Borderless campus
HK universities rush to open up in Greater Bay Area, deepen collaboration with mainland peers
‘The GuangdongHong KongMacao Greater Bay Area is a place to cultivate techonology-related talent,” said a young biotechnology graduate of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who founded a startup. He added that young people can seek opportunities from his alma mater’s upcoming campus in Guangzhou.
Collaboration between Hong Kong’s tertiary institutions and those on the Chinese mainland has never been closer, with Hong Kong universities making a beeline to set up campuses across the border.
The rush by the special administrative region’s institutions of higher learning to take a leaf from their mainland peers, particularly in advanced technology and innovation, is to get themselves wellintegrated with the national 14th FiveYear Plan (2021-25).
The development blueprint calls for the Greater Bay Area to boost integration among industries, education, and research, and promote collaboration among universities in the region. In line with that goal, many Hong Kong universities have set up campuses on the mainland to raise their standing and expand operations.
In her 2021 Policy Address, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuetngor pledged that the SAR government will intensify the flow of talent within the 11-city cluster.
This will not only benefit education in the region, but also support Hong Kong’s bid to become an “innovative technology” hub and achieve a winwin situation under the 14th FiveYear Plan.
Hong Kong universities have regularly been listed among the world’s leading tertiary institutions, with five of them among the top 100. But some Hong Kong universities have hit a bottleneck in industrializing research in the past few years.
The answer is to go north, where Guangdong province offers huge advantages in the manufacturing industry. To overcome the difficulties and accelerate development, Hong Kong universities began extending their reach to the southern Chinese province and exploring new areas for cooperation, especially in technology innovation and professional services education.
Several Hong Kong universities have established or are preparing to set up campuses in the Greater Bay Area. These include the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; City University of Hong Kong in Dongguan; Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Foshan; Hong Kong Metropolitan University (formerly known as the Open University of Hong Kong) in Zhaoqing; and Hong Kong Baptist University in Zhuhai.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, recently inaugurated its School of Medicine and School of Music, or the Shenzhen Conservatory of Music. The two departments have begun admitting their first batch of students.
The University of Hong Kong has also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Shenzhen municipal government to start a business school in the city, while the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Guangzhou has been topped out in September. The campus is due to open next year.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) previously rolled out a pilot program on the Hong Kong campus for HKUST Guangzhou to enroll research postgraduate students. The number of applications for the 2021-22 school year had reached about 1,500 by May 18, HKUST Guangzhou officials said at a news conference that day.
Lionel Ni Ming-shuan, who heads the HKUST Guangzhou, said in an earlier interview that it could be further developed as the university’s Hong Kong campus has limited space.
Earlier this year, the HKUST signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp, or HKSTP, providing for deeper cooperation in technology. The university and HKSTP are also preparing to set up Hong Kong
Science Park and Guangzhou Nansha Co-incubation Base, which will pave the way for further research and development, as well as technology talent pools within the Greater Bay Area. This would enable startups and young professionals to move to Nansha district conveniently.
Ni said collaboration between the HKUST and HKSTP will intensify exchanges between research and development workers and technology entrepreneurs in the Greater Bay Area. This will enhance the ecosystem for entrepreneurs in Hong Kong and on the mainland who wish to expand their markets.
Besides Hong Kong universities that are eager to expand on the mainland, the mainland’s tertiary institutions are also trying to beef up their presence in the SAR.
Shenzhen University plans to set up a branch in Hong Kong. If the project is realized, Hong Kong students could learn more about the mainland’s business environment and prepare themselves to work or live across the border in future, said Li Qingquan, president of Shenzhen University.
He said deeper communication and exchanges among higher education institutions is a core aspect of the
Greater Bay Area’s development.
“Mainland schools should also expand in the HKSAR to attract more international professionals and transform their research results, stimulating Hong Kong’s economy,” Li said.
Shenzhen University aims to admit more Hong Kong students in the next five years, offer cross-border courses with Hong Kong universities and encourage research projects to meet the needs of Hong Kong’s development, Li said.
The Hong Kong chief executive’s latest Policy Address said the SAR government has taken measures to increase the flow of talent in the Greater Bay Area. It will consider extending immigration arrangements for nonlocal graduates to cover students from the campuses of Hong Kong universities in the Greater Bay Area.
This means that those graduates from Hong Kong universities’ branches in the mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area — about 5,000 people per year (or even more in the future) — could apply for work permits in Hong Kong and become permanent residents after having lived in the city for seven years. The current arrangements allow only non-local students who have studied in Hong Kong to work after graduation.
Deeper collaboration within the
Greater Bay Area will not only lead to industrial technology upgrades, but also help the region retain the relevant talents, according to educators and graduates.
Xu Yangsheng, president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, welcomed the idea of more Hong Kong universities setting up campuses on the mainland. “We can jointly develop the Greater Bay Area,” he said, adding it is very important to know how to cultivate professionals the Greater Bay Area needs.
The 14th FiveYear Plan sees the Greater Bay Area as the region’s “innovative technology” hub. Therefore, technology professionals are needed to attain that goal.
Patrick Luk, 23, a fresh graduate of the HKUST who majored in biotechnology and founded a startup in Hong Kong, said he believes the university’s new campus will promote communication among the 11 cities of the Greater Bay Area and encourage professionals to stay there.
“I think more Hong Kong students would like to work and live in the Greater Bay Area if it’s well run, as it will provide greater job opportunities for them than in the past,” said Luk.
“For some industries such as biotechnology, Hong Kong is a good place to do research, but it’s not an ideal place for related jobs due to its small market.”
The HKUST Guangzhou is a good place for recruiting and cultivating students pursuing doctorates in technological fields who intend to stay in the Greater Bay Area, Luk said.
According to Xu, CUHK Shenzhen will work with CUHK on the development of its School of Medicine in the near future.
“The Greater Bay Area requires an institution with a sound and strategic frame to develop medical education and services,” he said. “We’ll join hands in developing and running the school well.
“We also plan to cooperate with the government under the Qianhai plan, such as co-founding research institutions in Qianhai with CUHK,” said Xu.
“Cooperation will be in various areas, including education studies, innovative technology, the digital economy and global affairs. We want to turn Qianhai into an international technology center with Shenzhen and Hong Kong characteristics.”