Vocational Training Council (VTC) and Siemens Limited (Siemens) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 27 August 2018 to support the Smart City development and nurture next-generation talents for future innovation. 

The Hong Kong SAR government has identified innovation and technology as an important focus and called for measures to grow local talents. “Major cities are moving towards implementing cloud-based solutions to boost efficiency. The rapid transition for infrastructure has already started to help organisations harness the wealth of data generated by the Internet of Things (IoT),” said Mr Eric Chong, President & CEO of Siemens Hong Kong & Macao. “To enable smart cities, Siemens is dedicated to grooming local IoT professionals with the IoT operating system MindSphere and to bolstering the entire innovation ecosystem. Powered by strong data connectivity, MindSphere is unique in its business engagement model, which facilitates IoT deployment and co-creation, serving as a fundamental building block of a smart city. Today’s partnership will further nurture next-generation talents for future innovation.” 

The partnership between VTC and Siemens aims to answer the current pressing need for IoT expertise in building smart cities. Under the MoU, Siemens will offer VTC education licenses for its cloud-based, open IoT operating system, enabling students, academics and industry partners to innovate in the areas of buildings, energy, industry, mobility and smart city. The two parties will jointly design IoT training programs and further sharpen students’ knowledge of data analysis and its practical uses. 

The collaboration will provide an environment for local talents to develop their potential and explore capabilities made possible using Siemens IoT operating system. It will also leverage on the strengths of VTC and its industry know-how to train workforce-ready professionals that support the development of Hong Kong to be a Smart City. 

Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Dr Roy Chung, Chairman of the VTC said, “The VTC is dedicated to providing quality and relevant VPET programmes, while actively preparing our students to become pillars of our society, supporting smart city development of Hong Kong. We are delighted to join hands with Siemens, the digital pioneer and our long-standing partner, to nurture tech-savvy professionals for Hong Kong, particularly in the field of IoT.”