Insufficient government funding for knowledge transfer offices, incentives for researchers, knowledge of what industries want and interest from Hong Kong companies are given as reasons for a lack of commercialisation of research, according to this article by the South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong doesn’t really have policies on science and technology, although the currently being established Science and Technology bureau should set direction. Currently, without a strategic direction for research, academics just pursue technologies they like with project-based funding.

For the past six years, the University Grants Committee set aside just HK$50 million annually to aid knowledge transfer at eight publicly funded universities, however this is a small proportion of the overall budget of more than HK$10 billion for tertiary institutions.

The article also states that the University Grants Committee is likely to adopt Britain’s funding allocation model.

British Council comment, by Steve Corry, regional business development manager.

The Hong Kong government is often criticised for focusing too heavily on the finance and property sectors, and not spending enough on R&D. The just created Science and Technology Bureau is an effort to create a more systematic approach, however it is not yet clear what direction the new Bureau will take.

There is little incentive for Hong Kong academics to focus on applied research that provide solutions to industry because the Research Grants Council (RGC) funds academic-related research based on traditional criteria, which means that only a very small component actually goes towards knowledge transfer.

UK universities with strong track records in the commercialisation of research, and various funding models, may provide examples for Hong Kong universities to follow.