremony of the event, Vice President (Research & Student Development) Prof. Ricky Kwok Yu-kwong stated that the event allowed students to unleash their potential and take the first step towards entrepreneurship. “This weekend market has inspired students to explore entrepreneurship and encouraged them not to limit themselves, but to start ‘small’ and move towards the goal of becoming the next ‘unicorns’”, he said.

The two-day market featured more than 20 stalls run by HKMU students. A diverse range of products were on offer, and nearly half of the stallholders had previously taken part in the “MetroChallenge”, with a board game on ancient Chinese history ideated and developed by students, for example, and heart-warming handmade candles offered by one of the “MetroChallenge 2021/22” winning projects, “Melting Cancer x Perfect Match”, which is an online platform for cancer patients to exchange experience. The proceeds from the sale of the candles will be used to organise talks and workshops for cancer patients.

Other winners of “MetroChallenge 2021/22” presented their innovative ideas, such as “VisualArc”, a wearable scanning device that relieves office workers and students from the hassle of processing large amounts of text during meetings and classes, which also won a HK$100,000 seed grant in the 2021 Cyberport Greater Bay Area Young Entrepreneurship Programme. Another highlight project was a solar-powered deodourisng and disinfecting rubbish bin lid using UVC and ozone with connectivity to “IoT” modules to provide environmental data and remote-control functionalities.

Prof. Kwok urged other students who are interested in starting their own business to make good use of the University's entrepreneurial resources and put their ideas into practice.