The RGC has decided to step up research support for young academics and talents by opening up the coverage of the RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (PDFS) and renaming it as JRFS with effect from the 2025/26 selection exercise. A total of 60 awardees will be selected for each round of exercise, and they could come from both the academic streams of Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies (H) and Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Technology (S).

A JRFS fellowship award will span for two years (and may extend up to three years as needed). It will continue to seek to attract promising postdoctoral researchers from Hong Kong and worldwide, so as to incentivise these young research talents to build up a career in the field of research and development (R&D) in Hong Kong, as well as to support their transition, as applicable, in taking up Assistant Professor (Asst P) or Research Assistant Professor (RAP) positions at UGC-funded universities during the fellowship period.

Nomination

All eight UGC-funded universities are eligible to make nominations for the fellowship in support of full-time employment of Postdoctoral Fellow (PdF) for research project(s)/ activities. Each university may nominate up to 15 PdF candidates (JRFS nominees¹). The JRFS nominee must (i) obtain a legal right to work and reside in Hong Kong during the fellowship period; (ii) have obtained/ been conferred a PhD degree or an equivalent qualification on or after 1 January 2021 (i.e. not more than three years before 2024), or will complete the requirement of a PhD degree or an equivalent qualification by 31 August 2025; and (iii) be supported by a UGC-funded university at which he/ she wishes to hold the fellowship.

Fellowship Award

For each JRFS awardee who is at full-time appointment as PdF, the supporting university will receive an annual stipend to cover the awardee’s basic salary as well as a conference and research-related travel allowance throughout the 24-month fellowship period (or up to 36 months, if extension is granted). The current level of annual stipend² is around HK$420,000 (inclusive of the travel allowance at around HK$13,300). Universities are welcome to supplement the fellowship with top-up salary or other fringe benefits on par with ordinary employment of a PdF, on top of the stipend to attract outstanding candidates. To effectively enhance JRFS awardees’ research skills, they are required to complete no less than three months of mentored training as a full-time PdF at the supporting university.

Where applicable, for JRFS awardees who subsequently advance to junior research academics, i.e. Asst P (tenure-track or non-tenure-track) or RAP at a UGC-funded university during the fellowship, the supporting university will receive, instead of annual stipend, research support funding until completion of the 24-month fellowship period. The funding is at HK$140,000 per annum³ and is to provide research development support and starter package to facilitate transition of these JRFS awardees after they secure faculty appointment. The research support funding can be used to cover research-related expenses in their first year of appointment as Asst P or RAP, or within the remainder period of their 24-month JRFS fellowship, whichever end-date is the later. Such research-related expenses may include conference and related travel⁴, research publication, academic subscription, field work, patent application, etc.

Nomination Submission

Nominations should be submitted via email to JRFS@ugc.edu.hk, with two sets of hard copies (including the original version) and one set of soft copy (saved in one USB memory stick/ DVD) delivered to -

Assistant Secretary-General (Research) Special Duties 1
University Grants Committee Secretariat
7/F Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong

Nominees and supporting universities are advised to read the nomination details as set out in the operation guide and the guidance notes therein carefully before completing the nomination forms. For details of JRFS, please refer to https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/jrfs/. Supporting universities should conduct internal assessment, including interviews, of the nominees first. Nominations should reach the UGC Secretariat by 5:00 p.m. on 31 October 2024 (Thursday). Late nomination will not be processed.

Enquiries

For enquiries about the nomination procedures or other aspects of the JRFS, please feel free to contact the UGC Secretariat via email: JRFS@ugc.edu.hk.

¹   A candidate with more than one nomination will not be considered or processed by the UGC Secretariat. Universities should also note that the UGC Secretariat will not consider candidates applying for the “Jockey Club STEM Early Career Research Fellowship for Translation and Application” for the JRFS fellowship in the same year. In the same vein, PDFS awardees in the past exercise(s), including PDFS nominees of the 2024/25 cohort who have accepted but have not yet commenced the fellowship, are not eligible for being nominated for JRFS.
²   The actual disbursement amount of the first annual stipend will be set out in the award/ result notification document. For the second annual stipend, it will be adjusted with reference to the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) and related factors.
³   The funding amount will be calculated pro-rata by month as applicable. Adjustment to the annual rate will be subject to periodic review and agreement by the RGC.
⁴   “Advanced” JRFS awardees appointed as junior research academics are expected to perform function(s)/ role(s) relevant to their research work or academic/ professional position at the conference/ during the travel.