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HKUMed's 2nd ‘Hong Kong InnoHealth Cup’ connects Greater Bay Area and local secondary school students to unleash potential in medical innovation

29 June 2026

The LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) and the Hong Kong Subsidized Secondary Schools Council successfully concluded the 2nd ‘Hong Kong InnoHealth Cup’ on Saturday, 27 June, marking another major step forward in nurturing the next generation of healthcare innovation talent. Building upon the success of the first launch in 2025, this year's event significantly expanded its reach, attracting active participation from over 570 students and teachers across 84 secondary schools in Hong Kong and other parts of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The first-time participation of GBA secondary schools facilitated cross-border exchange, as well as deeper interaction and sharing in medical innovation among the students. This also underscores the vital role of health technology and innovation in tackling shared regional medical and public health challenges.

Encouraging interdisciplinary thinking and translating ideas into impact 
Officiating guests at the event included Dr Choi Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China; Professor Chak-sing Lau, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health) and Dean of Medicine of HKU; and Principal Lee Yi-ying, Chairman of the Hong Kong Subsidized Secondary Schools Council.

Following highly competitive preliminary and semi-final rounds, the ten most outstanding teams advanced to the finals, presenting their innovations to a judging panel of HKUMed professors. The expert judges praised the students for their exceptional performance in applying medical knowledge and technologies, as well as their creative thinking. Applying interdisciplinary knowledge, the participating teams developed diverse and highly practical concepts targeting critical health issues, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), diabetes, stroke and Parkinson's disease. Their projects covered chronic disease management, mental health support, rehabilitation and assistive technologies, smart monitoring systems and health promotion, showcasing the students' capabilities to meet societal needs and solve problems through innovative thinking.

Academic leaders advocate healthcare innovation 
St Paul's Convent School clinched the championship with a novel solution integrating muscle sensors and AI for addressing sarcopenia in Hong Kong's ageing population. Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Wong Fut Nam College claimed the first runner-up title with a non-invasive colorectal cancer (CRC) screening system, while Diocesan Boy's School took the second runner-up spot with a system that helps assess stroke risk and records vital signs to support diagnosis.

Dr Choi Yuk-lin stated that the competition provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the characteristics and talent of our youths in Hong Kong in harnessing boundless creativity to overcome challenges while maintaining a caring attitude to the people and things around them. This closely aligns with the Education Bureau on-going commitment in working together with all sectors to nurture talent with both digital literacy and humanistic qualities.

Professor Chak-sing Lau remarked, ‘The “Hong Kong InnoHealth Cup” is a valuable platform for young people to turn their creative ideas into actionable solutions. I am deeply impressed by the students' remarkable abilities to integrate multiple disciplines, flexibly applying AI and digital technologies to address real-world healthcare challenges with a human-centric approach. What is particularly encouraging is that the students have shown their empathy and eagerness to proactively understand these issues. This passion is essential for bringing any innovation to life. I am confident that this learning journey, which fosters both an innovative spirit and social responsibility, will help nurture future healthcare leaders empowered with forward-thinking and practical skills.’
 
Principal Lee Yi-ying expressed her gratitude to all collaborating schools and supporting organisations. She said, ‘Today's achievements mark an important milestone in our shared journey. We hope students will carry this innovative spirit into their future studies and careers, turning ideas into viable solutions for healthcare enhancement. By working together, we can surely build a healthier and more vibrantly innovative Hong Kong for the next generation.’

Professor Chan Ying-shing, the competition convenor and Senior Advisor to the Dean and Director of Campus Development and Infrastructure of HKUMed, added, ‘The competition serves as an ideal platform for collaborative innovation in technology and AI. This year's participating teams showed remarkable creativity, critical thinking and interdisciplinary integration in their medtech projects. The students understand the underlying principles of AI and digital platforms and know how to apply them in real-world healthcare environments. They proposed forward-looking solutions with practical value, bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world application.’

Continuously expanding regional impact 
Launched in early 2026 and themed ‘Health Technology and Innovation’, this year's competition encouraged students to utilise interdisciplinary thinking—combining science, engineering, data analysis and empathy—to address pressing healthcare needs in the community. The judging panel evaluated the projects across multiple dimensions, including innovation, practicality, technical feasibility, and potential impact on patients and society. The winning teams will participate in a summer programme co-organised by HKUMed and Queen Mary Hospital, gaining hands-on clinical experience under the guidance of medical tutors to deepen their understanding of the medical profession.

Professor Chak-sing Lau reaffirmed the ‘Hong Kong InnoHealth Cup’ as a vital platform for inspiring secondary students' interest in medical innovation and health sciences. He thanked all sectors for their support, which has enabled the competition to emerge as a flagship event for students in Hong Kong and other parts of the GBA to experience problem-based learning, teamwork and academic exchange with university scholars. Professor Lau stated, ‘HKUMed and our partners will continue to refine and expand the competition, allowing more students to participate, learn from one another, and contribute innovative solutions to enhance the health and well-being of citizens in Hong Kong and the region.’
 
The winning projects are:

Champion – St Paul's Convent School
Project: MyoX
To address sarcopenia and lifting injuries in Hong Kong's ageing population, MyoX offers a lightweight and affordable solution. It uses muscle sensors and AI to predict movement, triggering pneumatic artificial muscles and a pulley system to support weight lifting. The device has received positive feedback from students and elderly users.

First runner-up – Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Wong Fut Nam College
Project: Colorectal Cancer in Hong Kong – FIT 2.0
FIT 2.0 is a non-invasive colorectal cancer (CRC) screening system that extends the standard faecal immunochemical test (FIT) with microbiome-based detection. Traditional FIT relies solely on occult blood, which means it can miss tumours that bleed intermittently and falsely flag benign conditions like haemorrhoids and IBD. FIT 2.0 addresses both gaps by adding tumour-associated bacterial markers that don't depend on bleeding.

Second runner-up – Diocesan Boys' School
Project: StrokeWatch Wristband
StrokeWatch Wristband aims to aid individuals with an elevated risk of stroke in checking whether it is probable that they have a stroke, contacting emergency services when they are unable to or unaware of a problem. The system records vitals during a stroke occurrence for doctors to analyse, provide accurate diagnoses and set up personalised recovery strategies. 

About the ‘Hong Kong InnoHealth Cup’ 
The ‘Hong Kong InnoHealth Cup’ is a flagship competition focused on health innovation, organised by HKUMed and the Hong Kong Subsidized Secondary Schools Council, and co-organised by the Association of Principals of Government Secondary Schools, the Hong Kong Grant Schools Council, and the Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council. The competition aims to inspire senior secondary students to focus on real-world health issues. Through evidence-based research methods, interdisciplinary learning and creative thinking, students develop innovative health and biomedical technology solutions, while also completing structured research projects under professional mentorship. The winning teams will also participate in a summer programme and clinical experience activities co-organised by HKUMed and Queen Mary Hospital, further broadening their medical professional horizons.