MEMSI 2022 Highlights

In MIT News: Transforming the travel experience for the Hong Kong airport
Marina Chan | MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node
Publication Date: March 11, 2022
Students propose solutions to re-imagine the customer experience for Hong Kong’s airport city development.
It’s not a bootcamp if it’s not intense.
MEMSI 2023 is an adventure that will transform the way you see the world — especially the post-pandemic world.
Students from MIT and Hong Kong get together and form teams to build a tech-enabled venture pitch in just two weeks! This is a unique opportunity to work with industry partners to gain insight into business processes that will help you solve a pre-defined industry problem with exposure to Asia. You will build prototypes, create a business model that makes sense, and then pitch your proposal to supporters of entrepreneurship on Showcase Day.
You will discover weaknesses you never knew you had and strengths that will help you soar. Along the way, you will make lifelong friends and become part of an international community. Don’t worry about program expenses – we cover them! But this bootcamp is not edu-tourism and don’t let that be the reason you apply.
MEMSI 2023 will operate 100% in-person, with MIT students flying to Hong Kong to attend the bootcamp in-person. We are only offering MEMSI in January. There is no summer MEMSI.
Please apply if you are interested in developing digital and/or mobile innovations with a strong emphasis on data-driven technologies and insights.



Challenge statements:
Aviation Challenge (MEMSI 2023)
1. How might the Hong Kong International Airport collaborate with other airports to offer connected airport experiences to passengers?
2. How might the Hong Kong International Airport collaborate with airlines and other business partners to offer connected travel experiences to passengers?
About the Hong Kong International Airport (MEMSI 2023 Industry Partner)
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is one of the world’s busiest airports, with an extensive global air network reaching over 220 destinations.
Being the world’s third busiest international passenger airport and the world’s busiest cargo airport, HKIA is one of the few in the world that is busy in both passenger and cargo traffic. Over the past 20 years, passenger volume has increased over 160% to 75 million, and cargo has grown 209% to over 5 million tonnes.
Through continuous development of passenger and cargo services, cross-boundary transport networks, and a wide range of commercial facilities in and surrounding the airport, HKIA is transforming from a city airport into an Airport City. The Airport City vision will strengthen HKIA’s status as an international aviation hub, enhancing its ability to capture the increasing traffic demand from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China’s most open and wealthiest economic region with a population of around 70 million.
Catering to increasing air traffic demand, HKIA is also undertaking a series of development projects to increase capacity and enhance services, including the expansion of the airport into a three-runway system.
Application Timeline
MIT Students
- Applications open: September 23, 2022
- Applications close: November 11, 2022
- Info-session: September 28, 2022 via ZOOM @ 9PM EST.
(Watch the Zoom recording here) - Interviews: On a rolling basis via ZOOM
- Acceptance notifications: On a rolling basis. Accepted students must confirm their attendance within 48h.
- MIT Cohort Finalized: Late-November 2022
- Orientation for January 2023 Cohort: TBC
Hong Kong Students
- Applications open: September 23, 2022
- Applications close: December 5, 2022
- Info-session: September 29, 2022 via ZOOM @ 4PM HKT.
(Watch the Zoom recording here) - Interviews: On a rolling basis via ZOOM
- Acceptance notifications: On a rolling basis. Accepted students must confirm their attendance within 48h.
- HK Cohort Finalized: Mid-December 2022
- Orientation for January 2023 Cohort: TBC
2023 Cohort Statistics
