The RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (PDFS) is renamed as RGC Junior Research Fellow Scheme (JRFS) with effect from the 2025/26 selection exercise. For more details about JRFS, please visit https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/jrfs.
The RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme (PDFS) aims to encourage doctoral graduates in pursuing career in research and provide promising researchers with support at a pivotal time in their very early career, so as to ensure a supply of talent with scientific and research skills for research and development in Hong Kong.
The PDFS provides support to 50 awardees (increase of award places to 60 for the fifth (2024/25) cohort and thereafter) for a period of 36 months in terms of full-time appointment as a postdoctoral fellow (PdF) at a UGC-funded university in each round of the yearly exercise. For each awardee, the supporting university will receive an annual stipend of HK$420,090 per year for the awardee’s basic salary as well as a conference and research-related travel allowance (of HK$13,350 per year inclusively). PDFS covers all academic disciplines and is divided into two broad academic streams: (i) Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies; and (ii) Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Technology.
The amount of the annual stipend will be adjusted after every 12 months during the fellowship period with reference to the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) and related factors, and supporting universities will be informed of the updated rate in April / May every year.
All UGC-funded universities are eligible to make nomination for the fellowship in support of full-time employment of PdF for research projects / activities. Each university may nominate up to 12 PdF candidates (PDFS nominees) and is required to specify in the nomination the research project(s) / activities to be assigned to the PDFS nominee during the fellowship period.
To qualify for the fellowship, the PDFS nominee must:
The PDFS nominee should be a graduate in the relevant field of the research project(s) / activities to which he / she is to be assigned.
Candidates will be assessed based on the following criteria:
The two selection panels formed under the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, i.e. Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies Selection Panel (H-Panel) and Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Technology Selection Panel (S-Panel), will undertake assessment of nominations and selection of awardees under the PDFS with respect to the two broad academic streams respectively.
Nominees and supporting universities are advised to read the nomination details as set out in the operation guide and the call letter before completing and duly signing the nomination forms. Supporting universities are advised to conduct interview assessment of the nominees. Nomination forms must be submitted by universities. The nomination deadline for the PDFS (2024/25) is 31 October 2023 (Tuesday). Nominations must be submitted to the UGC Secretariat by 5:00 pm on that day
Please click here for the call letter from the RGC Secretary to the Heads of UGC-funded universities inviting nominations.
To download the nomination forms, please click here.