TECH NEWS – On May 16, a strategic partnership agreement was signed at the Gellért Campus of Corvinus University of Budapest between the university and the Shenzhen Research Institute of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The aim is to establish a joint R&D-based innovation and incubation system. Both parties will contribute equally to the collaboration, with a combined budget of EUR 14 million.

According to the agreement with the institution ranked 36th in the QS World University Rankings, the funds will be allocated to develop the Academic and Innovation Matrix (AIM), a scientific, research, and entrepreneurial collaboration platform created by the two institutions last spring. The platform will include shared research facilities, infrastructure, and legal and administrative services at both institutions.

On the Hungarian side, the agreement was signed by **Bruno van Pottelsberghe**, Rector of Corvinus, and **Péter Baranyi**, Professor at Corvinus. Representing The Chinese University of Hong Kong were **Anthony T. C. Chan**, Vice President, and **Yeung Yam**, Director of the university’s Shenzhen Research Institute. The AIM platform, which serves as the foundation of the partnership, was initiated by Professors Yeung Yam and Péter Baranyi, building on a decades-long collaboration.

Thanks to the new strategic partnership, an R&D-based innovation and incubation system will be created, aligning the partners’ innovation and incubation strategies—including legal frameworks and institutional operations—while promoting efficient technology and knowledge transfer.

The agreement also includes elements related to scientific and research activities. It will support networking and collaboration—facilitating partnerships among business, technology, and academic researchers—and promote academic and professional exchanges, enabling the mobility of students, researchers, professors, and professionals. Joint educational programs are also planned, including curriculum development and training initiatives suitable for both institutions.

The partnership may accelerate joint research and the implementation of innovative solutions applicable to industry. It will also support researchers from both institutions in launching businesses based on their scientific achievements. The AIM vision aligns with the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

With the signing of the strategic agreement, the parties also kick off a joint AI project supported by nearly EUR 1 million from the National Research, Development and Innovation Office. The research focuses on a new paradigm in neural networks called neural mesh.