Funding results of Theme-based Research Scheme 2018/19 Announced

The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced today (July 16) the funding results of the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2018/19 (Eighth Round). Five proposals were awarded a total of some $206 million. The list of awarded projects is set out in the Annex.

The Chairman of the RGC, Professor Benjamin Wah, said, "After a vigorous series of peer-reviews, I am delighted to announce that five outstanding projects have been selected for funding in this round of TRS exercise. These research projects, covering the areas of HIV functional cure, neurodegenerative diseases, sustainable marine infrastructure, financial technology, and automatic robotic surgery, would be greatly beneficial to human health and built environment and would advance Hong Kong to the frontiers of knowledge in financial technology and artificial intelligence. We look forward to the impacts brought by these research projects to both local society and to the world at large."

"For the coming round of the TRS exercise, three new grand challenge topics, namely 'Food Production and Food Security', 'Financial Technologies (FinTech) and Regulatory Technologies (RegTech)' and 'Artificial Intelligence', will be introduced. Together with the existing 16 grand challenge topics, the TRS will provide a wide spectrum of research topics for the research community to submit proposals contributing to the long-term strategic development of Hong Kong. I would also like to express our gratitude to the panel members and international experts for their invaluable advice, and the local research community for their continued support," said Professor Wah.

Details of the approved projects are posted on the RGC website (www.ugc.edu.hk).