RGC chairman Kenneth Young warned against further funding reductions. 'While the council understands the budgetary constraints the government faces, the cut in research funding has caused significant problems and we hope this reduced level of funding will not be repeated,' said Professor Young, who is also pro-vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

'Indeed, in less favourable times, the need for research to generate new knowledge and invent new ways of doing things is greater than ever. It is therefore important to continue investment to support research and scholarship in our higher education sector, which stands at the frontier of knowledge advancement.'

In the longer term, funding should be improved to a level commensurate with regional competitors and Hong Kong's goal to become a knowledge-based economy, he said.

Of the 748 approved projects, 316 were related to engineering, 138 in disciplines concerning biology and medicine, 146 in the humanities, social sciences and business studies, and 148 in the physical sciences, chemical engineering and mathematics.

The University of Hong Kong had the highest number of approved projects, at 193, requiring funding of $125 million. The University of Science and Technology came next, with 153 approved projects, followed by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Neither of the two projects submitted by the Hong Kong Institute of Education managed to gain any support.

Lingnan University won support for three of the 13 projects for which it sought funding.

James Pounder, director of the Bachelor in Business Administration programme at Lingnan, said it could dampen the motivation of academics who failed to get any support.

'The grants are important rewards. Many applicants put in much work in preparing for their proposals and are up and ready to do the research they applied funding for,' he said.