HKUST Achieves Outstanding Success at Techathon 2026 | Entrepreneurship Center - The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

HKUST Achieves Outstanding Success at Techathon 2026

16 teams from HKUST showcased their innovative prowess at the Hong Kong Techathon 2026, jointly organized by HKSTP and 15 leading universities and institutions in Hong Kong. Remarkably, these teams secured 17 out of 46 awards, including the Best Presentation Award, three Gold Awards, five Silver Awards, four Bronze Awards, and four Merit Awards.

Cresento, the recipient of the Best Presentation Award and a Gold Award in the Trusted AI & Data Science Open Group, is a sports-technology company building AI-powered smart shin guards with the vision of democratizing elite-level performance analytics for all athletes. By giving grassroots and youth players access to meaningful data and visibility, they aim to help talent be discovered, support more competitive development pathways. Project Lead Struan Gerard DSOUZA and Kushaj DWIVEDI shared that the inspiration for the project came from their football journey:

“After placing in the bottom half last year, this win reflects a full year of iteration, resilience, and belief in our mission to make high-quality performance insights accessible to every footballer.”

Another standout, Nanos secured the Gold Award in the Digital Life Science & Healthcare Student Group with their breakthrough of the world’s smallest drug delivery system to enable treatment of inaccessible targets in fibrous cancers and Alzheimer’s. Project Lead Cheuk Hei NG expressed his gratitude, saying “We are grateful for this profound affirmation from HKSTP and HKUST. Tomorrow, our work continues, driven by the patients and families waiting for solutions.”

In the Tech FYP Group, OmniWatch AI - A Scalable, Multi-Modal AI Proctoring Engine and Invigilator Dashboard earned a Gold Award for its proctoring platform that uses a real-time AI engine to detect students’ head pose, gaze direction and perform calculations on attention levels. They adopted the human-in-the-loop approach to track browser activities, from copy-paste attempts to tab switching. Project Lead Cheng Leong CHAN and Weng Io CHEANG expressed:

“We sincerely thank our supervisor, Dr. Desmond Tsoi, for his unwavering support from the initial idea to our participation in Techathon 2026+. Without his guidance, we might not have had this remarkable experience or won the gold award. This recognition affirms the value of our product in today's landscape.”

The outstanding achievements of HKUST teams at Hong Kong Techathon+ 2026 demonstrate the university's strong focus on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. As we applaud this year's winners, we also recognize that success is an ongoing journey, and each effort brings valuable lessons. The HKUST Entrepreneurship Center is devoted to assisting aspiring entrepreneurs by offering resources to help them refine their ideas, enhance their presentations, and prepare for future opportunities. Together, we aim to empower innovators to confront real-world challenges and create a meaningful global impact.