Hong Kong parents can help teens unlock their innovative spirit

For example, he said that some young people come up with fantastic and original ideas before going to bed only to revert to their old ways when they wake up in the morning. This pretty well sums up the innovative culture or lack of it in Hong Kong.

The entrepreneurial mindset of the young must be developed and supported through structural and cultural pillars.

I got involved in some academic-commercial start-ups years ago when I was living on the Canadian west coast, which is a hotbed for incubators.

University professors and graduate students would feverishly pursue internet technology or bio-technology projects with the dream of finding the "next big thing". They faced an uphill struggle.

A handful of them managed to raise enough money, completed their research and sold the patents to Silicon Valley firms or large pharmaceutical companies, sometimes for fabulous sums. I wonder if Hong Kong will cultivate a similar environment to foster links between university campuses and the commercial world. Having such links is the structural pillar.

The cultural aspect is perhaps more difficult to attain. Traditionally, young men and women in Hong Kong have been coerced by parents to aim for the most lucrative professions that will provide job security and good salaries.

We are told creativity and innovation are peculiar trademarks of those who carve or paint for a living. I hope parents of today's teenagers can break that ugly mould so that we can see personalities like Jack Ma emerging in Hong Kong in the not-too-distant future.

The Hong Kong government's HK$5 billion and Alibaba's HK$1 billion fund to boost the innovation and technology sector must be anchored solidly in these fundamentals and principles if Hong Kong is to reap long-term benefits.