RGC Awards $1.18 Billion to 1,359 Research Proposals for 2025/26 Funding Cycle

Research Grants Council announces funding results of General Research Fund and Early Career Scheme 2025/26

​The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:

The Research Grants Council (RGC) today (June 27) announced the funding results of the General Research Fund (GRF) and the Early Career Scheme (ECS) for 2025/26. Altogether, 1 359 proposals were successfully granted a funding of $1.18 billion in total.

In this round of the exercise, the RGC received 3 844 GRF and 594 ECS applications from academic staff of the eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee. This represents an overall increase of about 7 per cent as compared with that of last round.

After rigorous international peer reviews, 1 164 GRF projects were approved with grants amounting to around $1.043 billion. This represents an increase of about 11 per cent in terms of funded projects as compared to the last round. The overall success rate of about 30 per cent is the same as that of last year. The funded proposals cover all disciplines of business studies, biology and medicine, engineering, humanities and social sciences, and physical sciences.

The RGC also funded 195 ECS projects with a total amount of around $139 million, and an overall success rate of about 33 per cent, which is the same as that of last year.

The RGC Subject Panels were delighted to note the high quality of research proposals submitted under the GRF and the ECS. The funded projects have displayed thoughtful research design and greater attention to societal impact. The research undertaken in Hong Kong is found to be internationally leading.

The Chairman of the RGC, Professor Timothy W. Tong, said, "The RGC is committed to supporting excellent and impactful research in Hong Kong. The Council has been stepping up efforts in developing a robust research base with a view to fostering the continuous growth of a thriving Hong Kong research ecosystem.

"The GRF and the ECS are important research funding initiatives in supporting endeavours by individual researchers from all disciplines, and they are fundamental to Hong Kong in building itself as an international hub for research and higher education."

The RGC has also enhanced its efforts in recent years to support early-stage researchers and nurturing young talent in Hong Kong. Professor Tong said that the significant number of innovative proposals funded by the ECS this year is heartening.

The GRF and the ECS are individual research funding schemes under the RGC. The GRF supplements universities' own research support for researchers who have achieved or have the potential to achieve excellence. The ECS aims to nurture junior academics and prepare them for a career in education and research. Based on academic quality and merit, the RGC follows the international practice of a peer-review mechanism to assess research proposals.

The 2025/26 funding results of the GRF and the ECS are available on the RGC website (GRF: www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/grf/funded_research.html; ECS: www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/ecs/funded_research.html).

Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes

An incoming passenger was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined $1,000 by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (January 13) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).

Customs officers intercepted the incoming male passenger, aged 29, at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (January 12), and seized 57 400 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of $258,300 and a duty potential of about $190,000, from his personal baggage. The passenger was subsequently arrested.

Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences.

Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Incoming passenger convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases