HKUST Annual Report 2021-2022

Lab to Market 20 The University’s array of research projects and knowledge transfer, including an increasing focus on emerging technologies and smart solutions, is accelerating local and global innovation in definitive areas of impact for future lives FUNDING TO POWER INNOVATION HKUST continued to spur discovery and generate innovation to advance the wider society in 2021-22 through engagement in 1,743 new and on-going research projects. Research encompasses areas of key societal impact, including biomedical development, COVID-19, and volatile organic compounds, as well as emerging areas, such as green finance, AI-chip design, and hydrogen fuel cells. They received a cumulative total of $1,082.8 million in funding. RGC Schemes The Research Grants Council (RGC) remained one of HKUST’s largest research funding sponsors, providing $210.3 million for 219 new projects in 2021-22. The University achieved application success rates of 43% for the General Research Fund, and 47% for the Early Career Scheme, which together resulted in the highest combined success rate among the eight University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions. Two cross-institutional research projects led by HKUST received significant support from the RGC’s prestigious Theme-based Research Scheme. Prof. XIE Ting (Life Science) was granted $66.4 million to develop stem cell-based therapies to combat human diseases by investigating stem cell activity regulation in intact tissues. Prof. ZHANG Chu (Finance) secured funding of $48.15 million to lead an interdisciplinary team to collaborate with industry and government units to develop green finance talent and policy recommendations, along with technology prototypes and proof-of-concept financial products.