Calls to refine talent-search approach

Lawmakers have voiced their support for the government’s plan to develop the city as a high-calibre talent hub as they continued the debate on the SAR’s first five-year plan and the latest Policy Address on Thursday. Brave Chan from the DAB noted that overseas students who are looking to study abroad are no longer only aiming for top institutions in Europe and America but instead considering coming to the SAR as it offers more opportunities. He suggested the government's attempts to recruit talent from the world's top 100 universities through its Top Talent Pass Scheme not just be restricted to casting a wide net. “It should instead choose subjects ranked among the world’s top 100 or research directions where an institution is the strongest," Chan said. "So, these talents are even more elite. No one university excels in every discipline, but some universities certainly have one particular field in which they are exceptionally strong.” Education-sector representative Tang Fei said measures being rolled out in the blueprints, such as increasing the number of University Grants Committee-funded postgraduate research places and quotas for scholarships offered to students from outside Hong Kong, showed the government’s determination to lure talents. “Whether it’s expanding the capacity and enhancing the high...