Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all I should like to welcome our guests - Joseph Wong, Secretary for Education and Manpower, Francis Ho, Director-General of Industry, Desmond Lauder from the British Council, Anthony Tsui from the Croucher Foundation and colleagues from the Research Committees of the UGC-funded institutions. I should also like to introduce the new Chairman of the UGC, Dr Edgar Cheng, who has already, in just a few short months since taking over from Antony Leung, proved himself to be, like his predecessor, a strong supporter of the RGC and the research community. This should come as no surprise since Edgar was himself an academic oncologist for many years before turning successful businessman and he was, as some of you will remember, a member of the RGC from 1991 to 1993. Welcome back Edgar; and thank you all for being with us this evening.

Over much of the past week most of the RGC and panel members have been immersed in seemingly unending seas of paper examining, debating and assessing the more than 1,400 research grant applications received this year. The four subject panels have now completed their work for another year and I should like once again to thank the panel members for all their hard work and pay tribute to the dedication and commitment shown by all concerned in the exacting process of peer review. Each of the panels has met for at least two full days this year, and in one case for three days. I continue to be impressed by the level of enthusiasm and willing commitment shown by all panel members in this demanding task. The Hong Kong research community is grateful.

There are actually three groups of people who make this process work. The panels I have already mentioned and are of course central to it, but we must not forget the other two.

First there are the many hundreds of external reviewers, literally from all corners of the world, who give their advice and rate project proposals, and do so, generally, both thoughtfully and carefully. The RGC pays a small honorarium to overseas reviewers for this work, but I am sure that in most cases this is really no more than a token. Indeed I understand that quite a few overseas colleagues either refuse the honorarium or ask that it be paid to a charity instead. The job is taken on by all reviewers, both local and overseas, as part of their commitment to the international community of scholarship, and I should like to take this opportunity once again to thank them for doing so on behalf of the whole Hong Kong community.

The third group that I must recognise and thank is, of course, the RGC Secretariat. Brenda, Marcus and their colleagues in the Secretariat really do a great job supporting, coordinating, communicating and occasionally bullying the panel chairmen and members through the more than six month long process from the receipt of the grant applications, to the soliciting, collection and compilation of reviews, to the final exquisite agony of the panel meetings. Somehow or other they manage to keep track of all the masses of paperwork, panel members' occasional lucid comments, the oracular pronouncements of the panel chairmen, and eventually the decisions of the panels. Their efforts, often unseen and unsung behind the scenes, should not go unremarked.

Some of you may have heard that this was to be my last RGC meeting. However, as those who were here in December will realise, rumours and predictions of retirements from the UGC and RGC and the Secretariat are often premature. Several UGC and RGC members whose terms were to expire this year have been asked to stay on for another year at least. And you will note that Nigel is still here after his second farewell dinner. I too have been asked to stay on for another year, and I have agreed to do so with mixed feelings.

On the one hand I am delighted to have the prospect of working closely with you all for another year. The excitement and enthusiasm of RGC and panel members is infectious. On the other hand, I had hoped to be able to devote more time to developing workable technology transfer channels and models with a view to bridging the gap between the applied research already being undertaken in the university and industry - a subject very close to my heart and the major reason for my return to Hong Kong.

Anyway, I suppose I shall just have to leave that to others for a few more months. There is certainly plenty of interest in developing such links from the universities' side; and I should of course like to see the same level of commitment from industry in Hong Kong. With the strong support of the Government and the UGC, the local institutions have developed a very strong foundation and technology pools which can contribute to upgrading and transforming the local industry. However efficient and effective mechanisms of technology transfer still need to be developed. And let there be no mistake - the transfer of technology from the university to industry is a two-way process - it needs both a transmitter and a receiver. I sincerely hope that the efforts of the Chief Executive's Commission on Innovation and Technology in this context will help in further developing the necessary two-way communication on technology transfer in Hong Kong.

Tomorrow the RGC main committee will be meeting to continue our discussion, started in the retreat in December last year, on the future role and operations of the Council. We shall obviously be taking into consideration the views expressed in the Government's Consultation Document on the Review of Education-related Executive and Advisory Bodies, and the UGC's and our own initial response to that document, which followed discussions among local members last month. In this context, I should like particularly to thank the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Joseph Wong, and his colleagues in the Trade & Industry Bureau for their recent suggestions and thoughts on this subject. We shall also take account of ideas being put forward to and by the Commission on Innovation and Technology, and elsewhere, about the importance of technology transfer and the need to improve the interaction between university research and industry.

Without wishing to pre-empt the Council's deliberations, I believe we shall want to preserve the strength of the present RGC system and its important and virtually unique role in Hong Kong as the supporter of top quality research (both basic and applied) in the UGC-funded sector on the basis of rigorous peer review. We shall, however, at the same time wish to find ways to improve and enhance that role, so that we can support research that will help Hong Kong, the mainland and the region respond effectively to the challenges of the 21^st century.

With the strong support of the Government and the UGC, and the diligent efforts of colleagues in the institutions, we have successfully developed a vibrant research culture in the UGC-funded institutions over the past seven years. The contribution that it is making to social and economic development is starting to be significant and to be noticed. We can and should do more, however, to develop these linkages, both locally and internationally. The RGC looks forward to your continuing support in these endeavours over the coming years.

Thank you.