Research Grants Council announces funding results of Areas of Excellence Scheme and Theme-based Research Scheme 2026/27
The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced today (July 29) the funding results of the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme 2026/27 (14th Round) and the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2026/27 (16th Round), with a record-breaking total of 12 supported projects. Altogether, they received a total funding amount of around $478 million.
Four projects under the AoE Scheme received funding from the RGC totalling $158 million, representing an increase of nearly 10 per cent compared to that of last year. Following a rigorous peer-review process based on academic and scientific merits, the RGC will support three outstanding five-year projects in medical imaging technology, smart manufacturing, and neutron scattering, as well as a one-year exploratory project on sustainable wildlife trade to yield preliminary results.
Concurrently, the RGC allocated $320 million to fund eight TRS projects of strategic importance to Hong Kong's long-term development, comprising seven five-year research proposals and a one-year exploratory project. These initiatives cover the fields of healthcare, green technology and AI. The lists of the awarded projects are set out in Annexes I and II.
The Chairman of the RGC, Professor Timothy W. Tong, said, "While maintaining an overall stable budget, the RGC has successfully extended its support for more basic research projects that are conducive to Hong Kong's long-term development this year. These projects are not merely academic pursuits, but also serve as the engines to drive Hong Kong's future economic transformation, addressing critical societal needs in such sectors as medical imaging technology, sustainable energy, disaster prevention, and business risk management.
"This year's successful proposals fully demonstrate the RGC's proactive approach to aligning with national development strategies, particularly its strong emphasis on AI, smart manufacturing, and advanced materials. These initiatives also contribute to Hong Kong's strategy of driving new industrialisation and fostering tech-driven economic development. With over one-third of this year's selected proposals involving AI applications, it is clear that our researchers have a remarkable ability to transform cutting-edge academic research into practical industry solutions."
"By fostering a dynamic basic research ecosystem in Hong Kong and leveraging the unique strengths of our universities to drive transformative, world-class research, the RGC remains dedicated to consolidating Hong Kong's leading position in global higher education and technological innovation," said Professor Tong.
To ensure that the city's scholarly researches remain closely aligned with national priorities and government policies, the RGC has also introduced "Low Altitude, Aerospace, and Space Technologies" as a new grand challenge topic under the TRS starting from the 2027/28 (17th Round) funding exercise which commenced in mid-July 2026.
Professor Tong expressed his profound gratitude to the panel experts for their valuable contributions throughout the assessment process, as well as local researchers for their continued support for the AoE Scheme, the TRS, and the RGC's work.
Details of the approved projects for the 2026/27 exercise are
available on the RGC website (AoE Scheme:
www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/aoe/funded_research/aoe14.html;
and TRS:
www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/trs/funded_research/trs16.html) for reference. A call for proposals for the AoE Scheme and
the TRS 2027/28 has been issued on July 24.
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The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced today
(July 29) the funding results of the Areas of
Excellence Scheme 2026/27 (14th Round) and the
Theme-based Research Scheme 2026/27 (16th Round).
Photo shows the Chairman of the RGC, Professor
Timothy W. Tong, delivering the opening remarks at
the press conference. |
|
|
The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced today
(July 29) the funding results of the Areas of
Excellence Scheme 2026/27 (14th Round) and the
Theme-based Research Scheme 2026/27 (16th Round).
