Electrochemist and materials scientist Liu Jiawei has relocated from Singapore to Hong Kong to establish her own independent research group at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), citing proximity to family in mainland China and a comparable high-standard academic environment as the decisive factors behind the move.

A decade in Singapore, then a deliberate pivot

Liu spent roughly ten years embedded in Singapore's research ecosystem before deciding to make the transition. She completed her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and went on to earn her PhD in materials science and engineering from the same institution in 2021. The move to Hong Kong came approximately two years ago, and she is now in the process of formally establishing her laboratory at CityU.

Why Hong Kong made sense

According to Liu, both cities offer strikingly similar research cultures — internationally connected, diverse, and bridging mainland China and the West. Hong Kong's academic model, she noted, operates on an independent principal investigator framework that grants researchers considerable autonomy over their labs and the direction of their work. “Singapore and Hong Kong are quite similar in their research environment and academic atmosphere. I chose Hong Kong because I want to stay closer to my family in mainland China and develop my career in a city that offers a similar research landscape to Singapore,” Liu said.

Collaboration as a structural advantage

Beyond individual autonomy, Liu highlighted that Hong Kong's institutions actively encourage cross-group collaboration, with joint projects between research teams being a frequent feature of the landscape. This model, she suggested, complements rather than competes with the independence afforded to principal investigators. The combination of autonomy and collaborative culture appears to be a key draw for early-career researchers looking to build their own programmes.

What this signals for Asia-Pacific research mobility

Liu's trajectory — from NTU to independent lab leadership in Hong Kong — reflects a broader pattern of scientific talent circulating within the Asia-Pacific region rather than defaulting to Western institutions. Hong Kong's universities, including CityU and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, have been actively recruiting researchers in fields such as materials science, electrosynthesis, and renewable energy, areas closely tied to the global push toward sustainable technology. As Liu builds out her group, the focus areas of her lab — reportedly spanning electrochemistry, CO2 utilisation, and electrosynthesis — position her work at the intersection of climate technology and advanced materials, a space attracting significant institutional and policy attention across the region.