Trip to Hong Kong II: UX, Startups, and Tech
From December to February, I was in Hong Kong to immerse in the lifestyle as well as expand my knowledge and network. I have always admired the city and wanted to spend a longer time there. Vancouver is great but I wanted some international experience, something I see as a bigger challenge for growth. The diversity of people in Hong Kong and the East-meets-West character of the city was also amazing. I had some relatives there but otherwise was mostly alone and I really learned how to be independent. Most importantly, I wanted to meet different people and get a sense of what the UX field was like in Hong Kong. Surprisingly, I visited a lot of tech places and met many inspirational designers and entrepreneurs.
Hong Kong Science Park
Probably the Silicon Valley of Hong Kong, Science Park is like a campus with hundreds of high-technology enterprises. My cousin worked there for SolidWorks and so I made sure to make a visit to the park. Other companies such as Huawei and Philips also have offices here. When I got there, I was immediately amazed by the landscape of buildings and the diversity of people. During lunch, there were a lot of restaurants to choose from and many people around me spoke English. There were people from all over the world, all sharing the passion for technology.
Me posing in front of the famous Charles K. Kao Auditorium (AKA golden egg) at Hong Kong Science Park
As someone who has not truly seen the tech scene in Hong Kong (and Asia really), I was captured by this experience. It was exactly what I wanted to see during my time in the city. I walked around and saw a lot of student projects on robots and digital experiences. The coolest part was seeing a live racing game where players play an arcade racing game that is actually connected to remote-controlled cars. Overall, I really saw that Hong Kong has a lot of emerging startups and to see that on the other side of the world was very eye-opening.
ixDA Hong Kong: Startups x UX Meetup
Before I embarked on the long trip to Hong Kong, I did some research on groups and people I would want to meet. After connecting to a professional in the UX field, I was introduced to ixDA Hong Kong’s Meetup events. One of them was the Startups x UX workshop on how successful startups leverage UX. Many of the startups in Hong Kong do not fully understand the UX discipline yet, confusing it with the other design disciplines. Some have not yet embraced the importance of UX in their websites or applications.
Speakers at the Meetup event Startups x UX
The workshop was hosted at Garage Academy Campus and the speakers included a UX Researcher, Product Manager, Startup Founder, and Design Strategist. When I arrived, I had not expect such a big and diverse group of UX and startup enthusiasts. The vibe was similar to that of Vancouver’s. As Hong Kong is still adapting to UX practices, there is still a lot of room for growth. Members of a few of the design communities and organizations were present as well. I got to network with many other recent graduates from San Francisco, Melbourne, and even Vancouver! Most of them spoke fluent English but also Cantonese. Some studied design whereas others wanted to switch in from another field. It was interesting to see some international founders building their startups in Hong Kong instead of other places such as the US. They mentioned the diversity and flexibility of Hong Kong and it’s proximity to China were very attractive. After the event, there was a gathering at the pub and I got to meet two people that were from my university program as well back in Vancouver!
Reflecting on this trip, I got to really see what UX and tech was like in Hong Kong. Gaining international work experience would be great to have in a city I truly admire. I do believe that I really took advantage of my time there, exploring and learning along the way. Both my knowledge and network grew from this experience and I take it all back with me to Vancouver. After all, my travel adventures feed into my desire to design meaningful and inclusive products and experiences for the world. Until next time, Hong Kong!