Press Release

National Natural Science Fund by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) is widely recognised as one of the main efforts to support basic research in China, and the success of research projects being awarded by the fund is a key indicator of an institution’s academic prowess and research strength.

We are delighted to announce that four distinguished scholars from HKU Business School have been awarded prestigious NSFC grants this year, including the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, the Excellent Young Scientists Fund, and the Young Scientists Fund Program. This resounding recognition is a testament to the exceptional research capability and rigorous academic standards upheld by HKU Business School.

The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars | Professor Guojun He

The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars provides assistance to exceptional young scholars who have demonstrated remarkable accomplishments in basic research. This support enables them to pursue their unique research interests and engage in innovative studies. The goal of the Fund is to accelerate the development of both local and international young talents, cultivating a cohort of leading academic trailblazers at the forefront of global science and technology advancements.

Professor He has been studying ESG-related topics for the past years, including but not limited to scientific assessment of the costs and benefits of improving environmental quality, understanding the multi-dimensional effects of environmental policies to support policy design and improvement, and continuously exploring new ways and new mechanisms to improve governance and the environment. These studies provide strong empirical support and actionable references for corporations to fulfil their social responsibilities, strengthen public participation and government governance, and continue to promote corporate ESG practices for sustainable development.

In recent years, China has been implementing a number of policies related to sustainable development and ESG, and corporations are the main carriers of the ESG concept and an important force in promoting sustainable development. Professor He observed that both academics and regulators still need to deepen their academic research on how to fully mobilize the public’s power to promote responsible ESG practices among enterprises, and to provide effective support for governmental regulators to improve the policy system. With the support of the NSFC, Professor He will continue to carry out the above research and further explore the impacts of public engagement and pressure on corporate ESG management practices, how to balance the demands of different stakeholders in corporate ESG practices, and how to better utilize various stakeholders in promoting corporate ESG practices and generate greater social benefits.

In 2024, the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars was for the first time introduced to Hong Kong and Macau scholars. Professor He was among the first batch of Hong Kong scholars to receive the prestigious award. This not only showcased his significant academic influence in the field of sustainable development but also served as a recognition of the scientific research projects he is about to undertake.

The Excellent Young Scientists Fund | Professor Shi Jayson Jia & Yang Liu

The Excellent Young Scientists Fund is an esteemed grant programme that provides support to promising young scholars who have already demonstrated exceptional achievements in basic research. The fund aims to empower these talented individuals to pursue innovative research directions of their own choosing, accelerating their growth and development as academic leaders poised to push the boundaries of scientific frontiers.

We are proud to announce that two of our esteemed faculty members, Professor Shi Jayson Jia and Professor Yang Liu, have been awarded the Excellent Young Scientists Fund in recognition of their ground-breaking research. Professor Jia’s project on “Consumption Behaviour and Risk Analysis Based on Big Data” and Professor Liu’s work on “International Asset Pricing” have both been recognised for their cutting-edge contributions to their respective fields. This prestigious accolade is a testament to their exceptional academic accomplishments in the areas of big data analytics and financial innovation.

The Young Scientists Fund Program | Professor Jingcun Cao

The Young Scientists Fund Program is a renowned initiative that supports young research professionals in pursuing self-directed, fundamental research projects within the scope of the fund. The program aims to cultivate the independent research capabilities of promising young scholars, inspiring innovative thinking and nurturing the next generation of leaders in basic research.

We are delighted to share that Professor Jingcun Cao from HKU Business School has been awarded the Young Scientists Fund for his project on “Design and Governance of Multi-Sided Platform Enterprises.” This recognition underscores Professor Cao’s remarkable expertise and contributions to the field of enterprise management and innovation, which will undoubtedly provide invaluable theoretical support for the development of the real economy.

The successful funding of these four distinguished HKU Business School scholars by the National Natural Science Fund is a testament to the school’s exceptional research capabilities and its commitment to advancing the frontiers of knowledge. We will continue to refine our management practices to ensure the smooth implementation of these projects, enabling us to make even greater contributions to scientific and economic progress.

2024 NSFC

During the application period of the 2024 National Natural Science Fund, the NSFC received a total of 384,564 projects applications. According to the Regulations of the NSFC, the relevant project management methods of NSFC and the evaluation opinions of experts, the NSFC funded 20758 General Program projects, 745 Key Program projects, 87 Key International (Regional) Cooperative Research Program projects, 23226 Young Scientists Fund Program, 654 Excellent Young Scientists Fund, 433 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars etc.

The National Distinguished Young Scholars Fund program supports young scholars who have made outstanding achievements in basic research, focuses on the frontiers of science in the world and the major needs of the country, strengthens scientific problem solving, and aims to nurture a group of outstanding academic leaders who have entered the frontiers of science and technology in the world.

About Professor Guojun He

Guojun HE is an economist working on environmental, development, and governance issues. Currently, he is a professor in Economics at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He serves as the director of HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute and the associate director of HKU’s Institute of China Economy. He holds a concurrent appointment at the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago (EPIC) and leads research activities of its China center (EPIC-China).

Ho’s papers have been published in leading economics journals such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, and in leading science journals such as Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Sustainability, and The BMJ.

He has won multiple academic awards, including, the European Achievement Award for Researchers in Environmental Economics under the Age of Forty, the Zhang Pei-Gang Award for Outstanding Achievement in Development Economics (the highest award in China for development economics research) and the Gregory Chow Best Paper Award from the Chinese Economists Society. In addition, He is also a Fellow of the Asian Bureau of Financial Economic Research, an external research affiliate of the Institute of Sustainable and Green Finance at the National University of Singapore, a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago, and a consultant to the Asian Development Bank, CICC Research Institute and other institutions.

About Professor Shi Jayson Jia

Professor Jia graduated from Yale University with a BA in economics in 2008 and earned a Ph.D. in marketing from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2013 before joining HKU Business School.  Professor Jia’s doctoral thesis won the 2012 Alden G. Clayton Award from the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) and he was recognized in 2019 as a MSI Young Scholar as a “leader in the next generation of global marketing research.”  Prof. Jia uses interdisciplinary methods from behavioral science, network science, and computational social science to investigate the basis of human resilience in response to risk, networked behaviors in the digital age, and how consumers process information or make decisions in digital marketing contexts.  His research has been published in Nature, Nature Communications, and top-tier journals in business, marketing, and psychology, and has received media coverage from outlets including Business Insider, BBC, The Guardian, Harvard Business Review, MSN, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Scientific American, People’s Daily, Xinhua, and Jinri Toutiao. Prof. Jia has extensive industry collaborations with major international internet technology, retail, and MarTech companies and sits on the Economic Policy Committee of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.

About Professor Yang Liu

Yang Liu is an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests span international finance and macroeconomics. He published in top academic journals such as Journal of Financial Economic, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Monetary Economics, Management Science, and won numerous research awards. He is the principle investigator or co-investigator of a NSFC Major Program, an RGC Theme-based Research Grant, an RGC .

Early Career Scheme, and multiple RGC General Research Funds. He was a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund and a research associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and Bachelor of Economics from Fudan University.

About Professor Jingcun Cao

Jingcun Cao is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at HKU Business School, the University of Hong Kong. He gained his PhD degree in Marketing, with bachelor degree in Mathematics.

Prof. Jingcun Cao’s research mainly focuses on substantively important and managerially relevant problems, and tries to solve the problems with multi-methods, including econometrics, field experiment, machine learning, deep learning and statistics. His expertise lies in big data analytics, online education, healthcare, new media platform, and mobile marketing.