LCQ12: Attracting PhD talent to stay in Hong Kong for development
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Question:
A study by a local university has indicated that amid significant changes in the flow of international students against the background of geopolitical tensions and tightening visa policies in a number of countries, Hong Kong performs strongly in attracting and retaining top PhD students from across the globe due to its flexible talent admission policies (e.g. the Top Talent Pass Scheme and the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates) and stable environment. There are views that by seizing the opportunity arising from the United States and European countries shutting the door on research talents, Hong Kong can proactively attract such high-calibre research talents and transform them into a new engine driving Hong Kong's economic transformation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will co-ordinate the admission strategies and procedures of local universities, and target an upgraded "Study in Hong Kong" brand at top overseas research and academic talents affected by geopolitics, thus ensuring that Hong Kong can attract a pool of PhD students with a high degree of international diversity;
(2) of the specific policies and incentives in place to encourage and assist PhD students in Hong Kong to commercialise their research outcomes in the territory upon graduation, with a view to directly empowering the local business sector; whether it will improve the Research Talent Hub for Technology Companies Conducting R&D (research and development) Activities in Hong Kong by further relaxing the eligibility criteria for applicant companies and increasing the subsidy amounts for research talents, so as to assist local enterprises in technological upgrading; and
(3) given that a study has pointed out that cost and stability of living are key factors for PhD students to consider in deciding whether to stay in Hong Kong, and that such high-calibre talents are mostly at an age to get married or start a family, whether the Government will, in addition to the visa facilitation already in place and as part of its long-term planning, enhance support measures for their spouses' employment in Hong Kong and their children's educational progression, so that these talents can put down roots in Hong Kong without worries?
Reply:
President,
The Government has been adopting a multi-pronged approach to attract global talents to Hong Kong through various talent admission schemes and supportive measures, providing more quality development opportunities for existing and incoming talents in Hong Kong, with a view to enhancing the attractiveness of retaining talents in Hong Kong, thereby building an international hub for high-calibre talents.
Having consulted the Education Bureau (EDB) and the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB), my reply to the question raised by the Hon Jonathan Stuart Lamport is as follows:
(1) EDB stated that, Hong Kong has sound education infrastructure and our overall competitiveness in education ranked top five in the world. Among others, Hong Kong's post-secondary education is highly internationalised and diversified, and we boast five of the worlds top 100 universities with outstanding talents in technology and research, making Hong Kong an international hub for exchange and collaboration among high-calibre talents. To fully leverage the distinctive advantages of the post-secondary education sector in Hong Kong under "one country, two systems", and to develop Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub, we strive to build the "Study in Hong Kong" brand and attract more non-local students to study and conduct research in Hong Kong.
In the light of the earlier sudden policy changes regarding higher education overseas, the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities have provided comprehensive support for affected students to attract more outstanding talents to study and conduct research in Hong Kong. EDB understands that the UGC-funded universities have received over 1 400 related inquiries and issued admission offers to more than 80 affected students as at early March 2026.
EDB will continue to keep a close eye on the development and accordingly consider support measures for them in a holistic approach so as to give full play to Hong Kong's role as an international post-secondary education hub. Apart from the recruitment measures of the institutions, the Government attracts more top talents to pursue their studies in Hong Kong through a range of initiatives, including raising the enrolment ceiling for non-local students for UGC-funded institutions to 50 per cent, increasing scholarship quotas, and gradually increasing the number of places under the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme. We remain committed to pursuing various policies and initiatives, fostering networks and partnerships at the national, regional, and international levels, and will continue to work collaboratively with stakeholders to promote the "Study in Hong Kong" brand.
(2) The Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) launched the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (TSSSU) in 2014 to support participating local universities (including their faculty members, alumni and students) to establish technology start-ups for commercialising their research and development outcomes. Each start-up may receive an annual subsidy of up to $1.5 million for no more than six years. So far, the TSSSU has provided funding to over 620 start-ups. As of 2024-25, the subsidised start-ups have generated over 2 700 intellectual property rights and rolled out a total of over 800 products or services in the market; around 80 per cent of them have successfully received capital injections, with total investment over $2.7 billion, of which around $2.1 billion (about 78 per cent) was private investment.
To further encourage university research teams with potential to become successful start-ups to transform and commercialise their R&D outcomes, ITC launched the $10 billion Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus (RAISe+) Scheme in 2023 to provide funding, on a matching basis, to university research teams participating in the RAISe+ Scheme. Each approved project may receive funding support that ranges from $10 million to $100 million. The funding scope includes project expenses for employing staff (including PhD talents) for transforming R&D outcomes, etc. So far, over 70 projects have been supported under the RAISe+ Scheme in the first three batches, involving total Government funding commitment of over $3 billion.
At the same time, ITC also has the Research Talent Hub (RTH) to provide funding support for organisations or companies undertaking R&D activities in Hong Kong to engage research talents. The maximum monthly allowances for research talents holding a bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree are $20,000, $23,000 and $35,000 respectively, with an additional monthly living allowance of $10,000 provided to research talents with a doctoral degree. Since the launch of the RTH, around 16 000 applications have been approved. ITC will review the operation and arrangement (including the eligibility criteria and subsidy amount) of the RTH (including the RTH for Technology Companies Conducting R&D Activities in Hong Kong) in a timely manner to ensure that the relevant measures can assist local enterprises in their upgrading and transformation.
