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PolyU ranks among leading universities in multiple RGC funding schemes, underscoring distinctive research leadership

29 Jul 2026

Funding & Donations

Four research projects of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), all led by PAIR scholars, have received support from the Research Grants Council’s (RGC) funding exercises in 2026/27, amassing total funding of over HK$124 million. PolyU ranks high among local universities in terms of the number of funded projects: two interdisciplinary artificial intelligence (AI) projects supported by the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) will drive the development of green fuels and corporate AI risk management, while the other two, supported by the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme and the Strategic Topics Grant (STG) respectively, cover the fields of smart manufacturing and the silver economy. PolyU will continue to harness its research prowess, advancing high-quality socio-economic development for the benefit of society.

The AoE Scheme aims to provide support to universities funded by the University Grants Committee to build upon their existing strengths and develop them into areas of excellence. The purpose of the TRS is to focus academic research on themes of strategic importance to Hong Kong’s long-term development, while the STG supports collaborative research in specific areas which can help address important issues for Hong Kong. The University’s projects that were awarded funding are as follows:

Project Coordinator Project Title Funding
Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme
Prof. George Q. HUANG
Director of Research Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (RIAM)
Chair Professor of Smart Manufacturing of Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Centre of Smart Manufacturing Approximately HK$47.88 million
Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS)
Prof. WANG Lianzhou
Member of Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE)
Chair Professor of Energy Materials of Department of Chemistry
Intelligent Artificial Photosynthesis Approximately HK$48.83 million
Prof. TIAN Feng
Member of Research Centre for Environmental, Social, and Governance Advancement (RCESGA)
Associate Professor of School of Accounting and Finance
Managing AI Risk for Businesses in Hong Kong Approximately HK$10.84 million
Strategic Topics Grant (STG)
Prof. BAI Xue
Management Committee Member of Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA)
Member of Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI)
Professor of Department of Applied Social Sciences
Empowering an Inclusive, Age-Friendly Silver Economy in Hong Kong: From Longitudinal Evidence to Intergenerational Multi-stakeholder Action HK$16.63 million

Press release: English – https://polyu.me/4hnG7S3; Chinese – https://polyu.me/4pNfhos

 

Online coverage:

South China Morning Post – https://polyu.me/44SgFwq

Mirage News – https://polyu.me/4yI56W9

Wen Wei Po – https://polyu.me/4bl1pvL; https://polyu.me/3U1ixk2

Bauhinia – https://polyu.me/4h45uYT


Research Units PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research

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