Tech institution to be set up in HK

November 8, 2018
Signing ceremony
Signing ceremony:

Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Chinese Academy of Sciences President Prof Bai Chunli sign an agreement at Government House.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences today signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing Affiliated Institution by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Hong Kong.

 

Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the academy’s President Prof Bai Chunli signed the agreement on behalf of the two parties.

 

Also present at the ceremony were Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Secretary for Innovation & Technology Nicholas Yang, Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip, and Director of the Chief Executive's Office Chan Kwok-ki.

 

The agreement confirms the academy will establish an affiliated institution in Hong Kong to facilitate its Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine & Health and Institute of Automation to establish their presence in the research clusters on healthcare technologies and on artificial intelligence and robotics technologies to be set up at the Hong Kong Science Park.

 

The institution will also promote transfer and translation of scientific research results, co-ordinate collaboration between the academy and local universities, and undertake technological education and promotion activities.

 

Mrs Lam said the agreement signing heralded an important new page in the technological collaboration between Hong Kong and the Mainland.

 

She said the establishment of the academy’s affiliated institution in Hong Kong will take forward the development of the city's technological innovation, bringing new opportunities for the innovation and technology sectors of the two places.

 

She added it also serves as a significant landmark in the building of an international I&T hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

 

"Welcoming the two academy research institutes' participation in the two research clusters, the HKSAR Government will continue its publicity and promotion efforts to encourage more top-notch research centres to join the research clusters.”

 

The academy’s affiliated institution in Hong Kong will serve as the Secretariat of the Greater Bay Area Academician Alliance to be set up in Hong Kong.

 

The alliance will help encourage academicians of the academy and the Chinese Academy of Engineering based in the bay area to actively participate in developing the area, as well as bringing prominent scientific talent to contribute to the country's technological advancement.

 

At the ceremony, Mrs Lam also announced the setting up of the Joint Laboratory Funding Scheme by the University Grants Committee with the one-off provision of up to $30 million for the 2018-19 academic year as a research subsidy to joint laboratories approved by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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