Yupina Ng
Monday, December 07, 2015
The newly established Academy of Science of Hong Kong will cooperate with the Federation of Hong Kong Industries to create opportunities for young people interested in research.
There will be annual meetings and recommendations will be submitted to the government, the academy said yesterday during its Science and Technology Innovation Summit at the Science Park.
"We are much more like the Chinese Academy of Engineering, giving advice to the government when implementing policies, instead of just taking the government's money to conduct research," founding member Henry Wong Nai-ching said.
Another founding member, Tsui Lap-chee, said the academy will pay more attention to local needs while contributing to a sustainable economy. The academy hopes to give local scientists a platform from which to introduce their works to science museums overseas, he said.
Speaking at the summit, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying encouraged more collaboration with the mainland as cities such as Shenzhen have been heavily investing in science projects.
He added that 2015 was a year of innovation and technology since it has seen the launch of the academy, the Innovation and Technology Bureau, the incoming US Massachusetts Institute of Technology's innovation node, and the Sweden-based Karolinska Institutet's research center here.
Leung said connections between Hong Kong and the mainland remain a key factor in attracting overseas scientists.
Chinese Academy of Science president Bai Chunli said he is aware that China is still behind developed countries when it comes to those involved in research and development.
"In 2014, China rose to number one in terms of the research and development workforce, around 3.9 million, accounting for 25.3 percent of the world's total, and more than the United States," he said. "But the share of researchers in the national workforce is still low, only 38 in every 10,000 people."
He suggested more cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong, and welcomed local scientists to participate in national and Chinese academy research projects.
Local scientists are also welcome to participate in the building and use of national mega research facilities, Bai said
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=163970&sid=45707364&con_type=1&d_str=20151207
