An $18 billion Research Endowment Fund was established with
allocation from the Government. $4 billion of the Fund is set
aside for Theme-based Research which will support projects on
themes of a longer-term nature and strategically beneficial to
the development of Hong Kong. A Steering Committee, with
membership consisting of the academia, representatives from
different sectors of the community and the Government, and the
Chairman of Research Grants Council (RGC), was set up with the
major charge to identify the themes.
To launch the Scheme, funding will be focused initially on a
small number of themes most beneficial to Hong Kong's strategic
development and where the local academia have a competitive
advantage, says RGC Chairman Professor Roland Chin.
Professor Chin points out that the research themes should aim
to find solutions to important problems that are relevant to
Hong Kong. The Theme-based Research Scheme's Principal
Investigators must be academics from UGC-funded institutions. It
is hoped that the initiative will galvanize our strength and
interest to work on high impact cutting edge research projects,
and at the same time create state-of-the-art teaching materials
and educational programs, as well as provide quality training
for our research students.
Professor Chin says that the chosen themes are
"Promoting good health", "Developing a sustainable environment" and
"Strengthening Hong Kong's strategic position as a regional and
international business centre".
Projects under the theme "Promoting good health" should aim
to make Hong Kong a healthier society whose capability to
prevent epidemics will set international standards. Research can
focus on the fundamental life sciences, disease prevention and
control, Chinese medicine, healthy living, aging, and health
care policy, etc. Moreover, the Government's strategy of
promoting medical services as one of the six priority economic
areas is in line with this research theme, which is also the
research agenda of other countries like Australia, Singapore and
the Chinese Mainland.
"Developing a sustainable environment" means creating a
sustainable and environmental-friendly development model for
Hong Kong. Research on this theme may cover areas such as
pollution prevention and control, sustainable energy, and
recycling technology. This theme is of great importance because
not only does it facilitate cooperation with the nearby regions
and is ranked high on the research priority of governments and
the academic community internationally, but it is also related
to environmental industry which is one of the six priority
economic areas identified by the Hong Kong Government. |
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Finally, the research theme "Strengthening Hong Kong's strategic
position as a regional and international business center" can
stand Hong Kong in a good stead to benefit from the rise of the
Asian economy and enhance its status as a business center both
regionally and internationally. Financial services and trading,
logistics have always been two of the four traditional
industries driving the Hong Kong economy. In light of the
intense competition from the neighboring Asian cities, this
research theme can contribute to Hong Kong's strategic economic
development by strengthening our knowledge base in areas like
risk management, wealth management and corporate governance,
competitive models between Hong Kong and other Asian economies,
and financial technology.
Professor Chin reiterates the
importance of pooling together the best minds and resources to
come up with the most beneficial solutions, such as engaging
people from different academic domains to work on issues with
major impact on Hong Kong. For instance, research on improving
Hong Kong's air quality can involve researchers from many
academic areas including mathematics, chemistry, engineering,
and medicine, as well as academics in social sciences, law and
economics. This can elevate the research impact of the Hong Kong
academia to the next higher level.
Although the Scheme supports
research of the UGC-funded tertiary institutions, overseas and
Mainland scholars are encouraged to participate in the research
projects. This will not only facilitate knowledge exchange
between local and overseas researchers, but will encourage
student participation from around the world, thereby enriching
the research experience of the students studying in Hong Kong.
The RGC plans to call for white papers from university
researchers in early 2010, which will be used as a basis to
identify the key research topics under each of the chosen
themes. Once the key research topics have been identified, the
RGC will accept proposals from Hong Kong researchers. Successful
research proposals will be awarded in 2011 after international
peer review. |
