In the latest round of the Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector of the Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) secured a total of about HK$34.5 million for 41 projects, amounting to 40% of the total RGC allocation, ranking HKMU first among all local self-financing institutions in terms of both funding amount and the number of projects for the second consecutive year.
The University achieved an outstanding performance under the major funding category “Faculty Development Scheme (FDS)” this year, continuing to outperform other self-financing institutions in terms of both the number of funded projects and funding amount. A total of 38 projects secured about HK$29.9 million, marking a substantial increase in the number of projects and funding amount by 52% and 35% respectively compared to the previous year. The total amount of funding was the highest among its peers for the sixth consecutive year.
President Prof. Paul Lam Kwan-sing said he was pleased that the University had once again achieved its best-ever overall performance in the RGC funding with all five schools receiving research grants, and was encouraged by the RGC's recognition of the efforts of HKMU members in pursuing innovation and the advancement of society. He said, “The University will capitalise on its unique position and strengths in applied research and encourage its academics to initiate more practical and impactful research projects in line with industry needs and societal development, thus contributing to society and economic development.”
Prof. Lam added that HKMU, as the first University of Applied Sciences in Hong Kong, has been actively fostering exchanges and collaboration with the Mainland and overseas partners to enhance its research capacity and contribute to the development of Hong Kong and the region. The Hong Kong Metropolitan University Shenzhen Research Institute, located in Shenzhen Virtual University Park, will open in November this year, focusing on three research areas: environmental science, digital health and smart city. The University will work with its Shenzhen partners to foster the commercialisation of research outcomes in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
This year, the research projects with the largest funding in the FDS, “Inter-Institutional Development Scheme (IIDS)” and “Institutional Development Scheme Collaborative Research Grant (IDS-CRG)” categories were all from the School of Science and Technology. Under the FDS, eight HKMU projects received funding each of over HK$1 million.
Under the IIDS, two projects on smart construction, namely “Navigating Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Digital Era: How Smart Buildings Become the Key to Sustainability” and “Digital Twin: Adoption and Training Challenges in Construction Management and Surveying”, secured a total of HK$1.16 million, almost doubling the amount granted last year.
HKMU also received IDS-CRG funding for the first time, with a grant of HK$3.43 million for the project “Detection and Degradation of Antibiotics in wastewater effluent – ScreenBiotics”.
Over the years, HKMU has continued to enhance its research infrastructure based on its strengths and expertise to develop a wide range of strategic research areas. It has set up five research institutes and three research centres to promote research in the digital humanities and literature, public and social policy, international business, responsible business, bilingual learning and teaching, gerontechnology, personalised care, environmental science, smart city, and open and innovative education.
