Create Hong Kong has modified the Professional Continuing Education Scheme and the General Support Scheme under the DesignSmart Initiative to enhance their operation to better suit the design industry's needs.

To encourage more educational and training activities which are not promotional fanfare that naturally attracts sponsorship, an option is now provided for Professional Continuing Education Scheme applicants to top up outstanding sponsorship, up to 5% of the approved project cost, by training course or workshop fees collected.

The scheme's scope is also widened to cover ancillary activities which can generate a synergistic effect to the main deliverable as long as a project's main content covers professional training programmes for designers and the industry, such as competitions and exhibitions of works generated during the training courses.

The General Support Scheme will also be revised so to encourage more worthwhile projects in promoting design development.

Applications for re-running of previous projects under the two schemes are allowed now to provide flexibility for applicants to develop projects with a longer-term vision for the benefit of the industry. Such applications, however, will continue to be submitted on a project by project basis and assessed on individual merit.

Up to the end of April, 323 projects involving a total funding of $145 million have been approved under the initiative. Click here for details, or call the 2737 2635 or send an email.