The Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund (SEYMF) was established in 1987 in memory of the late Governor Sir Edward Youde. Since Sir Edward assumed governorship in Hong Kong in May 1982, he had set a clear goal to develop education for the future of Hong Kong. His passion for the continuous upgrading of the quality of Hong Kong’s manpower through education was deeply appreciated by the community which showed overwhelming support for the setting up of the Fund in memory of the highly respected Governor when passed away in December 1986.

District boards, local organisations, schools, major companies, association and leading philanthropists responded generously to the fund raising and over 200,000 students from 340 primary and secondary schools donated their pockets money in support of the setting up of the Fund. By March 1987, the donation had accumulated to $76 million. Upon the recommendation of the Government and the endorsement of the Legislative Council, the SEYM Fund was set up and the SEYM Fund Ordinance, Chapter 1140 of the Laws of Hong Kong, was enacted in April 1987.

As laid down in the Ordinance, the aim of the Fund is to provide for and encourage the education of, or research by, the people of Hong Kong.

Over the past 37 years, the Fund has been unswerving in its course to fulfill its objectives by encouraging the academic accomplishments of outstanding students from senior secondary to tertiary levels, recognising the personal qualities of exemplary working adults for lifelong learning and supporting the educational activities of a wide spectrum of the learning community. At present, the Fund is distributing awards under eight distinct scholarship and award schemes and operating one sponsorship scheme. This year, over 930 individuals pride themselves as the recipients of the scholarship and award schemes and a total of around 13 000 students benefit directly from the sponsorship scheme. By the 2023/24 academic year, it had cumulatively disbursed over $266 million through various award and sponsorship schemes, benefiting more than 865 000 individuals.