HKU iDendron incubatee Hollo wins 2020 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Champion

May 20, 2020 In Events & Updates

HKU iDendron incubatee Hollo wins 2020 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Champion

香港大學創新及創業中心iDendron培育的學生初創團隊Hollo，擊敗過千名來自世界各地的參賽隊伍，贏得微軟Imagine Cup世界錦標賽全球總冠軍，也是自比賽於2003年開辦以來首次由香港參賽隊伍勝出。

Hollo學生團隊成員Cameron van Breda，Ajit Krishna Namakkal Raghavendran 和Piyush Jha在香港大學認識。他們留意到現時一些心理健康的支援措施未能有效觸及較年輕的社群，故他們開始藉著科技解決問題。團隊利用 Microsoft Azure 、大數據及機器學習等技術，研發一個心理健康夥伴應用程式，為有精神健康問題的人提供協助，以及提供治療支援。

微軟Imagine Cup世界錦標賽有來自200多個國家超過28,000名學生報名參加，而亞洲地區決賽只選出其中10隊作賽。今年2月，Hollo學生團隊經已勝出亞洲地區決賽，晉身世界錦標賽。今次贏得全球總冠軍，Hollo將會獲得 10 萬美元現金獎、價值 5 萬美元的 Azure 基金，並由微軟行政總裁 Satya Nadella 親自指導運用。

自 2003 年起，一年一度的微軟 Imagine Cup 是全球頂尖的學生科技比賽，更被參賽者稱為「學生科技比賽的奧運」。今年 Imagine Cup 鼓勵參賽者「夢見它，建構它，運用它」，透過個人的創意、熱情和科技知識來設計可用於改變個人生活、工作和娛樂方式的應用程式。

香港大學首席創新總管/校長資深顧問何亦武博士恭賀Hollo獲獎：「今次學生團隊的成果，展示了校園內發展的創新風氣。港大除了致力於開創新發現及發明，也會將具潛力的研究和知識轉化成產品或服務，推出市場進而改善世界。港大會繼續努力培育更多創新項目和公司，推動創科發展及為年輕一代提供更多機會。」

HKU iDendron incubatee Hollo won the 2020 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Champion with a mental health companion web application leveraging Azure analytics and AI services to advance youth therapy practices. This is the first team from Hong Kong to have won the World Champion since the launch of the Microsoft Imagine Cup in 2003.

Hollo Team members Cameron van Breda, Ajit Krishna Namakkal Raghavendran and Piyush Jha met at HKU. The team noticed that mental health aid was not reaching the younger generations in their communities effectively and envision a future of tech-based, accessible, and comprehensive mental health management tools. With this in mind, Team Hollo developed a mental health companion web app leveraging Azure analytics and AI services to advance youth therapy practices.

Over 28,000 students from more than 200 countries registered to take part in the Microsoft Imagine Cup and only 10 teams were selected for the Asia Regional Final. Earlier in February this year, Hollo had won the title of World Finalist in the Asia Regional Final with their impactful solution. In winning the World Champion, the team won USD100,000, a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and USD50,000 in Azure grants.

The Microsoft Imagine Cup aims to empower students to use their imagination and passion for technology to develop innovative and inclusive solutions that tackle key societal issues. Held online this year due to the pandemic, it is the first time a Hong Kong team took home the Cup, often called the “Olympics of student tech competitions.”

HKU Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Yiwu HE congratulates Team Hollo: “It demonstrated the growing culture of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus among both academics and students here at HKU. We should think not only in terms of pursuing a new idea or concept for discovery, but to facilitate excellent research that results in products that impacts the world. we hope HKU will incubate many successful companies with innovative products to help grow the high-tech industry and provide the younger generation with more opportunities in Hong Kong.”