**********************************************************
The Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, today (August 21) officiated at the inaugural award presentation ceremony of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme (HKSES). Seventy-eight students were selected as the first cohort of awardees honoured with the prestigious title of Hong Kong Scholar.
A spokesman for the Education Bureau said, "Competition was keen and rigorous, with 658 applicants who will commence their undergraduate or postgraduate study in the 2015/16 academic year vying for the title.
"Apart from academic achievements, selection was also based on key considerations including the non-academic attributes of an applicant such as leadership qualities and potential as well as his or her commitment and contribution to Hong Kong.
"All the awardees received their formal secondary school education in Hong Kong, studying either local or non-local curricula. Among them, 53 are going to pursue undergraduate study and 25 postgraduate study in world-renowned universities. These include not only top-notch comprehensive universities but also distinguished liberal arts colleges and world-class institutions specialising in only one or a few particular disciplines.
"The disciplines that the awardees are going to pursue cover a wide spectrum, ranging from conventional ones such as natural and social sciences, liberal arts and literature, law, architecture and engineering to disciplines of study that are not available in Hong Kong, such as veterinary medicine, forest science, classical study, art gallery study and medical robotics (distribution of the awardees by different disciplines is in the Annex).
"The diverse pool of scholarship recipients reflects the variety and vibrancy of Hong Kong. The contribution of this diverse pool of talents to our society after their graduation and return to Hong Kong is expected to fuel further and long-term development of Hong Kong in different realms and facets."
The spokesman added, "As the selection process is ongoing, some more applicants may be offered the scholarship after today's ceremony."
Other officiating guests at the award presentation ceremony included the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, and the Chairman of the Steering Committee on the HKSES, Dr Victor Fung.
The HKSES is one of the initiatives announced in the 2014 Policy Address. The Scheme aims to support local students to pursue studies in world-renowned universities outside Hong Kong with a view to grooming a top cadre of talents with global vision, an international network and world-class education, thereby contributing to enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness as Asia's world city in a globalised knowledge economy. Key features of the scholarship scheme are available at the HKSES website (www.edb.gov.hk/hkses).
A list of the awardees as of today is available at the HKSES website (www.edb.gov.hk/hkses). Details of the next cohort application for the HKSES will be announced shortly.
Ends/Friday, August 21, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:35
NNNN