Re-appointment of University Grants Committee Chairman
The Government announced today (August 20) that the Chief Executive had re-appointed Mr Carlson Tong as Chairman of the University Grants Committee (UGC) for a term of one year with effect from January 1, 2022.
The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, welcomed Mr Tong's re-appointment as the UGC Chairman.
"Since assuming the chairmanship, Mr Tong has been leading the UGC to support the development of the eight UGC-funded universities in a professional manner. Under his outstanding leadership, the UGC has rolled out various initiatives to enhance the quality of teaching and research, and to promote internationalisation, knowledge transfer and institutional governance, which have been well recognised by the higher education community. With his foresight, new fellowship schemes were also introduced to attract and nurture talents through research and taught postgraduate programmes. The UGC completed the Research Assessment Exercise 2020 under the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, recognising that local universities have reached the internationally excellent and world-leading standards in research," Mr Yeung said.
"Moreover, the UGC has launched the Planning Exercise for the 2022-25 triennium. I am confident that Mr Tong will continue to lead the UGC in completing the Planning Exercise smoothly and to support the higher education sector's strive for excellence, attracting and nurturing talents for the future development of Hong Kong."
The UGC comprises over 20 members, including academics of high standing from non-local institutions and Hong Kong universities as well as local members from various professions and sectors. The main function of the UGC is to provide impartial and expert advice to the Government on the development and funding of higher education in Hong Kong, and to provide assurance to the Government and the community on the standards and cost-effectiveness of the operations and activities of the UGC-funded universities.