Significant increase in RGC research funding
Yvonne Lee
?City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has performed outstandingly in securing a total of 154 grants with funding worth $87.7 million from the Research Grants Council (RGC), an increase of 29% and 22% respectively compared to last year's figures. 
In addition, CityU is ranked 1st for the second year running in terms of the number of grants and the volume of funding received under the Early Career Scheme (ECS), an initiative that supports research and teaching projects designed by young faculty. A total of 37 grants amounting to $21.4 million was secured, and the success rate was 45.1%, which was 3.6% above the sector-wide ECS success rate of 41.5%.
Under the General Research Fund (GRF), a major component of the Earmarked Research Grant administered by the RGC, CityU has won $66.3 million funding for 117 projects, a jump of 21% and 26% respectively compared to last year’s figures.
These noteworthy results recognise the excellence of CityU’s research and professional education, according to Professor Horace Ip Ho-shing, CityU’s Acting Vice-President (Research & Technology).
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our colleagues for their significant efforts in submitting high-quality proposals, and in providing support and mentoring to our young faculty members,” he said. “My hearty congratulations go to the 154 principal investigators for their successful bids, and in particular to the young faculty members for their excellent performance in the ECS bids.”
By category under ECS, the Business Studies Panel and the Engineering Panel have won both the largest number of projects and level of funding, while the Physical Sciences Panel is ranked 1st in the number of projects awarded. Four young faculty members received the Early Career Awards in recognition of their outstanding proposals.
For GRF, CityU is among the top three institutions in terms of grant number and funding in the Engineering Panel and all of its four subject disciplines. For the Computer Science and Information Technology discipline, CityU is jointly ranked 1st with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in terms of grant number and a close second in terms of the level of funding.
Eight projects have been awarded 100% funding with no reduction in their budget. Six projects have achieved funding worth more than or close to $1 million (see table below).
Faculty | Project title | Fund awarded (HK$) |
Dr Zhou Qiang, Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management | Statistical Quality Control for Spatial Point Data | $1,020,000 |
Professor Liu Chain-tsuan, College of Science and Engineering | Dynamics and Stability of Shear Banding in Metallic and Oxide Glasses | $974,193 |
Professor Lau Tai-chu, Department of Biology and Chemistry | Metal catalyzed oxidation of organic substrates by nitrogen oxyanions and oxides | $974,193 |
Dr Michael Chan Chi-wang, Department of Biology and Chemistry | [CiVHFiVC] and Related Non-Covalent Interactions in (Carbon-Based)-Chelating Post-Metallocenes: Characterization and Application to Catalysis | $974,193 |
Dr Nicholas David Thomas, Department of Asian and International Studies | Asian Diseases in International Affairs | $959,800 |
Dr Tin Chung, Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering | Towards a cerebellar neuroprosthesis: A simulation and in vivo experimental study | $920,000 |