Frank WANG

Frank is a dreamer. He dreamed of building flying machines ever since he was little. In 2006, his first year as an MPhil student, he founded DJI, a company which is now the global leader in developing and manufacturing small, unmanned automated aerial systems for commercial and recreational use.

The encouragement he received at HKUST helped his dream – and his drones – take flight. He remembers his mentor and supervisor with particular appreciation, “His research field is in robotics rather than unmanned aerial systems, but he was open to my interest and let me follow it. He also recommended some of his students to join my company. He helped us a lot.”

Based in Shenzhen, DJI now operates in the Americas, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Mainland China with a workforce of over 14,000 employees. Frank was also selected as one of the Top 10 Innovators from China by Forbes in 2014, and recipient of the prestigious 2019 IEEE Robotics and Automation Technical Field Award for Contributions to the development and commercialization of civilian drones, aerial imaging technology, robotics engineering advancement, innovation, and entrepreneurship, together with his Professor, Zexiang Li.