Exclusive | Detailed plans for Hong Kong’s universities to partner with top international research institutes expected in policy address
Following the allocation of HK$10 billion in the city’s last budget for research projects, Chief Executive Carrie Lam will announce specific details of scheme on Wednesday, source says
Hong Kong’s universities are expected to pair up with internationally renowned research institutions to develop biomedical, artificial intelligence and robotics technologies through a platform to be announced in the chief executive’s policy address next Wednesday.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po earmarked HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion) in his budget in February this year to support the establishment of two research clusters on the three areas, to attract the world’s top scientific research institutions and technology enterprises to Hong Kong to conduct projects with local institutions.
Yet, few details have been released as to how the partnerships will be implemented and how this will help the city to pool and nurture more technology talent.
“The policy address will roll out details of how these institutions can be paired up,” a source close to the government said.
It is understood that about 15 proposals have already been floated by various university teams to the Innovation and Technology Commission. Some international institutions which expressed interest include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, the University of Waterloo in Canada and EPFL, the second top university in Switzerland which specialises in natural sciences and engineering, such as drone technology.
A source involved in one of the proposals said local universities like Chinese University, City University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) are forming partnerships with their overseas counterparts.