RESEARCH AND INNOVATION THE REVIEW2020 The COVID-19 pandemic was the defining event of 2020 and HKU researchers were thick in the effort to find solutions. Capitalising on years of effort and investment in building up expertise in infectious diseases, they produced dozens of studies on diagnosing the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 and tracking its transmission and spread between individuals and across communities. They have also been at the forefront in seeking effective treatments and vaccines (see page 20 for more details). But the year was also important to HKU for other reasons, most notably the dedication of scholars across all disciplines to continue with their work despite the disruptions of COVID-19 and the social unrest that suspended classes in November 2019. In both cases, researchers kept doing their research and laboratories stayed open. This made HKU more fortunate than many other institutions around the world and meant that our research activities and excellence have been undiminished, as evidenced by our stellar success in research funding exercises. Marks of Success: In the Research Grants Council’s (RGC) 2020–21 General Research Fund exercise, we secured HK$212 million (excluding on-costs) for 265 projects, the highest number of projects and largest share of funding amongst institutions in Hong Kong. We also received the highest award in the Early Career Scheme, some HK$32 million (excluding on-costs) for 44 projects, and had two of the eight Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme projects awarded. In the Research Matching Grant Scheme, HKU received HK$403 million in the five cycles since August 2019. The Theme-based Research Scheme was another standout, where we received HK$179 million (including on-costs) for major projects in areas important to Hong Kong’s long-term development. Seven projects were awarded across Hong Kong and our scholars are coordinating five of them and participating in a sixth. The five projects include personalised and innovative treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia; wireless power transfer; financial technology, stability and inclusion; intelligent robotics for elderly assistance in Hong Kong; and assessing the extent of antibiotic-resistant genes in the environment. In addition to these regular RGC funding exercises, we were the top recipient of the Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau’s Health and Medical Research Fund dedicated to COVID-19 research, receiving more than HK$97 million in additional resources to address this global threat, far more than any other institution – a reflection of our hard-earned expertise in infectious diseases and related research. Funding is only one measure of success, though. HKU scholars also received welcome recognition by their peers for the high quality of their work. According to Clarivate Analytics, 127 HKU scholars were in the top 1% in the world in 2020 in at least one research field, based on citations by other academics. Individual researchers were also singled out by China’s Excellent Young Scientists Fund, Academia Europaea, the American Physical Society and MIT Technology Review , among others (see page 24). Taking Stock: Alongside these successes, we completed an in-depth assessment of research and impact across the University for the RGC’s Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). This was supported by a wide range of activities, such as RAE colloquia, mock RAE exercises, training workshops, data collection, the recruitment of international advisors and professional services, and much more. At the end of the day, our submission included 3,450 research outputs, 74 impact cases and 37 overview statements for 37 units of assessment (of the RGC’s total 41 units). The results will not be known until the second quarter of 2021, but we are already investigating how to further enhance the impact of our work and take our research to the next level. Ready for Growth: Having achieved our current level of success, we are starting to look forward, to see where there is room for growth and elevation. We want to take HKU to a higher ‘steady state’. People will be an important factor in achieving that goal. In 2020, we launched the HKU Global Professoriate Recruitment Campaign to attract high-flyers and up-and-coming scholars from some of the top universities in the world. At the same time, we are grooming young talent through several schemes to support research postgraduate (RPG) students and we plan to further increase RPG numbers. We have allocated additional housing for these students in our current building plans, which will also expand research facilities on Sassoon Road and at the new Tech Landmark. We hope to complete these projects over the next few years. Apart from these tangible developments, HKU continues to reach out and collaborate with partners in the region and the world. For instance, we joined the International Universities Climate Alliance in 2020 in which 40 worldleading universities on climate research are uniting to communicate research insights about climate change, and we joined with Oxford University to establish the HKUOxford Joint Lab for Quantum Information and Computation. HKU is also preparing for the announcement of the HKSAR Government’s InnoHK funding, which will be Hong Kong’s largest research award and involve collaboration with international and Mainland China partners. Our future is bright and, as COVID-19 has shown, we are ready and able to take on the challenges that lie ahead. Through the HKU Global Professoriate Recruitment Campaign, the University plans to recruit 100 outstanding academics in emerging fields with potential for scientific and scholarly breakthroughs to join HKU. The establishment of the ‘HKU-Oxford Joint Lab for Quantum Information and Computation’ facilitates the exchange of mutual research visits, joint participation in grant applications, and joint supervision of PhD students in the growing area of quantum information and computation. highly cited researchers 13 ranked by Clarivate Analytics in 2020 based on producing multiple highly cited research papers. Theme-based Research Scheme projects 5of7 are led by HKU professors and received a total of HK$179 million. HKU is also a participant in a sixth project. funding from UGC and RGC funding from other sources HK$ 584.6million HK$ 1,011.3million for new research projects in 2019-20. 18 | 19
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