Professor Tsui lap-chee (second from left) says boosting research capacity is the first step needed. Photo: RTH
A think tank led by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa has urged the government to pump HK$50 billion into innovation and technology research and development, criticising the administration’s “underperformance” in this area.
Our Hong Kong Foundation said the funds should be pumped into the government’s Research Endowment Fund for local universities.
It also said the University Grants Committee, which controls the funding, is putting too much emphasis on the amount of academic publications universities produce.
The think tank wants the body's Research Grants Council to be made independent, so it can allocate funds based on how much of an impact research projects will have.
Former University of Hong Kong vice-chancellor Professor Tsui lap-chee, a consultant with the foundation, said boosting research capacity is the logical first step. “If we have more… inventions, automatically you will see more applications later on,” he said.
The foundation also wants the administration to set a new target to more than double public spending on research and development from 0.4 to 1 percent of GDP, to catch up with regional rivals. The government should also promote more collaboration with Shenzhen to create a regional technology cluster, it said.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1230510-20151218.htm
