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Since 1998, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has been awarding annual scholarships at the city's tertiary institutions to students who combine outstanding academic performance with a strong commitment to serving the community.  Today (10 September) the Club announced that it was committing a further HK$170 million in five years to fund an expansion in scope and scale of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships in five major areas of need, thereby providing multiple development pathways for the city’s talented young people.

The expanded scheme will also for the first time support students with special education needs and non-graduates who wish to undertake vocational training, as well as opening doors for those who have already graduated to pursue overseas post-graduate studies at the world’s top universities.  In addition, the Club announced that it would partner the University of Oxford to support exceptional students who want to pursue masters or doctoral degree programmes, thus helping to nurture future community leaders.

The Club has long had a strong commitment to youth development. It aims to support students in need in a more comprehensive and effective way as well as provide multiple development pathways for Hong Kong's young people, in time helping the city strengthen its skill and manpower base.

Club Chairman Dr Simon S O Ip was joined at today’s announcement ceremony by Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford Professor Andrew Hamilton, British Consul-General to Hong Kong and Macao Caroline Wilson, Hong Kong’s Deputy Secretary for Education Brian Lo, Club Deputy Chairman Anthony W K Chow, Club Stewards Philip N L Chen, Stephen Ip Shu Kwan, Sir C K Chow and The Hon Martin C K Liao, Club Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Club Executive Director of Charities and Community Leong Cheung and representatives from partner institutions in higher education.

Dr Ip told the guests that over those 17 years the Jockey Club Scholarships had established a special identity and vision, founded on principles of leadership and community service.  “We want our Scholars to achieve not only academic excellence but also to become socially conscious and caring citizens who can aspire to be positive change agents within their communities.”

“The HKJC Graduate Scholarship at Oxford, which we are launching today, is a major strategic step forward in nurturing our most promising young people, giving them a unique opportunity to develop their potential at one of the world’s finest universities – learning from and living alongside some of the world’s best minds.”

Professor Hamilton said it was an enormous honour for the University of Oxford to be the Club’s partner in the expansion of its scholarship programme. “It is an immense privilege to have had such faith and trust placed in us by The Hong Kong Jockey Club,” he commented.  “We hope very much that this initiative will lay the foundation for an increasingly vibrant and productive partnership between our two institutions.”

Details of the expanded scope of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships are:

1. “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships - Graduate Scholarship at the University of Oxford”: Commencing in the 2016/17 academic year, four cohorts of three scholarships will be awarded each year, i.e. 12 in total, for students pursuing masters or doctoral degrees at the University of Oxford.  Each scholarship will cover the tuition fee, college fee and living allowance in full for the duration of the course.


2. “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships - Vocational Education Scholarship”: Commencing in the 2016/17 academic year, in partnership with the Vocational Training Council (VTC), the Club will support three cohorts of 14 diploma graduates pursuing higher diploma studies by covering tuition fees, as well as three cohorts of two higher diploma graduates each who wish to pursue undergraduate studies at VTC-partnering overseas universities or institutions, covering both tuition fees and living expenses.  A total of 48 students will be covered in all.


3. Students with special education needs: Commencing in the 2015/16 academic year, nine extra scholarships will be given to students with special education needs studying at the nine institutions under the existing scheme, “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarship”. These will cover all academic expenses and living costs involved. 


4. Leadership Development Programmes for Jockey Club Scholars: The Club will invest significant resources in leadership programmes for Scholars to encourage them to contribute to society. A week-long leadership programme will be held at the University of Oxford each summer, starting in 2016, to broaden the Scholars’ horizons as global leaders.  Each year, 30 Scholars will benefit from this programme.


5. The expanded scope of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships will benefit some 450 students in the coming five years.

Kathleen Poon is a fourth-year law student at the City University of Hong Kong who was a Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholar in academic year 2012/13, and is travelling to the University of Oxford in October for an exchange programme. “The University focuses on theory teaching, which is a big help for me to achieve my dream to be a scholar in academia,” she says.  “Having first-hand experience at the university paves my path to enrol for The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Graduate Scholarship at the University of Oxford.”

Bibi Tayyaba was a HKJC Scholar in the same year as Kathleen, when she was the first awardee from an ethnic minority since the HKJC Scholarships were established. Currently a student in the Bachelor of Education (Honours) (English Language) Programme at The Hong Kong Institute of Education, she feels excited about the opportunity to take part in the Leadership Development Programme at the University of Oxford. “I have always been interested in leadership training courses," she says. "I hope I can learn from the Leadership Development Programme sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club so that I can give back to the community, contributing to my home country Pakistan or to Hong Kong as an educational leader."

The Club sees its Scholarship Scheme, which recognises both outstanding talent and commitment to serve the community, as a unique way of nurturing Hong Kong’s young generation.  Since 1998, the Scholarships have been awarded to over 400 people, and the Club’s total contributions have totalled some HK$400 million. 

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class horse racing operator and Hong Kong’s largest community benefactor, as well as one of Asia’s most prestigious membership clubs. Operating as a not-for-profit organisation, the Club allocates its surplus funds for charitable and community projects. In 2014/15, its donations reached a record $3.87 billion, and in the last decade alone it supported over 1,300 projects. The Club is also Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer, contributing a record HK$20.05 billion in 2014/15. With about 70% of its revenue given back to society every year through donations and tax contributions, The Hong Kong Jockey Club delivers a significantly higher return to the community than any other racing and/or sports betting organisation in the world. As a socially responsible organisation, the Club helps Government combat illegal betting and advocates responsible gambling. The Club is also one of Hong Kong’s largest employers with over 24,000 full-time and part-time staff. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.