Senior Hong Kong scholars have won central government backing for a postdoctoral funding programme to bring top young mainland researchers to the city.
The Hong Kong Scholars Programme will provide 50 two-year scholarships a year from next year until 2014 for postdoctoral researchers from the mainland to work on research projects at universities in Hong Kong.
Under a deal signed between the Society of Hong Kong Scholars and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in Guangzhou on Sunday, the National Post-Doctorate Regulatory Commission will select candidates from top universities to take part in the scheme.
'Hong Kong has a lot of research labs that are world class but a shortage of postdoctoral talent,' said the society's president, Professor Wong Yuk-shan, who is vice-president for administration and business at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 'On the mainland, they have thousands of postdocs being turned out every year but they don't have enough good quality labs for them to work in. This programme will be of mutual benefit to both sides.'
The central government will provide each scholar with 150,000 yuan (HK$175,000) a year, while a further HK$150,000 will be provided from the research fund of the Hong Kong supervisor that takes them on.
Initially, the scholarships, which cover living and research expenses, will be targeted at biomedicine, information technology, agriculture, new energy and advanced manufacturing. The programme aims to provide training for a new generation of academics for the mainland and Hong Kong scientists with top-flight researchers who are able to work independently.
