Elderly Services All Categories Arts, Culture and Heritage Education and Training Elderly Services Emergency and Poverty Relief Environmental Protection Family Services Medical and Health Rehabilitation Services Sports and Recreation Youth Development

The ageing population has become a major social issue in Hong Kong. It is estimated that by around 2040, about one in every three Hong Kong people will be aged 65 or above. The demand for elderly services has been increasing.

In response to these challenges, the Club’s Charities Trust donated over HK$47 million to The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in 2017 to establish the Jockey Club Smart Ageing Hub, a five-year project aimed at enhancing public awareness of ‘gerontechnology’ and improving residential care home services through the greater use of smart technology.

The development of technologies to help fulfil the needs of people in their third age has advanced significantly in recent years. The Jockey Club Smart Ageing Hub, which includes a Day Experience Centre and Real-life Hostels, provides a valuable platform for the application and promotion of such technologies in Hong Kong.

Located at the Jockey Club Rehabilitation Engineering Clinic of PolyU, the Jockey Club Smart Ageing Hub Day Experience Centre showcases gerontechnology products and demonstrates their uses in helping enhance the elderly’s quality of life. A smart home mock-up, modelled on a one-to-one scale of a typical housing unit, demonstrates how simple modifications and smart assistive devices can enhance the daily lives of the elderly. The Day Experience Centre accommodates a resource library showing various smart ageing products appropriate for use in Hong Kong.

The Real-life Hostels will be established with PolyU’s partnering NGOs under a mode of operation whereby PolyU will source, customise and integrate appropriate technological devices targeting the particular needs of each different NGO hostel’s service users. As each hostel will be equipped with unique gerontechnology features, together they will play a valuable role as demonstration units showcasing to other NGOs and stakeholders a range of technological solutions for meeting the needs of the ageing population in Hong Kong.

Guided visits to the Day Experience Centre and Real-life Hostels will be arranged at a later stage of the project, along with symposiums, workshops and training for elderly and student volunteers – all aimed at building a knowledge base and extending the capabilities of individuals and NGOs.

The Jockey Club Smart Ageing Hub Day Experience Centre is expected to attract about 18,000 visitors, while some 1,000 service users will directly benefit from the Real-life Hostels.