Shue Yan obtains more than HK$15 million research funding from Research Grants Council

Hong Kong Shue Yan University (HKSYU) has been successful in obtaining HK$15 million in funding for 8 research projects under the Research Grants Council (RGC)’s 2022/2023 Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector.

Among the 8 successful research proposals, six are funded under the Faculty Development Scheme (FDS), two are under the Institutional Development Scheme Collaborative Research Grant (IDS(C )) ( see table).

All successful projects are in the “Humanities and Social Sciences” discipline aligning to the University mission in promoting digital humanities and reinventing liberal arts education.

Dr. Alex LI, Associate Academic Vice President (University Research), told Shue Yan Newsletter that the result was a reflection of the University’s continuous input to research works. He revealed that the funding approved this year by the Research Grant Council has doubled as compared to the previous academic year, which made Shue Yan top of the list in local self-financing degree sector.

He said it was encouraging to see two large-scale research projects, namely “Mapping the grey digital divide and diversity in older ICT users post-COVID: A mixed-method research informing service and policy development”, and “Human Resilience, Life Adversity, and Adaptation to Life Course Transitions from Early Adulthood to Late Middle Adulthood” being awarded the Institutional Development Scheme Collaborative Research Grant (IDS)). Both projects are cross-departmental and inter-disciplinary research and have fetched grants for more than HK$9.74 million.

Dr. LI heaped praise on the enthusiasm in research works from colleagues of different departments and that has helped create a good research environment. He added that the University Research Office will host seminars and workshops and support colleagues who intend to apply for research fundings. “We offer seed funding and pilot study schemes for our colleagues to pilot the projects before they kick start. It is a useful preparation for future applications of large-scale research grants,” he said.

Taking office in September, Dr. LI said he has met with a number of colleagues who are interested in research works. “When I spot out similar thinking or research directions from colleagues of different departments, I would be glad to line up and see if there are any possibility for inter-discipline collaborations. My experience is that it could greatly increase the chance of a successful research project.”