The government-run Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT) approved 256 projects last year, involving 450 million patacas in financial support, FDCT President Che Weng Keong said yesterday.
The fund held its annual press conference yesterday at the Government Information Bureau (GCS) in Nam Van, summarising its activities during the past year.
According to Che, of the 256 projects, more than 90 percent were applied research projects, with information technology (IT) taking up the largest share of 31.6 percent, followed by big health, engineering and materials, and natural science, each accounting for 23 percent, 23 percent and 20.7 percent respectively. The fund granted 450 million patacas in total last year, of which 8.4 percent as investment support to local enterprises.
The budget set aside for this year was expected to be similar to that of 2023, Che said.
During the press conference, Che said that one of the fund’s most important tasks this year and beyond was to continue to optimise its support for tertiary education institutions to strengthen their capacity for original innovation and maintain their leading position in the disciplines in which they have an advantage. Che also said that this year, the fund will deepen its work in four areas, namely the support for technology enterprises, certified technology enterprises in particular; the promotion of the transfer of Research & Development (R&D) from Macau to Hengqin; the facilitation of the development of industry-university-research collaborations; the improvement of the dynamic mechanism for adjusting and eliminating the scientific research platforms and completion of the reorganisation of Macau’s State Key Laboratories.
In terms of the investment support to local technology enterprises, Che said that the fund will further strengthen the status of enterprises as the mainstay of scientific and technological innovation by increasing this year’s financial support to 40 percent on top of the grants provided last year, adding that the corporate sector accounted for 8.4 percent of the total last year.
In line with the fund’s work plan this year, according to the press conference, it will support the establishment of a technology transfer organisation by local tertiary institutions through a pilot scheme, while striving to build a joint laboratory between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau by the end of this year with local tertiary institutions taking the lead.
Macau Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT) President Che Weng Keong (centre) and members Ip Kuai Lam (right) and Cheang Kun Wai co-host yesterday’s press conference at the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) at China Plaza. – Photo: Yuki Lei
