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Currently, the GT Platform is seeking to remedy this gap in EPIC therefore provides trainees with a comprehensive
understanding by having HKPC and the Hong Kong Science understanding of the social and ethical dimensions of the
and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) lead study tours gerontech industry. Referencing the AGE-WELL case, we
through their Network & Capacity Building functionality. These recommend the GT Platform to provide a specific training
study tours bring supply-side product developers to physically course for start-ups that covers the biopsychosocial
visit various elderly or rehabilitation service units, as well as contexts of ageing, disability, and rehabilitation, as well as
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bring demand-side social care professionals to visit tech-related the operational context and requirements of the elderly and
exhibitions to better understand latest technological products rehabilitation services sector, such as different service units’
and trends. These tours do indeed fill the understanding gap regulatory requirements.
between supply- and demand-side; yet, because they are
one-off events, there is little space for structured follow-up. As
such, there is an opportunity to provide more systematic and
1.3 Import & Export
holistic training to further minimise the communication and
understanding gap between the two sides. One of the most persistent problems within Hong Kong’s
gerontechnology ecosystem is Hong Kong’s limited market
Canada’s national technology and ageing network is called size (Gap 15). Stakeholders indicated in our survey that there is
AGE-WELL, which is an initiative that gathers all relevant virtually no improvement in this area (score 0.05). Unfortunately,
stakeholders together to develop technologies and services for small market size causes the simultaneous problem of difficulty
healthy aging (AGE-WELL About, 2021). One of AGE-WELL’s for local companies to sustain themselves by only relying on
key goals includes training the next generation of innovators, Hong Kong’s domestic market, as well the lack of incentive
which is primarily done through their Early Professionals, Inspired for overseas companies to import and localise products into
Careers (EPIC) training programme. As depicted in Figure 11, Hong Kong’s market. We therefore need to consider how to
EPIC trains participants to understand the physical, social, and help local gerontech companies with export opportunities, while
psychological dimensions of ageing; ethical guidelines within also increasing the incentive and ease for overseas gerontech
the gerontech industry; as well as key information about the companies to import and localise their products. To tackle this
Canadian healthcare system. The training is required for anyone problem, we will first distinguish between increasing the import
who is receiving funding from AGE-WELL and free to all AGE- and export flow within the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and then
WELL members (AGE-WELL EPIC, 2021). between Hong Kong and other international entities.
17 The biopsychosocial model posits that biological, psychological, and social factors all play a significant role in health and disease—not just biological factors (Borrell-Carrió et al., 2004).
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