The University of Birmingham Hong Kong Foundation
The University of Birmingham Hong Kong Foundation will harness the transformative power of philanthropy to accelerate our progress in addressing issues that matter to Hong Kong and the wider region.
Offer Hong Kong’s brightest students the chance to make the most of their talents and fund research that benefits Hong Kong and the wider world.
The board of directors brings together a wealth of experience across Hong Kong and the University of Birmingham.
Join our Founding Donors in supporting the Foundation to change young lives and improve the world for future generations.
What we will achieve together
In an everchanging and evolving world, we need to be able to act nimbly and respond quickly to needs and opportunities when they arise. Your gifts to the Foundation will enable us to do so.
Our alumni in Hong Kong have been generous in their philanthropic giving to the University, having previously made contributions to scholarships, for our research tackling Ebola and antibiotic resistance, to funding teaching laboratories. The Foundation will allow us to build on these successes, to continue to deepen our collective impact in Hong Kong and beyond.
How we will do it
We will create opportunities for the exchange of knowledge between Birmingham and Hong Kong.
We will fund exchange partnerships for researchers from Birmingham, Hong Kong and across the wider region. There has never been a more important time for international collaboration and the Foundation will foster those joint research programmes, which promise to have significant global impact.
We will fund scholarships for talented students from Hong Kong to follow in your footsteps to Edgbaston. We will fund mobility experiences for Birmingham students from challenging backgrounds to benefit from visiting Hong Kong, to meet our alumni, refine their leadership qualities and improve their cultural awareness.
The strength of our research in the region, combined with our highest concentration of alumni outside of the UK, presents us with a unique opportunity. Funds from the Foundation will be distributed by the board of directors to enable us to build and strengthen our community in Hong Kong, through enhancing research that matters and supporting bright minds in Birmingham.
We will support:
- Research exchange partnerships for researchers from Birmingham and Hong Kong
- The Geoffrey Ma Scholarships for students from Hong Kong, which recognise the Foundation’s first Honorary President
- Mobility experiences for students from Birmingham to visit Hong Kong and the region
To start a conversation, get in touch with Craig Edwards, Senior Development Executive (Asia-Pacific).
Professor Geoffrey Ma
Honorary President
I am delighted to be the first Honorary President of the University of Birmingham Hong Kong Foundation, following my recent appointment as an Honorary Professor and Chair in the Law School, and the inaugural recipient of the University of Birmingham Hong Kong Medal in 2019. These accolades from Birmingham hold special significance for me, because apart from providing me with the necessary foundation for my career, I am immensely proud to be a part of our outstanding University.
Birmingham is respected globally. The impact it has made is there for all to see – excellence in teaching and research, making a tangible contribution in an increasingly complex world. I am proud to be helping the University enhance its presence in Hong Kong, through the Foundation, and I look forward to the collaborations that will bring. I hope that you will join me in supporting the Foundation, to allow the next generation to follow in our footsteps through scholarships, and to further pioneering research that matters.
Ir Dr Conrad Wong, BBS, JP
Chair
Over the last few years I have been continually impressed with the University’s commitment to Hong Kong, and to alumni resident here. I have had the pleasure to host a number of dinners for visiting academics, to enable them to share their research. From their impact it is clear that the University has created a research environment in which academic rigour, innovation and delivery are made possible by brilliant people with strong collaborative international networks. However, there is so much more the University can do if the conditions are right. With the launch of the Hong Kong Foundation, we as alumni have an opportunity to help our alma mater break new ground.
I also hope that, like myself, you will consider becoming a donor to the Foundation. We have a unique opportunity to help shape the next chapter in the University’s illustrious history, by lending our support, so that it can enrich the student experience and research that matters to Hong Kong.
Professor Sir David Eastwood
Vice-Chancellor and Principal
Leading this great university has been the highlight of my career and in my final calendar year as Vice-Chancellor, I have been reflecting upon the many things we, as a University community, have achieved in the last 12 years. I am confident that we have taken the University to a better place; better for our students and better for our research. We are making an enduring difference to our city, our region, and to the wider world.
The University’s global reach has expanded significantly, with the opening of our Dubai campus and a plethora of international student and research partnerships traversing the globe. Travelling to meet our alumni from around the world has been a great privilege. You represent the very ethos of what Birmingham is all about; bold, ambitious, and forward-thinking.
During my tenure on Hong Kong University Grants Committee I have come to know this area and many of you, extremely well. I will miss my visits, but I know that with your help, the Hong Kong Foundation will continue to go from strength to strength.