The School of Law (SLW) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has received HK$3.5 million from the HKSAR Government to set up the Hong Kong Maritime Law Scholarship Scheme. In appreciation of the generous support from the government, a cheque presentation ceremony was held on 10 June.

Officiating guests included Ms Eva Cheng, JP, Secretary for Transport and Housing and Chairman of the Hong Kong Maritime Industry Council (MIC); The Hon Leung Chun-ying, GBS, JP, Council Chairman of CityU; Professor Way Kuo, President of CityU, and Professor Wang Guiguo, Dean of SLW, CityU.

Other prestigious guests included Mr Roger Tupper, JP, Director of Marine, Marine Department of the HKSAR; Ms Doris Cheung, JP, Deputy Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport); Mr Kenneth Koo, Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tai Chong Cheang Group; Mr Arthur Bowring, Managing Director, Hong Kong Shipowners Association; Professor Arthur Ellis, Provost of CityU; Dr Vernon Nase, Director of Hong Kong Centre for Maritime and Transportation Law, CityU.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ms Cheng said “The HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Maritime Industry Council (MIC) fully appreciate that Hong Kong’s continued success and growth as a premier maritime centre hinge on whether we can nurture a sufficiently large pool of professionals to support the maritime industry. CityU’s LLM programme in Maritime and Transportation Law is a forward-looking initiative to expand Hong Kong’s team of legal professionals that serve the maritime industry, and merits the full support of the MIC.”

Mr Leung said: “CityU is committed to providing quality professional education and research and is taking the lead in the development of the maritime services sector in Hong Kong, including the maritime legal profession. We are most grateful to the MIC for its support and to the HKSAR Government for the funding. The launch of the Hong Kong Maritime Law Scholarship has set a milestone in the development of Hong Kong. I am confident that the steps we take today will provide much broader career opportunities for the younger generation and better prospects for our economy.”

Professor Kuo said: “The scholarship scheme provided through the generosity of the MIC, combined with the teaching and research expertise of the faculty at CityU's School of Law, will contribute immensely to the future of the maritime industries in the region.”

The collaboration among government, industry and academia to launch the Hong Kong Maritime Law Scholarship Scheme will enhance Hong Kong’s role as an international maritime center. It will contribute greatly to meeting the urgent needs for maritime legal professionals and help more local professionals provide value-added maritime law consultancy for the industry.

The Hong Kong Maritime Law Scholarship Scheme offers full scholarships to selected students starting from August 2011. These scholarships are available to both local and non-local students undertaking study in the Maritime and Transportation Law stream of the LLM programme at CityU. They can be used to cover the full tuition fee at CityU or as partial scholarships for undertaking dual degrees at Swansea University and CityU. The scholarships are granted on condition that the recipients agree to engage in full-time employment in a maritime-related field in Hong Kong for a period of not less than 12 consecutive calendar months on completion of their degree.

In the ceremony, three students were awarded Hong Kong Maritime Industry Council Scholarships, which is the predecessor of Hong Kong Maritime Law Scholarship Scheme. Under the new scheme, recipients will continue to be selected on a meritorious basis and a maximum of one third of the total enrolled students in Maritime and Transportation Law will be awarded with the scholarship.