Notification of application for Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation Program (Provincial NSFC) 2026
The Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong province has initiated the program application for Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation Program (Provincial NSFC) 2026. Details of application requirements are as follows:
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1. Funding fields
Including Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth Sciences, Engineering and Materials Sciences, Information Sciences, Management Sciences and Medical Sciences.
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2. Categories
The program set?3?subtypes with?the General Program, the Excellent Young Scientists Program and?the Distinguished Young Scholars Program.
General Program
a. Applicants shall meet the following qualifications:
(1) With the experience of undertaking (including as main participant) basic research projects or doing basic research;
(2) The total number of NSFC program a researcher undertakes as PI shall not exceed two;
(3) Grantees of the Guangdong major research program, key area R&D program, and key project, research team project, distinguished young scholars fund ,major fostered project of Guangdong natural science foundation are not allowed to apply for Guangdong natural science foundation 2026.
(4) In-site post-doctoral researchers are eligible to apply for this program when he or she has obtained the consent of instructor;
b. The duration is three years with the funding intensity of 100,000?RMB?per project;
c. Please refer?Annex 1-Guide for more information.
※The University has a limit on the number of general program that can be applied for (projects in Mathematical and Physical Sciences are not included in this limit). Details on the quota (excluding Mathematical and Physical Sciences) available for each college and project selection will be announced separately.
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Excellent Young Scientists Program
a.The applicant must be a full-time staff member employed by a host institution in Guangdong Province (must upload valid employment contract and other supporting documents within the system as proof of institutional affiliation).
b.Must be under 38 years of age (born on or after January 1,1988),For female applicants, the age limit is extended to 40 years old (born on or after January 1, 1986).;
c.Must hold a doctoral degree, have commenced employment in Guangdong on or after January 1, 2023, and have terminated all overseas employment prior to relocation.
d.Between the date of doctoral degree conferral and the application deadline, the applicant should generally have held a formal academic or research position (including postdoctoral appointments) at an overseas higher education institution, research organization, or corporate R&D center, with ≥24 months of cumulative overseas work experience (relevant supporting documentation must be uploaded).
e.?Applicants are INELIGIBLE if they meet ANY of the following criteria as of the application deadline:
(1) Previous recipients of support from national or provincial-level talent programs;
(2) Holders of ongoing national/provincial key or major S&T projects (including special programs, funds, etc.), provincial team projects, distinguished young scholar programs, or young scholar enhancement programs;
(3) Currently registered postdoctoral researchers.
f. The duration is three years with the funding intensity of 300,000?RMB?per project;
g. Please refer?Annex 1-Guide?for more information.
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Distinguished Young Scholars Program
a.?The applicant must be a full-time staff member employed by a host institution in Guangdong Province (must upload valid employment contract and other supporting documents within the system as proof of institutional affiliation);
b. Applicants shall meet the following qualifications:
(1) Must be under 40 years of age (born on or after January 1,1986).
For female applicants, the age limit is extended to 42 years old (born on or after January 1, 1984);
(2) Must hold a doctoral degree OR hold an Associate Professor/Associate Senior Engineer title or above (or equivalent);
(3) Must have served as PI on a completed??national or Guangdong provincial research projects?(or research projects funded by foreign governments at the same level).
c. The duration is four years with the funding intensity of 1 million RMB?per project;
d. Applicants are ineligible for the Distinguished Young Scholars Program if any of the following
criteria:
(1) Recipients of national-level talent programs;
(2) Holders of higher-tier provincial talent program support;
(3) Currently holding provincial youth talent programs of equivalent tier;
(4) Principal Investigators (Coordinators) of provincial team projects or previous recipients of Distinguished Young Scholars Program;
(5) Currently registered postdoctoral researchers.
e. Please refer?Annex 1-Guide?for more information.
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3. Requirements
a. Application limit
(1) Each applicant shall submit only one project of Guangdong NSFC?2026;
(2) Applicants shall only submit no more than two applications for provincial research projects in the same year;
(3) The total number of Guangdong provincial research projects a researcher undertakes as the PI should not exceed three (excluding Platform Program);
(4) The total number of Guangdong NSFC?projects a researcher undertakes as the PI should not exceed two;
(5) Applicants are not allowed to use the same or similar research content for multiple application.
b. Collaborative research requirements
(1) The collaborative institutions involved shall not exceed 2 in number;
(2) If main participants include researchers from other domestic institutions, a collaboration agreement which contains fund allocation, division of labor, ownership of intellectual property and other relevant contents shall be signed and sealed before submission online?(applicants can optionally upload it to the system in the stage of application);
(3) For overseas participants, he or she shall upload the “Informed Consent Letter”?(template can be downloaded from application system and need to be signed by applicant) to the application system.
?c. Other requirements
(1) The project start time in the application form shall?be 1 January, 2026.
(2) If the research content involves research ethics or science security, compliance documents shall be provided as attachments.
(3) Any requirements of relevant scientific research reviews, please refer to the CUHK(SZ)’s research review process of each committee as attached (Annex 4) and send the required materials and forms to each committee’s email by Jun 25, 2025?for assessment.
Email address for each committee:
Institutional Review Board??????????????????????????????????????irb@cuhk.edu.cn
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee????????iacuc@cuhk.edu.cn
Institutional Biosafety Committee???????????????????????????ibc@cuhk.edu.cn
(4)?Please refer to Annex 2 for templates of application forms;
(5)?Please consult with Mrs. Zhu on the certification materials of various talent programs;
(6) Applicants shall first read guide (Annex 1 to 4) carefully to make full sense of requirements.
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4. Procedure of application
Applicants shall fill out application forms in Chinese and upload supplementary documents?(please refer Annex 3-Attachments list) online via the application system ( http://pro.gdstc.gd.gov.cn/?) on or after Jun. 10, 2025, without submitting any hard copies.
※For applicants who have no login ID for application system, please send your name, academic title, email address, telephone number to suliuting@cuhk.edu.cn?by Jun. 13, 2025?to create?account.
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5.Deadline
a. Applicants shall upload relevant attachments and submit application forms online?by 12:00 on Jul. 3, 2025.?the RAO will review and feedback?(General projects (excluding Mathematical and Physical Sciences) must be confirmed and recommended by the college before submission);
b. Applicants shall submit application forms (final version) online by 12:00 on Jul.?7, 2025, without submitting any hard copies.
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6. Contact information
RAO |
Su Liuting,suliuting@cuhk.edu.cn Kevin Gao,kevingao@cuhk.edu.cn |
SSE |
Li Xuan, lixuan@cuhk.edu.cn |
SDS |
Cheng Lin,lincheng@cuhk.edu.cn Lin Ling,kasuallin@cuhk.edu.cn |
SME |
Lin Jiayu,linjiayu@cuhk.edu.cn Wu Xinwei,wuxinwei@cuhk.edu.cn |
HSS |
Deng Yihua,lavadeng@cuhk.edu.cn |
MED |
Wang Hui,viviwang01@cuhk.edu.cn Wang Rui,raywang@cuhk.edu.cn |
IRIM |
Yao Lisha,lisayao@cuhk.edu.cn |
SAI |
Peng Xiaochuan,charlenepeng@cuhk.edu.cn |
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Annex 2-Templates of application forms
Annex 4-Review process and relevant forms of each committee
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