HONG KONG: Some 700 people worldwide have applied for a new scholarship program in doctoral studies in Hong Kong since applications opened September 8.

Roland Chin Tai-hong, the chairman of the Research Grants Council, said about 140 applicants are mainlanders while more than 100 are from Pakistan.

Fewer than 100 applicants are Indian. About 20 are local students, Chin said.

"This is a typical trend," he said. "Many graduate schools in other parts of the world also receive most of their admission applications from India, China and Pakistan. This is mainly because of their huge populations."

Chin said university representatives will tour eight Asian countries, including Singapore, Pakistan and Bangladesh, beginning next week and continuing to the end of next month to promote the fellowship scheme.

Newspaper advertisements have been placed in advance with the help of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, he said.

The council has no plans to visit Europe and North America. The program will be promoted there through professors on the two continents, said Chin.

Under the scheme, up to 135 scholarships will be offered each year commencing with the 2010-11 school year.

Successful candidates will be awarded a stipend of HK$20,000 a month as well as an allowance of HK$10,000 a year for conferences and study-related trips for up to three years.

The program will cost the council about HK$50 million over the 2010-11 school year, its deputy secretary Anthony Chan Shiu-lun said.

Chin said he hopes the scholarship winners will remain in this region after graduation, but that will depend largely on whether suitable positions are available.

Applications for next year will close December 1.

Individual universities will screen applicants. Then each institution will present a maximum of 90 nominations to the council, to enter the competition for scholarships.

Panels will be set up to assess the applications. Results will be announced around March of next year.

The Chinese University said it welcomes the launch of the scheme and believes that it will draw worldwide talents to the city.

(HK Edition 09/15/2009 page1)