MIT Innovation Node hosted a group of MIT students, who embarked on an entrepreneurial learning journey to Hong Kong, joining forces with local university students in the Smart Airport Challenge 2024 for an intensive 11-day entrepreneurship bootcamp. Together, they explored the vast opportunities within the aviation sector, immersing themselves in the innovative process from ideation to pitching.
This year, our Industry partner, Airport Authority Hong Kong challenged the students to propose innovative ideas that leverage technology and innovation to reshape the market landscape of the Hong Kong International Airport and expedite the passenger recovery process.
The bootcamp culminated with a showcase where the five student teams pitched their innovation solutions to a judging panel of industry professionals. Additionally, three student venture teams from Hong Kong also participated, eager to enhance their understanding of entrepreneurship and refine their solutions with feedback from the judges.
Thanks to the support of our industry partner, Airport Authority Hong Kong, and supporting organization, Hong Kong Productivity Council, students were able to learn more about the aviation sector and gain valuable knowledge on entrepreneurship. We would also like to thank the Innovation and Technology Commission for their funding support to make this event possible.
Two teams were awarded for their creative solutions:
Smart Airport Challenge Winner – Team 1 DinoFly
Smart Airport Challenge Audience’s Favorite Award – Team 4 JCAR Experience
Overall the bootcamp was a success, where students felt that being able to work directly with the Airport Authority Hong Kong was very unique and offered a great cultural exchange experience. One student elaborated, “Entrepreneurship often requires you to deeply investigate a problem and dive into its background. This program made that possible.”
Join us for the next Smart Airport Challenge in 2025!
