Hong Kong’s inaugural Research Grants Council (RGC) Research Summit at Hong Kong Science Park showcased how AI and other technologies are integrating into daily life through world-class research and global collaboration. Coinciding with the RGC’s 35th anniversary, the event highlighted the maturing of the city’s research ecosystem amid technological and geopolitical challenges.
Hong Kong’s first Research Grants Council (RGC) Research Summit, held at Hong Kong Science Park on December 11, marked a pivotal moment as technological breakthroughs like AI move from academic silos to direct impacts on daily life. Researchers from Hong Kong, often partnering with experts in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and internationally, presented AI applications across health care, transport systems, manufacturing, and environmental protection.
The event, coinciding with the RGC’s 35th anniversary, underscored the maturation of Hong Kong’s globally connected academic research community, supported by continuous government investment and public funding over the past three and a half decades. Professor Tong noted that the city’s research ecosystem has built the expertise, talent, and momentum for the next phase of scientific discovery, promising more impactful work benefiting society and the economy.
Plenary discussions emphasized viewing AI as a useful tool while urging the scientific community, especially younger generations, to retain skepticism and judgment essential to academic rigor. Conversations turned to how global funding bodies are accelerating real-world testing of research amid competition from big tech and non-academic players. Moderated by Professor James Tang, Secretary-General of the University Grants Committee (UGC), the session called for purposeful, collaborative research with partners beyond academia and globally. He observed that Hong Kong has reached a stage where knowledge application was unimaginable five years ago, highlighting the city’s role as a super-connector between Chinese Mainland scientific communities and international ones.
The summit showcased projects funded by the Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) and Research Impact Fund (RIF), including intelligent surgical robotic assistants combining visual analysis, sound recognition, and robotic control to aid surgeons in complex procedures; digital twin networking for autonomous driving, linking virtual models of roads, vehicles, and user behavior with real-time traffic data; sensing in future 6G networks, enabling base stations to transmit data and sense surroundings for factory monitoring and vehicle environmental reading; edge computing to integrate devices for faster AI tasks, exemplified in autonomous driving; studies on Tsing Ma Bridge performance under extreme weather using climate projections; engineering for urban tree root systems to enhance greenery without disruptions; and health resilience in changing climates, focusing on winter cold risks to older adults through epidemiological and social data analysis.
Secretary for Education Dr Choi Yuk-lin remarked that Hong Kong’s universities have elevated their international profile, with expanded government support for postgraduate and postdoctoral research. Initiatives include attracting more overseas students, easing admission routes, and creating new pathways in medicine and related fields to build a larger pool of young researchers via RGC schemes and international ties. She added that AI’s rapid spread across transport, health, culture, and business demands graduates blending technical skills, practical knowledge, and digital tool proficiency.