The Research Grants Council will fund 734 projects with $404.6 million in its annual Competitive Earmarked Research Grant exercise. The overall success rate is 38%.

This year the council has received a record high 1,947 applications submitted by academic staff of the eight institutions funded by the University Grants Committee, up 4% on last year. Total funding of more than $1.7 billion was sought.

Out of the 734 projects supported, 281 are in engineering, 148 in biology and medicine, 167 in humanities, social sciences and business, and 138 in physical sciences, chemical engineering and mathematics.

Good ideas

Chairman Professor Kenneth Young said the council is impressed with the overall quality of research proposals.

"There is an increase in the number of fundable but not funded proposals, reflecting the rising trend of the overall quality of the research proposals," he said.

"Overall, I have to say that I am highly encouraged by the quality and diversity of the research proposals in this exercise, and am sure that research development in Hong Kong will continue to move from strength to strength and to figure prominently in the region."