Photo shows the Chairman of the RGC, Professor
Timothy W. Tong (front row, seventh right); the
Secretary-General of the University Grants
Committee, Professor James Tang (front row, seventh
left); and representatives of the funded project
teams. |
Annex I
Areas of Excellence Scheme 2026/27 (Fourteenth Round)
Funding
Results
| Project Title | Participating UGC-funded Universities# | Approved Budget* (HK$ million) | Funding from RGC* (HK$ million) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposals with Five-Year Budget | |||
| Center for Next Generation Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologies for Accessible Healthcare | HKU, CityU, CUHK, PolyU | 64.469 | 50.000 |
| Centre of Smart Manufacturing | PolyU, HKU, CityU | 57.645 | 47.881 |
| Hong Kong Center for Neutron Scattering | CityU, CUHK, HKU, HKUST | 55.555 | 50.000 |
| Total (Three projects) | 177.669 | 147.881 | |
| Exploratory Proposal with One-Year Budget | |||
| Centre for Safe, Sustainable and Legal Wildlife Trade | HKU, CityU, LU | - | 10.000 |
| Total (One project) | - | 10.000 | |
| # |
CityU: City University of Hong Kong CUHK: The Chinese University of Hong Kong HKU: The University of Hong Kong HKUST: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology LU: Lingnan University PolyU: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University |
| * | Inclusive of indirect costs / on-costs. The RGC's funding allocation for the three projects with five-year budget in AoE Scheme 2026/27 is $148 million. The remaining $30 million of the approved budget will be matched by the universities concerned. For the exploratory project, the RGC's funding allocation is $10 million and the university matching is subject to a revised one-year budget plan to be submitted by the project team which requires approval from the relevant Committee. |
Annex II
Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2026/27 (Sixteenth
Round)
Funding Results
| Theme / Project Title | Participating UGC-funded Universities# | Approved Budget* (HK$ million) | Funding from RGC* (HK$ million) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposals with Five-Year Budget | |||
| Theme 1: Understanding, Preventing and Treating Diseases | |||
| Microbiota in Gastrointestinal Cancers: Mechanistic Investigation and Clinical Applications | CUHK, HKU, HKBU | 61.878 | 55.691 |
| Next-Generation Orthopaedic Implants: R&D and Clinical Translation with Multi-functional Properties of Fixation, Regeneration, and AI-based Therapy Monitoring | CUHK, CityU, PolyU, HKBU | 56.969 | 49.425 |
| Theme 2: Developing a Sustainable Environment | |||
| Preparation of Novel Unconventional Cu-based Catalysts for CO₂ Conversion towards Scalable Production of Value-added Chemicals | CityU, CUHK, PolyU, HKUST, HKU | 47.604 | 39.644 |
| Intelligent Artificial Photosynthesis | PolyU, CityU, HKU, CUHK | 58.696 | 48.827 |
| Theme 3: Enhancing Hong Kong's Strategic Position as a Regional and International Business Centre | |||
| Managing AI risk for businesses in Hong Kong | PolyU, CUHK | 12.957 | 10.839 |
| Theme 4: Advancing Emerging Research and Innovations Important to Hong Kong | |||
| SynapseCity: AI-Driven Urban Emergency Response and Rescue | CityU, HKUST, CUHK | 61.878 | 55.691 |
| 3D-Integrated Power Delivery Technology for Advanced AI Chip Modules | HKU, CityU, HKUST, CUHK | 57.756 | 49.883 |
| Total (Seven projects) | 357.738 | 310.000 | |
| Exploratory Proposal with One-Year Budget | |||
| Theme 4: Advancing Emerging Research and Innovations Important to Hong Kong | |||
| Development and Assessment of Human Capacities for Productive Human-AI Interaction | HKU, HKUST, EdUHK | - | 10.000 |
| Total (One project) | - | 10.000 | |
| # |
CityU: City University of Hong Kong CUHK: The Chinese University of Hong Kong EdUHK: The Education University of Hong Kong HKBU: Hong Kong Baptist University HKU: The University of Hong Kong HKUST: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology PolyU: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University |
| * | Inclusive of indirect costs / on-costs. The RGC's funding allocation for the seven projects with five-year budget in TRS 2026/27 is $310 million. The remaining $48 million of the approved budget will be matched by the universities concerned. For the exploratory project, the RGC's funding allocation is $10 million and the university matching is subject to a revised one-year budget plan to be submitted by the project team which requires approval from the relevant Committee. |