Research Grants Council hosts Workshop and Poster Session on Competitive Research Funding Schemes for Local Self-financing Degree Sector

The Research Grants Council (RGC) today (November 24) held a Workshop and Poster Session on the Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing (SF) Degree Sector at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, which brought together more than 200 academics.

The Workshop was organised for academic and research staff from the SF sector and serves as an invaluable platform for experience sharing and professional exchanges on research innovations and achievements, and an occasion for fostering a stronger partnership between the RGC and the SF sector, as well as a promotion of cross-institutional collaborations in the SF sector and successful practices.

Speaking at the Workshop's opening session, the Chairman of the RGC, Professor Timothy W. Tong, said, "As key players of the Hong Kong academic research community, the SF institutions have been playing an important role in building Hong Kong as a post-secondary education hub. The sector has leveraged various funding schemes to advance research projects with high novelty, making impactful contributions to knowledge advancement. These projects cover a wide range of research topics highly relevant to our daily lives, and I am delighted that they have promoted both research excellence and the vibrant development of the research ecosystem, contributing to the betterment of Hong Kong society."

Faculty members who had successfully obtained research grants under the Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local SF Degree Sector were invited to share their experiences in preparing competitive research proposals. The Chairman of the Assessment Panel of the Schemes, Professor Julie Li, together with members of the Panel, also shared their observations and views on research proposals in the latest round of the exercise. Running alongside the workshop, a poster session was organised to showcase the notable achievements of completed Faculty Development Scheme (FDS) projects and the impact of their research outcomes.

"Looking ahead, the RGC will continue to provide robust support for research and development of the SF sector. Specifically, we will refine arrangements to further enhance the SF institutions' research capacity in their strategic areas, as well as encourage wider collaborations with other Hong Kong universities," said Professor Tong.

The Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local SF Degree Sector aim at developing and enhancing the research capability of the SF institutions and their faculty members. Since the launch of the research funding schemes in 2013, the RGC has funded over 930 projects with a total amount of more than $923 million.

Details of the funding schemes are available on the RGC website:

FDS:
www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/fds/index.html;

Institutional Development Scheme (IDS) Collaborative Research Grant:
www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/ids_crg/index.html;

IDS Research Infrastructure Grant:
www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/ids_rig/index.html; and

Inter-Institutional Development Scheme:
www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/iids/index.html.

The Chairman of the Research Grants Council (RGC), Professor Timothy W. Tong (second right); the Secretary-General of the University Grants Committee, Professor James Tang (centre); the Chairman of the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education, Dr Alex Chan (first left); the Chairman of the Assessment Panel of the Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector, Professor Julie Li (second left); and the Vice President (Research and Institutional Advancement) of Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Professor Ricky Kwok (first right), attend a poster session showcasing the research achievements of the completed RGC Faculty Development Scheme projects today (November 24).

The Chairman of the Research Grants Council, Professor Timothy W. Tong, delivers welcoming remarks at the Workshop and Poster Session on the Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector today (November 24).