10 Dec 2024
Proposing the Integration of AI and ESG Elements into the Operations of Towngas CUHK Business Students win the “Business Case Competition” Championship
(10 December 2024) In recent years, various industries in Hong Kong have faced the challenge of a “talent shortage.” The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) fully supports the “LEAD to the Future Business Case Competition,” organised by JCI Island, the GBA Youth Innovation & Entrepreneurship Foundation, and the Hong Kong Island Youth United Association, to discover and nurture more business talent.
This year’s competition, themed “Artificial Intelligence (AI),” attracted over 1,300 students from tertiary institutions across Hong Kong, forming a total of 275 teams to participate. Each team submitted a proposal based on a designated business case. Among these, five teams that selected Towngas as their business case advanced to the finals. Ultimately, the team from The Chinese University of Hong Kong emerged as the champion in this category.
The champion team members are all from the CUHK Business School. Their proposal includes the adoption of AI-powered cooking appliances, featuring a built-in AI voice control system integrated into the stoves. This system allows customers to voice questions related to cooking and the appliances, receiving instant solutions. Additionally, they proposed an Optimal-Controlling System to ensure the use of the most appropriate heat and temperature during cooking, achieving optimal energy efficiency and reducing cooking time. The team also suggested the effective utilisation of local food waste to produce biogas, which can be converted into green hydrogen, thereby expanding green hydrogen production and accelerating carbon reduction efforts. By integrating AI and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) elements into Towngas’s operations, the team aims to drive business diversification and the development of green energy through innovative technology.
One of the competition judges, Mr Edmund Yeung Lui-ming, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer of Towngas, praised the overall high quality of the participating teams. “The teams provided detailed analyses of Towngas’s business. The proposal of the champion team is innovative and comprehensive. Their creative ideas have given us new insights. We hope they continue to progress and offer more groundbreaking business solutions for the industry. Towngas will also continue to nurture young talent through various channels, helping to expand Hong Kong’s talent pool.”
The champion team believes that this competition allowed them to apply the business concepts and knowledge they have learned to the actual operations of Towngas. One of the team members, Ms Claire Magdalene Tang, said, “Providing a business solution for Towngas was an invaluable experience and our first encounter with a public utility company. We hope that our proposed AI-powered cooking appliances could be adopted and that our waste-to-energy suggestions could help address Hong Kong’s food waste problem.”
Towngas has been serving Hong Kong for over 160 years, consistently embracing innovation and adopting advanced technologies to enhance safety and service quality. For instance, in 2020, Towngas developed the “Smart Riser Inspection System,” which uses automated inspection tools and AI technology to assess the condition of gas risers on building exteriors and classify them accordingly, ensuring the safety of gas supply.
Additionally, Towngas has developed Smart Controller and Smart Meter incorporating the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. These innovations allow the elderly and their families to remotely monitor the stove’s status and to shut-off via mobile phones in case of emergencies, thereby leveraging technology to enhance home safety for the elderly.
Looking ahead, Towngas will continue to drive business innovation and create corporate value.
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Press photos:
Photo 1:
Ms Alice Mak Mei-kuen (1st from left), the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, and Mr Edmund Yeung Lui-ming (1st from right), Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer of Towngas, present the award to the champion team from CUHK at the “LEAD to the Future Business Case Competition.”
Photo 2:
Towngas is a partner and diamond sponsor of the “LEAD to the Future Business Case Competition.” Mr Edmund Yeung Lui-ming (right), Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer of Towngas, accepts a certificate of appreciation from the organisers.
Photo 3:
The champion team members of the “LEAD to the Future Business Case Competition,” (from left to right) Mr Lee Shing-him, Ms Claire Magdalene Tang, Ms Jessica Cheuk, and Ms Lauren Ho, expressed that applying the business concepts and knowledge they learned to the actual operations of Towngas was a very rewarding experience.
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The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited