The HKU-BICI Entrepreneurship Joint Educational Placement Programme for PhD, jointly operated by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI), is now open for applications. If you are interested in participating in practical entrepreneurship training and developing your research commercialisation skills, this is your chance to enter an excellent network of top scientists in different disciplines contributing to solving real-world problems and making positive impact to the world. Admitted students will receive scholarships for up to four years fully funded by BICI.
Apply now to unlock your potential in real-world experience!
Key Research Areas
- Optoelectronics
- Materials and Synthetic Biology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Intelligent Manufacturing
Programme Features
Students under this Programme will be registered as a full-time 4-year PhD student in HKU, and be mentored by supervisors of both HKU and BICI. They will spend two years at HKU and two years at BICI. During the two-year study at HKU, students will follow the Regulations and Procedures of the PhD programme at HKU including coursework requirement, progress monitoring, etc. During the two-year study at BICI, students will take innovation and entrepreneurship courses and carry out practical project-based training at BICI’s research centres (normally in Beijing or Guangzhou) together with peers across universities and disciplines. The actual arrangements will be subject to prior consent between the supervisors of HKU and BICI. Upon successful completion of the programme and fulfilment of the graduation requirements of both HKU and BICI, students will be conferred a single PhD degree by HKU.
Financial Support
Students admitted to this joint programme will receive scholarships for up to four years provided by BICI. During the student’s study period in HKU in Hong Kong, students will receive scholarships in accordance with the standard HKU Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS) rate. During the residency at BICI or BICI’s designated project locations, the scholarships will be granted by BICI in accordance with its regulation and policies (for reference, the current scholarship for PhD students is up to RMB 12,500 per month), BICI will also provide certain amount of housing allowance and subsidy for transportation.
Application
Interested applicants should contact the proposed supervisor at HKU and obtain his/her consent in advance before submitting an online application. In addition to the usual supporting documents required, applicants should also submit (i) an additional Application Form in simplified Chinese, (ii) a Study Plan in consultation with their intended supervisors, and (iii) a Chinese CV.
Competition is keen, please submit your application by April 30, 2026. BICI will invite applicants who pass its initial screening to attend an on-site interview. Please note that applicants are responsible for their own travel, meals and accommodation expenses incurred for attending the interview. Admitted students are expected to commence study on January 1, 2027.
Enquiry
HKU Collaborative Innovation Center (Ms. Celia Ying: cyying@hku.hk)
Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation (BICI) (Ms. Claire He: icollege@jingjinji.cn)
Visit the HKU Collaborative Innovation Center website for more details.