The Dual Degree Program in Technology & Management (T&M-DDP)’s corporate consulting project TEMG4950Q “Urban Smart Farming Solutions for Hong Kong” has successfully concluded with a final presentation held on May 7, 2026. In collaboration with Arup, a global built environment consultancy, the project challenged students to develop pragmatic and innovative business strategies for smart urban farming to address Hong Kong’s pressing challenges in food security, sustainability, and urban resilience.

Under the guidance of Prof. Betty LIN, course instructor and Associate Director of T&M-DDP, and with mentorship from professionals at Arup and across the industry, the student-consultants worked in teams to design smart farming business plans tailored to the city's dense urban landscape and unique regulatory framework, leveraging technologies such as AI-enabled IoT hydroponics and controlled-environment agriculture. Each team was assigned a distinct development scenario, including water lots, vacant lots, industrial buildings, and commercial buildings, and was equipped with project resources such as a five-year site allocation and an interest-free loan to evaluate the feasibility and scalability of their solutions.

Following a rigorous evaluation by a distinguished judging panel, including Mr. LEE Wai-Lam, Director at ARUP; Mr. Wander MEIJER, Executive Director of Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden Ltd.; and Ms. Cintia NUNES, General Manager and Head of Asia at The Mills Fabrica Ltd., Team 1 “AquaNaut” (Water Lot) was selected as the winner, while Team 3 “MycoLoop” (Industrial Building) was awarded 1st runner-up for their outstanding performance across customer desirability, technical feasibility, financial viability, and overall presentation quality.

This successful project was made possible by Arup, a valued corporate partner of T&M-DDP since 2020 dedicated to fostering innovative and sustainable solutions for the built environment. A sincere thank you to all judges for their invaluable feedback, and to our mentors from ARUP – Mr. Felix CHANG, Building Sustainability Leader; Mr. Matthew GEVERS, Chief Urban Designer; and Ms. Julia LAO from Strategy and Operations, as well as Mr. Andrew CHAN, former CFO of a joint venture for Dole Foods and Tropicana, for their dedicated guidance throughout the semester. Their expertise and support empowered students to develop practical, innovative, and impactful solutions to real-world urban sustainability challenges.