Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin today officiated at the award presentation ceremony of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme, under which 61 students were selected as the 11th cohort of awardees.

While speaking at the ceremony, in addition to stressing that the Government has always attached great importance to the development of young people, Ms Choi said that the scheme demonstrates the Government's dedication to developing Hong Kong into a cradle for future talent.

She encouraged awardees to act as ambassadors in telling good Hong Kong stories while overseas, and make the best use of their enriched knowledge and skills upon graduation in supporting the city’s development into an international hub for high-calibre talent.

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A total of 810 applicants competed for the scholarship. Among the awardees, 50 will take up undergraduate studies and 11 will be pursuing postgraduate studies at world-renowned universities.

They will seek to attain a wide spectrum of disciplines, with over half of them studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related programmes.

Other disciplines include law, arts, culture and performing arts, medical and health sciences, and social sciences.

As the selection process is ongoing, more applicants may be offered the scholarship after today’s ceremony.