CityUHK secures four research projects under the RGC’s Research Impact Fund; leading in the number of projects and funding amount among local universities

JULIAN NG

08 Jan 2026

Four research projects led by CityUHK have been awarded a total amount of HK$22.6 million from the RGC under the Research Impact Fund 2025/26. Photo shows (from left) Professor Leung, Professor Wu, Professor Li and Professor Huang.

Four research projects led by City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) have been awarded a total amount of HK$22.6 million from the Research Grants Council (RGC) under the Research Impact Fund (RIF) 2025/26, ranking the University first among the eight UGC-funded universities in both the number of projects and funding amount. These four projects, led by CityUHK scholars, reflect the University’s commitment to advancing cutting-edge research through interdisciplinary collaboration and translating academic outcomes into practical applications that contribute to societal advancement.

CityUHK secured four out of 13 awarded projects under the RIF2025/26, namely: a project led by Professor Huang Gongsheng, Associate Head of the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, titled “Development of Decoupled Radiant Cooling Technique for Advancing Building Energy Efficiency under Hot and Humid Climates”; a project led by Professor Oliver Wu Dapeng, Yeung Kin Man Chair Professor in Network Science and Chair Professor of the Department of Computer Science, titled “CuCloud: AI-Enabled Green Ecosystem”; a project led by Professor Kenneth Leung Mei-yee, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Health, Chair Professor of the Department of Chemistry and Associate Dean of the College of Science, titled “The UN-endorsed Global Estuaries Monitoring (GEM) Programme: Occurrence and environmental risks of contaminants of emerging concern in the world's estuaries”; and a project led by Professor Li Hanxiong, Chair Professor of Department of Systems Engineering and the late Professor Hu Jinlian, titled “Integrative Study on Needleless (Wire) Electrospinning for Massive Production”.

CityUHK is also involved in another collaborative research project with other local universities, titled “Towards Life-Cycle Intelligent Predictive Maintenance for Railway Tracks: Advancing with Deep Learning Algorithms and Digital Twin Technology”, illustrating the importance of interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration.

Professor Anderson Shum Ho-cheung, Vice-President (Research) of CityUHK, congratulated all the funded scholars and noted that following the recent recognition of 19 CityUHK scholars at the RGC Awards Presentation Ceremony 2025/26, this latest success in securing RIF for projects led by CityUHK further demonstrates the outstanding research capabilities of the University's faculty and researchers. He also expressed hope that the CityUHK community would continue to contribute knowledge for the benefit of society.

Established in 2018/19, the Research Impact Fund encourages local scholars to actively consider the broader implications of their research, enabling broader community benefits, while promoting more influential and applicable research projects in local universities. It also encourages collaboration beyond academia, including partnerships with government agencies, industry and research organisations.