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The Croucher Foundation is a private trust set up by the late Noel Croucher, one of the founders of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a British businessman in Hong Kong for over 70 years. It is a private, independent foundation based in Hong Kong without affiliation to any organisation, and derives direct income entirely from its own investments in different parts of the world. In 2006, the Croucher Foundation Limited has been formed as a separate entity to take over all the grant-making responsibilities of the Foundation. Unless otherwise stated, all the grants introduced on this website are offered by the Croucher Foundation Limited.
The Foundation is governed by a Board whose present Chairman is Professor Y.W. Kan, FRS. Its main office is in Hong Kong.
The Foundation specializes in promoting the standard of natural science, technology and medicine in Hong Kong through awards and grants to scientists based in and serving Hong Kong. The work of the Foundation has been conducted with the support of panels of international experts invited to assess the scientific values of individual projects.
Types of Support
The regular grants programme operated by the Croucher Foundation Limited include the following:
Scholarships, Fellowships and Research Studentships for doctoral and postdoctoral level studies in Hong Kong and abroad;
Senior Fellowships for in-service researchers and teachers in universities;
Sponsorship of international conferences and symposia held in Hong Kong;
Visitorships for Mainland Chinese scientists to undertake six-month attachments in tertiary institutions in Hong Kong;
Advanced Study Institutes which provide opportunities for senior scientists to exchange views on highly focused scientific topics in one-week intensive sessions;
The CAS-Croucher Funding Scheme for Joint Laboratories that are established between various research institutions on the mainland of China and universities in Hong Kong.
Grants must normally be held in Hong Kong, with the exception of scholarships and fellowships, which are tenable outside Hong Kong.
The Foundation believes it is important to develop highly qualified scientists as a pre-condition of scientific and technological development; strategically, the scholarship and fellowship programmes is targeted to young scientists in their formative years towards lifelong careers in science; the senior fellowship programmes provides for senior scientists who are in need of a sabbatical leave for improvement; visitorships, conference sponsorships and special project grants provide opportunities for necessary international exposure and interactions among scientists as part of their own educational process. The Foundation however does not favour programmes which should be funded by the Government, to avoid duplicating roles. It also does not make once-all donations to non-specific projects or make any direct contributions towards any sort of endowment funds. | 