Research Talent Hub for Companies Subsidised under the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme (RTH-NIAS)
Objective
Launched in September 2024, RTH-NIAS provides companies under the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme (NIAS) with funding support for the recruitment of research talents to conduct research and development (R&D) work.
Eligibility
Applicant Company
Companies with projects approved under the NIAS
Research Talent
- must be a Hong Kong permanent resident or person legally permitted to work in Hong Kong during the RTH-NIAS engagement period; and
- must possess a bachelor degree (including top-up bachelor degree), a master degree or a doctoral degree of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ("STEM")-related discipline awarded by either a local university or a well-recognised non-local institution6, or jointly awarded by a local university together with a non-local university.
Key Features
- The maximum engagement period for each research talent under the Research Talent Hub is 36 months in general.
- Each applicant company may engage up to 4 research talents at any one time, with a maximum monthly salary allowance of HK$20,000 for those with a bachelor degree, HK$23,000 for those with a master degree, and HK$35,000 for those with a doctoral degree. An additional monthly living allowance of HK$10,000 will be provided to these research talents with doctoral degrees.
- An applicant company may further engage an additional 36 research talents on a 1 (Government): 1 (company) matching basis, with the Government covering up to half of the maximum monthly allowance stated above.
Application
The RTH-NIAS invites applications for funding all year round. Applications shall be submitted through the Innovation and Technology Commission Funding Administrative System. Please read the "RTH-NIAS Application Guide" before submitting an application.
Frequently Asked Questions
The applicant company shall ensure that the talent selection process is open, fair and without prejudice to any candidates. To avoid conflict of interest, in selecting a research talent, the applicant company must not engage a research talent who is the proprietor, partner, shareholder or management of the applicant company or their relatives. The applicant company or any person/staff authorised by the applicant company to handle or in any way to be involved in the selection process shall declare that they have no actual or potential conflict of interest; or otherwise shall not participate in the selection process.
Yes. Any non-local research talents who are eligible under the RTH, including those admitted under TechTAS, may benefit from the RTH. The concerned talent must possess a bachelor degree (including top-up bachelor degree), a master degree or a doctoral degree of a STEM-related discipline awarded by either a local university or a well-recognised non-local institution, or jointly awarded by a local university together with a non-local university. The applicant company shall comply with the relevant legislative requirements concerning the employment of the talent, including relevant entry/visa requirements for non-local talents.
No. The research talent being engaged shall conduct the R&D work of the applicant company on a full-time basis.
No. The monthly allowance shall be paid in full towards the actual lump sum monthly remuneration for the research talent and shall not, in whole or in part, be retained by the applicant company for whatever reasons. No other allowances, overhead or fringe benefits, etc. shall be payable from the RTH.
The applicant company has to ensure that an open recruitment has been done for the research talent position under application to ensure fairness. A copy of the concerned recruitment advertisement is required to be submitted with the application as a supporting document. For the recruitment, the RTH-NIAS does not restrict existing employees from applying for the post concerned.
- Tel: (852) 3655 5678
- Fax: (852) 2199 7004
- Email: nias@itc.gov.hk