Message from Director

The Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies has established our reputation as knowledge hub of social science research in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region. Findings of our ongoing research on social, political and economic development of Hong Kong, Mainland China and the region are disseminated extensively across the intellectual community. We collaborate closely with stakeholders in the public and private sectors to provide scientific and evidence-based inputs to inform policy analyses and decisions. To promote scholarly exchange, the Institute also organises academic and public events regularly.

Looking back over the past years, one thing that stands out is the extraordinary pace at which the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies has grown. At the time of the 20th anniversary in 2010, there were seven research centres, four research programmes, and two functional units (the Telephone Survey Research Laboratory and the Publication Unit). Under the Institute, we also had 26 research staff and 12 administrative staff members.

By 2021, we have established 8 research centres and 7 research programmes. One source of strength for the Institute has been the dedication of our members. Currently, we have a total of 61 full-time and part-time research and nine full-time administrative staff members.

Such phenomenal growth calls for stronger governance and coordination. We appointed a full-time Assistant Director, Dr. Victor W. T. Zheng, to provide administrative leadership. With a much larger establishment we have also moved to gradually streamline our administrative processes to facilitate research work under the respective centres and programmes while strengthening our governance structure.

In the past few years, our research centres have launched new research themes and consolidated their leadership in their respective areas of research. In addition to academic research outputs, members of the Institute have been actively engaged in disseminating our research findings through the media. We have contributed regularly to public discussions through our articles for a lay audience, and also through public lectures and seminars. We have also reached out to the secondary education sector; our units, such as the Economic Education Programme of the Economic Research Centre, the Gender Research Centre, the International Affairs Research Centre, and the Public Policy Research Centre, have organised many training events for secondary teachers and students, as well as developed a wide range of teaching and learning resources. The Centre for Social and Political Development Studies, Centre for Social Innovation Studies, Center for Housing Innovations, and Gender Research Centre provide training for government departments, civil society, and social service sectors on topics based on their research expertise. The Telephone Survey Research Laboratory provides professional support services to researchers and social organisations intending to use telephone surveys for their research. It also regularly conducts opinion polls on issues of public interest and releases the results to the public so as to serve as a bridge linking the University and the public.

In 2015, the University entrusted the Institute to serve as the secretariat of the university-wide Global China Research Programme, a multidisciplinary research programme with a vision and a mission to promote research work relevant to China’s global engagement. The Centre for Youth Studies, established in 2016, is another initiative in which we coordinate research efforts in different approaches to youth studies, such as youth political participation, youth media consumption, youth identity, youth health, and youth culture.

One of our Institute’s core missions is to provide a first-class environment for members to pursue excellence in academic research in response to academic developments and community concerns. We will continue to avail ourselves for collaboration and synergies among researchers within the University, and between our University and the external academic community. Only by doing so will we be able to continue to serve the needs of the University as well as those of the local, national, and global communities.

In line with the rapid expansion of the Institute, we have re-designed our website to facilitate research exchanges, knowledge transfer and public engagement. We invite you to visit our website to learn more about our research endeavours. We welcome your feedback and support to push our research to new heights.

Anthony Y. H. Fung, PhD, JP

Director

Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies