Feature Stories

At HKUST, students from all business majors can enroll in minor program(s) offered by the other Schools to supplement their major studies. A wide array of minor programs are available, including Sustainability and the joint-school minor in Entrepreneurship. The interdisciplinary nature of entrepreneurship courses means students will be inspired by professors hailing from different fields of expertise. 

"One of our entrepreneurship class professors helped us design, refine and think practically about our business model. He also shared insights and experiences in other things such as negotiations, risk assessment, and opportunity costs. A faculty of business sustainability provided us with useful contacts and made the first few connections with bakeries that share our vision of sustainable practices; a professor specializing in environmental sustainability guided us in enhancing the competitiveness of our product, as we are also competing with bamboo, wooden and bioplastic cutlery, who also aim to reduce plastic cutlery," the team shared. 

As an engineering student, Anhad also found the Business School's collaborative approach with the other Schools an eye-opener into the synergetic nature of the innovation process. "I came to HKUST to do research and engineering. I didn't imagine becoming a co-founder of a start-up or doing anything business-related. In fact, I used to dislike the business side of things, but when I came to HKUST, I realized the Business School doesn't exist just for its own sake. While the School of Science or Engineering handles technical requests of innovation, the Business School formulates strategies to bring innovation to people and builds a profitable business model to sustain the back-end research and development. I really like that holistic approach, where we go through A to Z as ourselves, contributing our expertise and interests. That is something special about HKUST, the way the Business School is for the other Schools."  

Our dedication to educating socially responsible future leaders and the start-up friendly environment sets us apart from other business schools.  

"HKUST's entrepreneurship environment (is) up-and-coming, as I see a lot of people who want to give back to society alongside getting their degree and starting their businesses. This mindset really differentiates HKUST as a university." Swapnil noted. 

As the only business school in Hong Kong recognized for its social impact and sustainability achievements in the global student-voted Positive Impact Rating 2021, we spare no effort to raise students' awareness of social and global issues and increase their sensitivity and responsibility towards the local and global communities.  For instance, our business core curriculum includes the Business Ethics and Social Responsibility course alongside an extracurricular social services internship program. 

The Business School embraces the entrepreneurial spirit and helps students act upon their ideas. "For a business to take shape, it's not just the people, but also the environment the business is incubating in. HKUST has been instrumental in providing us a supportive and friendly environment we can leverage to move forward, whether it's funding, meeting the right people who can help us build our supply chain. We couldn't have achieved these aspects if we weren't here at HKUST." Swapnil said.  

"This was an important part in the beginning stages of Planeteers, cumulating into what we are today. The initial connections the University helped us make were crucial and provided the foundation to increase our network further. Overall, HKUST is doing a good job in encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship, in alignment with the University's vision." Aditi said.  

Like with many collaborative efforts, the pandemic saw the team physically separated in their early stages, with Anhad in India for five months in early 2020. "COVID-19 posed a barrier for us, even at the research phase, as lab access has been difficult to obtain. Pilot projects in collaboration with a vegetarian restaurant had to be stopped because of another wave of infections. But we're still better off than a lot of businesses facing similar difficulties!" Making the best of the situation, he focused on gathering research data to share with the team.  

Having formulated their product, which works well with hot food and tastes delicious, they are developing their product baking molds and packaging to help reduce costs and make their product accessible for the masses and affordable to make a greater impact. Simultaneously, the team is working hard on its business development. "We've got a basic prototype (of the enhanced recipe) ready, but we want it to be better. We are also testing the business model, in order to keep the business lean," Aditi shared. The team's efforts enabled them to run a pilot earlier this year as COVID-19 restrictions eased and determine their business model for the Hong Kong market. 

A more significant difficulty the team faces is the lack of understanding of the concepts underpinning Planeteer's vision and existence. "Many people are convinced that convenience is the first aspect to look at for products. Thus, they don't really understand that in the long-term, if there aren't start-ups like ours that envision sustainable futures, society will cease to exist," Aditi shared. "Getting through to everyone is difficult at times, but now, perhaps the cutlery is not for everyone, maybe more for people who are aligned with sustainability and eco-friendly products. Moving on, we hope that people do see that this is to their advantage and society's greater good."

The team's younger members are still considering after-graduation plans, but Aditi, who will graduate in 2022, has expressed her determination to continue with the Planeteers and other projects, alongside experience in the traditional corporate setting. "I envision myself 10 years down the line, with Planeteers with one of many start-ups."