The Acting Secretary for Education, Dr Sze Chun-fai, today (August 26) officiated at the Award Presentation Ceremony 2026 of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme (HKSES). Sixty-one students were selected as the 12th cohort of awardees.

     Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Sze said that education and talent development are keys to the nation's success. The Government has long attached great importance to youth development, and the HKSES highlights the Government's determination to build Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talent. He hoped that the awardees would capitalise on showcasing Hong Kong's vitality and strength on the international stage, telling good stories of Hong Kong, contributing their strengths upon their return, and injecting new impetus into Hong Kong's development.

     Fifty-two of the awardees will be pursuing undergraduate studies and nine will be pursuing postgraduate studies at world-renowned universities. These include not only top-notch comprehensive universities but also world-class institutions specialising in particular disciplines.

     The awardees will pursue a wide spectrum of disciplines, with over half of them pursuing programmes related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Other disciplines include law, arts, culture and performing arts, medical and health sciences, and social sciences. The distribution of the awardees by different disciplines is shown in the Annex.

     A total of 738 applicants competed for this year's HKSES. Apart from outstanding academic achievements, the awardees also demonstrated excellence in their leadership qualities. As the selection process is ongoing, more applicants may be offered the scholarship after today's ceremony. 

     Launched in November 2014, the HKSES has been regularised since the 2019/20 academic year. It aims to support local students to pursue studies at world-renowned universities outside Hong Kong with a view to grooming a top cadre of talent 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. Since its introduction, the HKSES has benefited 1 070 students. The key features of the scholarship scheme are available at the HKSES website (hkses.edb.gov.hk).

     The application details of the next cohort of the HKSES will be announced shortly.

Ends/Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Issued at HKT 17:40

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