RGC commends outstanding research academics in Hong Kong

The Research Grants Council (RGC) today (November 7) held an award presentation ceremony to honour 87 academics from the eight University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities for their distinguished research achievements and significant contributions to the higher education sector.

Among the awardees, 70 came from the third cohort of the RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS), RGC Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) and RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (PDFS), and another 17 outstanding researchers received awards under the Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme and Early Career Scheme. A full list of the awardees is in the Annex.

Officiating at the ceremony, the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, said that the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the national strategy of positioning the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as an international centre for science and technology innovation had offered Hong Kong unprecedented opportunities. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government proactively promotes research activities in collaboration with this strategy to contribute to the national development and grasp the opportunities arising therefrom.

"In his 2022 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced an increase in the number of UGC-funded research postgraduate (RPg) places from 5 595 at present to 7 200 in the 2024/25 academic year in phases. Coupled with the Government's initiative last year to progressively relax the over-enrolment ceiling of UGC-funded RPg programmes from 70 per cent to 100 per cent, the enrolment of RPg students in the universities can increase by over 50 per cent," Dr Choi added.

Dr Choi said that she was also pleased to note the universities' efforts in improving the research ecosystem which is pivotal to further strengthening Hong Kong's research capabilities as well as nurturing and retaining research talents.

Also officiating at the ceremony, the RGC Chairman, Professor Wong Yuk-shan, expressed appreciation for the Government's support for increasing the number of publicly-funded RPg places to expand Hong Kong's research talent pool and help universities reach new heights in research excellence. He congratulated the awardees for their accomplishments, and said that he hoped seasoned researchers would continue to inspire and mentor newcomers, and young researchers would continue to hone their skills in a bid to pay their efforts for the future development of the country and excel in the international research arena.

The three RGC fellowship schemes, namely the SRFS, RFS and PDFS, were introduced in 2019 with recurrent funding support of $190 million per annum committed by the Government. Recipients of the awards were selected through a rigorous process by RGC selection panels. Their award citations are available on the RGC website (www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/about/events/).