The Research Department endeavors to provide niche expertise and deliver research administration services and systems to the HKUST(GZ) research community. As a central organization, the Research Department collaboratives with Hub, Thrust, and other research units to support faculty and staff in soliciting, securing, and managing research project fundings, including the following core services:

• Standardize and promulgate research policy and compliance
• Review and endorse proposals for sponsored research projects
• Manage and oversight the awarded projects till the final closeout
• Review and endorse industry-sponsored research projects and research collaboration contracts
• Review and endorse academic-industry collaboration agreements
• Provide training and tools to facilitate and consolidate research integrity
• Provide effective and supportive research information system
• Record and claim research outputs for each awarded project
• Archive research project materials and statistics in the whole project lifecycle

Since the establishment of the university, the Research Department has liaised with more than 15 sponsors, including government departments and industrial enterprises, covering over 50 local and non-local funding schemes. As of December 2022, the Research Department has reviewed and submitted over 280 applications to the funding agencies. Of these, 140 projects have been supported, including 1 Guangdong Provincial Key Lab and 6 Guangzhou Municipal Key Labs.

The primary missions of the Research Department are to provide excellence in research administration, deliver relevant information on funding opportunities, and maintain a high standard of integrity and professional conduct of research. The Research Department would endeavor to help faculty and staff further push the frontier of science and research and promote the advanced technological innovation of collaborative development in the Greater Bay Area.