HKSAR
Government Scholarship Fund
With a view to
attracting outstanding local students to advance their studies at home, and
meritorious non-local students to pursue higher education opportunities in Hong
Kong, the Government established in 2008 the $1 billion HKSAR Government
Scholarship Fund (the Fun
d) to recognize outstanding local and non-local
students. Each academic year, the Government will distribute a sum of
money, funded by the investment income generated from the Fund, to the nine
institutions [the eight University Grants Committee-funded institutions and the
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA)] offering full-time
publicly-funded programmes at degree or above levels. The scholarship is
$40,000 per year for local students and $80,000 per year for non-local
students. In 2011, the Government injected $250 million into the Fund to
extend the benefit to students of full-time publicly-funded sub-degree
programmes offered by five institutions (City University of Hong Kong, the
Education University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HKAPA
and the Vocational Training Council) from 2011/12 academic year onwards.
The scholarship award for these sub-degree students is between $20,000 to $30,000
per year for both local and non-local students.
Starting from the
2012/13 academic year, up to ten targeted scholarships have been offered to
first-year non-local full-time students from ASEAN countries, India and Korea,
who are enrolled in publicly-funded degree programmes in Hong Kong.
Starting from 2016/17, up to ten additional scholarship would be made available for
first-year Indonesian students to pursue full-time study in publicly-funded
degree programmes in Hong Kong. The scholarship is tenable for the normal
duration of the programme concerned and renewable annually subject to
satisfactory academic performance of the awardees. Enquiries about the
Hong Kong Scholarship for “Belt and Road” Students should be directed to the
Education Bureau at hksbr@edb.gov.hk.
Selection
Criteria
In deciding if a
student who applies for the above scholarships should be awarded, the
institutions take the following qualities into consideration –
Students of full-time publicly-funded degree or above level programmes
(a) excellent performance in academic studies;
(b) recognized contribution to the institution/society;
(c) demonstrated leadership and good communication skills; and
(d) strong commitment to the Hong Kong community.
Students of
full-time publicly-funded sub-degree programmes
(a) high standard of academic performance;
(b) demonstration of leadership and good communication skills;
(c) valuable contribution to the institution/community; and/or
(d) strong commitment to the Hong Kong community.
Number of
Awardees and Amount Awarded
Degree and
above level Students
Academic
Year |
Number
of Awardees |
Amount
Awarded |
2008/09
|
230
|
$12
Million |
2009/10
|
441
|
$24
Million |
2010/11
|
514
|
$29
Million |
2011/12
|
514
|
$29
Million |
2012/13
|
720
|
$43
Million |
2013/14
|
853
|
$50
Million |
2014/15
|
882
|
$51
Million |
Sub-degree
Students
Academic
Year |
Number
of Awardees |
Amount
Awarded |
2011/12
|
143
|
$3
Million |
2012/13
|
421
|
$9
Million |
2013/14
|
555
|
$12
Million |
2014/15
|
565
|
$12
Million |
The Hong
Kong, China-APEC Scholarship
Starting from
2014/15 academic year, non-local recipients of the HKSAR Government Scholarship
Fund originate from APEC member economies are awarded the “Hong Kong,
China-APEC Scholarship” to support and carry forward the APEC Scholarship
Initiative which aims to promote the creation of privately and publicly funded
APEC-branded scholarship, training, and internship opportunities to benefit
students and professionals, especially youth and women from developing APEC
economies. An introduction of the APEC Scholarship Initiative can be
found at http://education.apec.org/.
Talent
Development Scholarship and
Reaching Out Award
In 2012, the
government further injected $1 billion into the Fund, and two new scholarships
and awards, namely the Talent
Development Scholarship (TDS) and Reaching Out Award (ROA) have
been established in 2012/13 academic year to benefit a wider range of students
not only with outstanding academic performance, but also achievements and
talents in other non-academic fields.
The Talent Development
Scholarship (TDS) aims to give recognition to students who have
demonstrated achievements or talent in non-academic areas and provide support
for these students to further develop their talent and potential. It will
be offered to students enrolled in full-time publicly-funded programmes at
sub-degree or above levels who have demonstrated talent or potential in (a)
Sports and games; (b) Music and performing arts; (c) Culture, arts and design;
or (d) Innovation, science and technology.
The Reaching Out Award (ROA) aims
to support meritorious students enrolled in full-time publicly-funded
programmes at sub-degree or above levels to participate in learning, internship
or service programmes, as well as national, regional and international events
and competitions that are conducted outside Hong Kong and organised/endorsed by
institutions. Some examples of activities and sharing of the recipients can be
found here.
The amount of each
award for TDS and ROA is set at $10,000 for both degree or above and sub-degree
students, irrespective of whether they are local or non-local students.
In 2013, the
government injected another $20 million into the Fund to set up the Endeavour Merit Award (EMA)
in the 2013/14 academic year to give recognition to deserving post-secondary
students with special educational needs (SEN) in the pursuit of excellence in
academic and other areas. The amount of each award for both local and
non-local students pursuing publicly-funded sub-degree and degree or above
level programmes is pitched at $10,000.
* SEN includes
specific learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum
disorders, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder, physical disability,
visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech and language impairment, and
others.
A Leaflet on Information on Government Scholarship Awards for Tertiary Students
in Hong Kong can be found here.