(3) LWB stated that, the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) has been providing one-stop support services on living and working in Hong Kong for incoming talents and their accompanying dependents. Regarding employment and entrepreneurship, HKTE's online platform provides comprehensive and relevant information, and features over 5 000 real-time quality job opportunities daily for talents to apply. Talents can also make enquiries and requests for support services relating to entrepreneurial and employment matters on the platform for follow-up by designated working partners or by relevant bureaux/departments through referral. Besides, HKTE co-organises online and offline job fairs with industry and employer organisations to directly match job-seeking talents with employers, organises themed seminars on topics of entrepreneurship, tips on unlocking the job market, etc. to help talents understand the job markets in Hong Kong, as well as liaises with recruitment platforms and working partners to give talents suggestions and techniques for applying for jobs and setting up business. HKTE also collaborates with school sponsoring bodies and school associations to organise seminars to provide comprehensive information on local education. The Government welcomes talents' spouses to join these events.
HKTE will continue to organise online and offline themed seminars on living and working in Hong Kong, job fairs, workshops (including Cantonese learning classes) and social integration activities to facilitate the early integration of incoming talents and their accompanying dependents into the local community as well as their settlement in Hong Kong.
EDB also stated that, in 2008, the Government introduced the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates (IANG) to allow non-local students who have obtained an undergraduate or higher qualification in a full-time and locally-accredited programme in Hong Kong to apply to stay/return and work in Hong Kong under IANG, thereby enhancing local human resources and competitiveness. To further attract and retain quality talents, the Chief Executive announced in his 2022 Policy Address that the limit of stay under IANG would be relaxed from the then 12 months to 24 months, and that IANG would be extended to cover graduates of Hong Kong universities' campuses in Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on a pilot basis. As announced in the Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address, relevant measures would continuously be piloted for two years.
Local post-secondary institutions have been committed to supporting non-local students through different channels in planning their further studies or career development in Hong Kong upon graduation. Respective faculties and student affairs offices of the institutions will provide relevant information and diversified support services, which include recruitment seminars, job-seeking training workshops, career counselling and consultation services, and mentorship programmes. They will also contact alumni associations and employers of different industries to provide employment and internship opportunities for students. The Government will continue to review the effectiveness of various measures, with a view to attracting non-local students to stay in Hong Kong for development.
With regard to support for the education of children of top talents and non-local graduates, under the existing policy, persons who have been granted permission to reside in Hong Kong as dependants (including but not limited to dependants of successful applicants under various talent admission schemes and the IANG) may enrol in kindergartens as well as primary and secondary schools of different financing modes. In respect of kindergarten education, all kindergartens in Hong Kong are privately run for providing services for children aged between three and six. Under the Kindergarten Education Scheme (KES), the Government directly subsidises the participating local non-profit-making kindergartens. At present, about 720 kindergartens in Hong Kong have joined the KES. All children who are eligible for admission to public sector schools, including children of incoming talents (like dependants permitted to stay under different talent admission schemes), can enrol in kindergartens joining the KES and receive government subsidies.
Regarding primary and secondary education, the school system in Hong Kong mainly consists of public sector schools, with over 800 public sector primary and secondary schools (including government, aided and caput schools) at present, which offer vibrant and diversified local curriculum. All children aged between six and 18 who are eligible for admission to public sector schools, including children of incoming talents, can receive free and quality primary and secondary education in these schools. Moreover, incoming talents may enrol their children in Direct Subsidy Scheme schools and private schools, including international schools, according to their needs.
EDB provides children eligible for enrolling in public sector schools with placement assistance services from Primary One (P1) to Secondary Six (S6) level. If the children of Top Talents or non-local graduates, upon their arrival to Hong Kong, wish to enrol in any levels from P1 to S6 after the commencement of the school year (i.e. after September 1 of every year), apart from contacting their preferred schools directly to apply for a place for their children, parents can also approach the nearby Regional Education Offices of EDB to seek placement assistance services. All public sector schools can admit students according to their school-based mechanisms. Furthermore, to align with the revision of the eligibility criteria for government-subsidised post-secondary student places and subsidies and assist needy parents in enrolling eligible students in public sector schools in the middle of a school year, the EDB has implemented the following enhanced measures starting from the 2025/26 school year:
(i) providing information of public sector schools with vacancies available in all districts to assist parents in submitting admission applications to the relevant schools;
(ii) regularly disseminating information on the vacancy situations of public sector secondary schools in all districts on the EDB's website for parents' reference; and
(iii) arranging school places of public sector schools to eligible students in the middle of school year according to the students' residing locations and the vacancy situations of the public sector schools.
To facilitate parents to find and compare school information, EDB has launched a new thematic website to provide in-depth information on international schools and other schools offering non-local curricula in Hong Kong. EDB has also been working closely with HKTE to provide a series of support services to assist talents who are interested in coming to Hong Kong and those who have arrived in obtaining information about education in Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:10
Issued at HKT 16:10
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