Secretary for Innovation & Technology Alfred Sit today visited the Smart Government Pavilion at the International ICT Expo.

During the visit, he reviewed various departments’ work in promoting smart government and encouraged them to foster closer collaboration with the industry to drive further development in this regard.

Under the anti-epidemic new normal, government departments have been proactively using robotics and other technologies to discharge duties and enhance the quality of public services. These include the disinfection robot, intelligent robotic monitoring system, deliverbot, robotic dog for landslide inspection and guiding robot.

Mr Sit said he was glad to see government departments constantly innovate and inject new ideas and impetus into public services, which in turn bring about innovation in service delivery and user experience.

He also emphasised that artificial intelligence and big data are important technology areas underpinning smart city development.

With their applications conducive to delivering data-driven quality public services, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) set up the Smart Government Innovation Lab in April 2019, which promotes industry players’ participation to assist government departments in adopting technologies, with a view to improving public services.

So far, the lab’s thematic website has uploaded more than 120 business needs and received over 370 IT solutions submitted by industry players. Over 70 business needs nominated by various departments have been matched with solutions.

The OGCIO, together with 11 government departments and public organisations, set up the Government Pavilion in the International ICT Expo which has been resumed as an in-person exhibition after COVID-19 struck Hong Kong. More than 20 technology solutions that facilitate smart city development and enhance public services are featured, including smart mobility, smart living, smart environment, smart people and smart government.

Through the exhibition, the OGCIO aims to help different sectors gain a better understanding of the Government’s initiatives on smart city development and act as a bridge to boost collaboration between the Government and the industry.

The four-day expo is being held at the Convention & Exhibition Centre from today to October 30.

In addition to the Government Pavilion, the OGCIO also set up the Hong Kong ICT Awards Pavilion to showcase winning entries of the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2020 to encourage and inspire industry players.

Interested parties from the trade can pre-register at the Trade Development Council’s thematic website.