The Hult Prize at HKUST 2025 concluded with an inspiring event last Thursday, highlighting the creative spirit of our students. Ten teams vied for three awards, with a total value exceeding HKD 10,000. The standout team, Eleuto, won the Gold Award, and is set to represent HKUST at the Hult Prize Final at the Regional Summit.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the following judges for their invaluable contributions to the Hult Prize 2025 Final Competition, showcasing their commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship:

• Prof. Carrie Ling (Director, Entrepreneurship Center, HKUST)
• Dr. Donna Brown (Associate Director, BioMedical Technology Cluster, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation)
• Prof. Joseph Koc (Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Management, HKUST)
• Mr. Fred Li (Senior Executive Director, Gobi Partners Greater Bay Area)
• Mr. Mike Lam (Associate Director, Ecosystem Development, Hong Kong Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park)

Gold Award: Eleuto

Eleuto is innovating communication for paralyzed individuals who can’t type or speak. Current solutions are costly and inaccessible to many. Their device allows caretakers to converse with their paralyzed loved ones through speech-to-text conversion. This text is processed by a language model trained on user-specific data, enabling the paralyzed user to select a suitable response via eye-tracking or blinking. The chosen response is then vocalized using a realistic text-to-speech engine. They aim to penetrate the entire AAC market before expanding into the consumer market, facilitating easier online communication for users.

Often referred to as the "Nobel Prize for students" by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the Hult Prize symbolises global social entrepreneurship. This annual competition challenges university students worldwide to dedicate their time and skills to create innovative solutions for the planet's most pressing challenges, with a grand prize of 1 million USD awarded to the winner.