Drive to boost doctoral mix feels mainland surge -
Beatrice Siu
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Graduates from the mainland dominated the inaugural set of fellows selected for the first Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme.
Seventy-one applicants - or 62 percent out of 115 who accepted the fellowships after a series of evaluations - are mainlanders, the Research Grants Council said yesterday.
A total of 2,996 students applied for the fellowship, which involves a monthly grant of HK$20,000 and a HK$10,000 yearly transportation allowance. The scheme was launched last September.
Seven universities participating in the scheme then nominated 370 from the applicants pool. They were further shortlisted to 148 after being evaluated by two selection panels.
Of the 115 who accepted the offer, 10 are from Hong Kong.
About one third will study engineering, while 27 percent will study physical sciences and 16 percent biology and medicine.
Research Grants Council chairman Ronald Chin said the scheme is off to a good start to expand the source of PhD students.
He hopes that, in the near future, it will be recognized as among the top scholarship schemes.
However, Chin said some applicants did not accept the offer and shifted to other universities overseas because Hong Kong institutions are "relatively less attractive."
Education Convergence chairman Alan Chow Ping-yan said local universities still lack international vision.
"Despite three universities ranking among the top 50 in the world, some overseas students would not put Hong Kong as their first priority due to its lack of international vision," Chow said.
He urged the government and the universities to do more to improve their international reputation. According to the University Grants Committee, about 4,000 candidates applied for PhD courses in 2008-09 academic year, with 1,200 locals and 2,500 from the mainland.
Comparing HKU, HKUST, CUHK, not much difference in terms of chance of further study and employment in HK.
From the internet, it is said that UST students have more stress and competition, this is probably because HKUST is a new school and professors want to develop their brand name.
In fact. if you want to be top in the class, the competition in CU and HKU is not less than in HKUST.
I must agree that HKUST is very strong in research aspect and is a new rising star
从香港社会认知度上,文化底蕴上,港大和中文在香港有着不可撼动的地位,但是但是在全世界范围内,不得不说科大占据有绝对的优势。或许考虑自己今后目标在哪里的时候可以借鉴一下。