The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster has achieved the top ranking in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s 2025 Global Innovation Index of World’s Top 100 Innovation Clusters. Central to this achievement is The Chinese University of Hong Kong , which has solidified its role as a driving force in the Greater Bay Area’s innovation ecosystem, holding over 2,400 granted patents worldwide and leading all local universities in annual patent filings for five consecutive years. The university also ranks first in cumulative patent applications, granted patents, and intellectual property licensing revenue, consistently transforming research into tangible societal benefits.
CUHK hosts four State Key Laboratories endorsed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, specializing in biomedical science, agrobiotechnology, and quantum information. Under the Innovation and Technology Commission’s “RAISe+ Scheme”, CUHK secured funding for 13 projects across medicine, computer science, and engineering—the highest among local institutions. It has also established six research centres in health, biomedicine, robotics, and artificial intelligence as part of the government’s InnoHK initiative, filing over 350 patents to date.
The university’s Knowledge Transfer Office and CUHK Innovation Limited provide robust support for researchers and startups, while InnoPort offers funding, training, and networking opportunities to foster entrepreneurship. CUHK further expanded its impact through the Shenzhen Research Institute InnoHub, launched in 2018, which now incubates 118 startup projects in AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, IT, and biomedical sciences.
The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster was recently ranked first in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s 2025 Global Innovation Index of Top 100 Innovation Clusters, highlighting the region’s growing influence in research and technology transfer.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po emphasized the ranking as a key benchmark for innovation clusters. With a newly introduced venture capital activity as the new metric for the Index, Chan underscored that innovation not only relies on ideas and talent but also on capital support.
