| |
Research and Development
118.
Diversified research and development (R&D) activities are essential to sustain economic growth and enhance competitiveness. Research stimulates new ideas, and research-based innovation can promote high value-added economic activities. The basic and applied research conducted by tertiary institutions helps other research institutes and the business community to master and apply new knowledge. This is crucial to the sustained growth of our knowledge-based economy.
119.
Therefore, our investment in this area is of great importance to Hong Kong. In this connection, I propose two measures.
|
Places for
Postgraduate Research Programmes |
| |
|
(a) |
First, I propose to provide 800 additional publicly funded places for postgraduate research programmes in phases from the 2009-10 school year. This will incur additional expenditure of nearly $300 million a year; |
| |
|
|
Research Endowment Fund |
| |
|
|
(b) |
Second, I intend to provide a one-off grant of $18 billion to establish a Research Endowment Fund. The Fund and its investment earnings will replace the existing annual funding granted by the Government to the Research Grant Council of the University Grants Committee. Moreover, part of the funds will be used to finance appropriate research projects on specific themes. I believe that the Fund will not only affirm the
Government's continued support to R&D activities, but also provide steady, additional resources through its investment earnings for the institutions to conduct such activities. |
|
|
|
|
|