According to a report by the Hong Kong English media The South China Morning Post on July 5th, as funding for scientific research at British universities continues to tighten, and geopolitical factors increase the uncertainty of international scientific cooperation, some young scientific researchers are turning their attention to Asia. Chen Peipei, an energy transformation scientist who was a researcher at the University of Cambridge in the UK, joined the Hong Kong City University this year as an assistant professor to the president, and has begun to form her own scientific research team.
Chen Peipei said that an important reason for her attraction to Hong Kong is that Hong Kong universities can provide young teachers with funding for research and places for doctoral student enrollment, giving them more autonomy in their research. Such opportunities are becoming less and less common in the UK.
Chen Peipei graduated from Anhui University with a bachelor's degree in Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management in 2017. She earned her master's degree from the School of Population, Resources, and Environmental Economics at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2020. In 2024, she completed her doctoral studies at the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London. Afterward, she joined the Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge as a researcher.
She said in an interview: “For scientists, having funding and a team to conduct research is very attractive. In the UK, teaching positions rarely come with research funding. Most newly appointed faculty members have to focus on teaching tasks, leaving them little time to carry out their own research.”
Reports indicate that British universities have been facing financial pressures in recent years. A latest survey by the UK Universities Union shows that nearly one-third of the surveyed universities have cut research activities over the past three years, and 79% of universities have implemented measures such as recruitment freezes or voluntary layoffs. Recently, several universities including the University of Dundee, the University of Sussex, the University of Nottingham, the University of Glasgow, and the University of Aberdeen have also announced plans to reduce staff numbers.
Another survey of approximately 460 young researchers in the fields of physics and astrophysics in the UK shows that only 8% of respondents would still recommend others to work in scientific research in the UK. Nearly four-thirds of postdoctoral researchers are considering leaving the UK, and about a quarter have already started applying for positions abroad.
Chen Peipei believes that Hong Kong, with its close connection to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the mainland, serves as an important platform for connecting with Southeast Asia. It can provide a more stable and relatively neutral environment for international scientific cooperation.
