In its latest round of support for universities, the Research Grants Council has approved funding of HK$478 million
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenKristen CheungPublished: 11:01pm, 29 Jul 2026Hong Kong’s main public research funding body for universities has approved a record 12 projects worth about HK$478 million in its latest financing round, with artificial intelligence featuring in more than a third of successful proposals, including one aimed at cutting AI data centre power use by up to 20 per cent.The higher education institutions receiving the most funding are City University, with around HK$145 million, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), with HK$119 million, and Polytechnic University, which got HK$107 million.
The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced on Wednesday that funding had been approved under two flagship schemes.
The Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme will receive HK$158 million – up nearly 10 per cent from last year’s HK$144 million – to support four projects covering medical imaging, smart manufacturing, neutron scattering and sustainable wildlife trade.
The Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) has been allocated HK$320 million for eight initiatives focusing largely on healthcare, green technology and AI.
The council also said it would introduce “Low-altitude, Aerospace and Space Technology” as a new challenge topic under the TRS from the 2027-28 round, with the funding exercise beginning in mid-July.
