The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) celebrated the annual Scholarships and Fellowships Award Presentation Ceremony and High Table Dinner last night.
In total, 110 scholarships and 10 STEM fellowships were awarded during the ceremony, while a further 45 graduating Jockey Club (JC) scholars were recognised and five Endowed Professorships were inaugurated.
Martin Liao, HKJC Chairman, said that the Club “understands that people are Hong Kong’s most precious resource” and that this is “why the Club has long invested in human capital and education, to propel the city’s economic development and sustain the prosperity of our nation.”
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships program was launched in 1998 as a way to support education and create opportunities for academics.
Since then, over HK$1.25bn (US$159.5m) has been pledged so that more than 1,200 young people can continue their studies and pursue their dreams.
These are undergraduates from the Chinese Mainland or overseas studying in Hong Kong, or students who have faced significant adversity.
A new scholarship for music and dance students has also recently been approved, which will send individuals to leading institutions outside of Hong Kong.
Jeff Lam, one of this year’s JC STEM Career Research Fellows, is currently researching the risk of Alzheimer’s disease among the Chinese population.
Research has found that East Asian people who carry APOE4, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's, are currently underrepresented in studies on the disease.
Lam is filling this gap with critical research from Asian communities.
Recently, the HKJC united the paddocks with the scrum during its combined ‘Racing with Rugby’ event.
Winnie Pang, recipient of a Striding On Scholarship this year, represented HKSAR at the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities last year
