PolyU SPEED Receives Research Grants Council’s Funding of HK$8.2 Million for 12 Projects to Expand Research Areas

27 Oct 2021

The Research Grants Council of the University Grants Committee has announced the funding results of the Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector 2021/22 recently. A record high number of twelve research projects of the School of Professional Education and Executive Development of PolyU (PolyU SPEED) were approved, with funding totalling around HK$8.2 million. Such encouraging results speak volumes about PolyU SPEED’s research capabilities and its faculty’s enthusiasm for research and scholarly activities.

The 12 funded research projects, which span one to three years, encompass various popular areas such as green energy, environmental science, materials science, machine learning, marketing, business strategies, humanities and social sciences, languages and arts. Professor LEUNG Chun-wah, Associate Dean (Research) of the College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) of PolyU and Professor of PolyU SPEED, was gratified by the results. “The total funding amount for the 2021/22 exercise provided by the RGC under the “Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector” was 25% less than last year, yet PolyU SPEED still managed to maintain a level of performance comparable to last year, reflecting the consistent quality of its research projects,” said Professor Leung.

Dedicated to achieving excellence in education and research and facilitating inter-institutional collaboration

Professor Leung also pointed out that recent years have seen an ever-growing research culture at the College. For example, the 11 projects funded by the RGC’s Faculty Development Scheme involve the active participation of academic staff from all the four academic divisions, namely the Division of Business and Hospitality Management; Division of Languages and Communication; Division of Science, Engineering and Health Studies; Division of Social Sciences, Humanities and Design. Five academic staff members have even successfully secured funding twice within three years from the RGC. Besides, in the RGC’s Inter-Institutional Development Scheme, PolyU SPEED was granted over HK$0.37 million in funding for conducting the project entitled “Research Directions and Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Smart Tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA)” in collaboration with the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Mainland China, City University of Macau, and The Education University of Hong Kong. All this is a fitting tribute to the College’s dedication to achieving excellence in both education and research and facilitating inter-institutional collaboration.

Benefitting society with research deliverables

With the establishment of the CPCE Research Office and several research centres, including the Centre for Ageing and Healthcare Management Research; Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research; Research Centre for Advanced Design, Materials and Manufacturing Technologies; Research Centre for Green Energy, Transport and Building; CPCE Centre for Pedagogic Research, Professor Leung said more research talents could be nurtured and sufficient resources could be provided for academic staff to pioneer innovative and impactful research in more strategic areas. “With our hard work in research, not only can our research deliverables be used to enhance teaching effectiveness and keep students abreast of the latest knowledge, they can also contribute to society by spurring economic growth and social development.”

Dr Jack LO, PolyU SPEED Director, said that including the newly funded projects this year, currently 32 ongoing RGC and externally funded research projects are going on at SPEED. He believes that research and scholarly activities enable academic staff members to realise their potential and get themselves up to speed with advanced knowledge in their professional areas; such activities also serve to inform their teaching.

Laboratories supported by the IDS(R)

Sharing from RGC funding awardees

Dr DING, Hongdi [LC]	My newly funded research project aims to describe how content questions are asked in Tibeto-Burman languages of the Cool Mountain area, Southwest China. At least 11 Tibeto-Burman languages are found in this area, a mountainous region across the border of Sichuan and Yunnan. Their interrogative systems are very different from the majority languages (e.g. Mandarin, Cantonese, and English). This project will also answer why such distinctive interrogative systems appear in these languages.
Dr LEUNG, Ka-shing Wilson [SEHS]	Perseverance is the key to my success in securing funding from the RGC. We usually need to read a lot of research papers and journals in order to find a research gap. Another way to come up with a research idea is to observe the environment. For example, my newly funded research project “Investigating the Motivators and Obstacles of Mobile Health Apps Adoption and Continuance by Elderly: A Longitudinal Study using Extended Expectation-Confirmation Theory” aims to encourage the elderly to use mobile health apps as a possible way to alleviate or deal with aging problems in Hong Kong. I believe that this research topic will not only make contributions to academia but also to the whole community.
Dr NG, Mei-lan Peggy [BHM]	My newly funded project aims to create a core research platform regarding AI in smart tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Maca Greater Bay Area (GBA). I believe that the main reason of successfully obtaining funding from the RGC for this project was that it could bring positive effects to the economy and society which have been seriously affected by the pandemic as the latest developments of AI in smart tourism in the GBA could inspire new business initiatives.
Dr NG, Sun-pui Zerance [SEHS]	The idea for my recently funded project “Modelling of Quantitative Dynamic Fit of Respirators for Healthcare Workers” came from the safety concerns about the fitting quality of N95 respirators during the pandemic. This project aims to explore and identify the features of face seal leakage caused by facial/body movements through the combination of advanced 3D scanning technology and experimental fit tests.

Details of the RGC funded research projects

Principal Investigator	Academic Division*	Project Title	Awarded Amount (HK$)
Dr NG, Sun-pui Zerance	SEHS	Modelling of Quantitative Dynamic Fit of Respirators for Healthcare Workers	996,805
Dr MAK, Ricky Kai-long	SEHS	Vertical Dispersion Model of Road Traffic-emitted Particulate Matters and Noise	992,006
Dr LIANG, Shanjun Junot	SEHS	Design and Implementation of Acoustic-controlled Ventilation Louvre with Metamaterial Technology	877,320
Dr LIE, Nga-sze Alicia	SSHD	The Islamicate Soundscape of Hong Kong	709,650
Dr WU, Yang Andrew	SEHS	Development of a Multi-agent Behaviour Model and Optimization of Charging Station Map for Implementation of Electric Taxis in Hong Kong - a Pilot Study	681,182
Dr DING, Hongdi	LC	The Interrogative Systems in Tibeto-Burman Languages of the Cool Mountain Area	674,709
Dr CHAN, Hau-ling	BHM	Circular Supply Chain Management with Bayesian Information Updating, Government Policies and Strategic Alliance for Sustainability Commitment	661,580
Dr XU, Bill	BHM	Destination Competitiveness in a Post-COVID-19 World	634,440
Dr LAM, Wai-ming Edmond	SEHS	Development of a Cloud-Based System to Facilitate End-User-Oriented Design (EOD) for Effective Sustainability Practices Implementation in High-Rise Residential Buildings	629,914
Dr YUEN, Sheung-man Simon	BHM	Creating Zero Medicine Wastage and Sustainable Healthcare Supply Chain: A Closer Cooperation between Private Clinics and Pharmaceutical Companies	482,278
Dr LEUNG, Ka-shing Wilson	SEHS	Investigating the Motivators and Obstacles of Mobile Health Apps Adoption and Continuance by Elderly: A Longitudinal Study using Extended Expectation-Confirmation Theory	465,850

Inter-Institutional Development Scheme

Principal Investigator	Academic Division*	Project Title	Awarded Amount (HK$)
Dr NG, Mei-lan Peggy	BHM	Research Directions and Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Smart Tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) (in collaboration with Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Mainland China, City University of Macau, and The Education University of Hong Kong)	371,665

* BHM: Division of Business and Hospitality Management
LC: Division of Languages and Communication
SEHS: Division of Science, Engineering and Health Studies
SSHD: Division of Social Sciences, Humanities and Design