Message from HKU Collaborative Innovation Center

The HKU-BICI Entrepreneurship Joint Educational Placement Programme for PhD jointly operated by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI) is now open for application. The Programme aims to nurture future talents in pursuing forward looking research and transferring fundamental technological achievements into real productive forces. Admitted students will receive scholarships for up to four years fully funded by BICI.

If you are interested in cultivating innovative talents in developing cutting-edge technologies and research commercialisation, you are welcome to nominate students to this programme and collaborate with the wide array of experts from BICI to create synergy and leverage the resources available to you such as BICI’s internal laboratories facilities and advices from its engineering and technical teams.

Key Research Areas

• Optoelectronics
• Materials
• Environment Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Intelligent Manufacturing

Programme Features

Students under this Programme will be registered as a full-time 4-year PhD student in HKU, and be mentored by supervisors of both HKU and BICI. Admitted students will commence study on September 1, 2025, and will spend two years at HKU and two years at BICI’s research centres in Beijing or Guangzhou and be engaged in practical project-based training together with peers across universities and disciplines. Upon successful completion of the programme and fulfilment of the graduation requirements of both HKU and BICI, students will be conferred a single PhD degree by HKU.

Financial Support

Students admitted to this joint programme will receive scholarships for up to four years provided by BICI. During the student’s study period in HKU in Hong Kong, students will receive scholarships in accordance with the standard HKU Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS) rate. During the residency at BICI or BICI’s designated project locations, the scholarships will be granted by BICI in accordance with its regulation and policies (up to RMB 20,000 per month).  As all the financial support will be fully funded by the BICI, students will be admitted under Type C. 

Admission for 2025/26

Up to 10 students can be supported under this Programme in the 2025/26 academic year.  Applicants can indicate in the online application form that they are interested in the HKU-BICI Joint Programme.  RPg supervisors who would like to admit PhD students under this Programme may submit the recommendation for admission to the Graduate School via the Faculty by February 5, 2025 (Round 1), and April 30, 2025 (Round 2).  Application in Round 2 will only be considered if there are vacancies left in Round 1.

Application Timeline for 2025-26 Round 1:

Enquiry

HKU Collaborative Innovation Center (Ms. Celia Ying: cyying@hku.hk)
Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI) (Ms. Claire He: icollege@jingjinji.cn)

Visit the HKU Collaborative Innovation Center website for more details.