The Guangzhou campus of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which will begin construction by the end of this year, is expected to recruit its first group of students in September. The students will study on the main campus in Hong Kong.   

The news was announced by Cai Chaolin, Party chief of Nansha district, on Jan 29.

The new campus will be located in southern Guangzhou near the Qingsheng high-speed railway station and cover an area of 1.13 square kilometers, twice the size of the main campus in Hong Kong. The city of Guangzhou will help HKUST build necessary facilities and provide subsidies for operating the school.

The project will be carried out in two phases, with construction anticipated to start at the end of this year. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2021, Cai revealed.

Early last October, Guangzhou University and HKUST signed a memorandum of understanding to promote collaboration between the two parties in promoting the project, establishing high-end scientific and technological innovation platforms, and improving scientific research achievements.

The HKUST Guangzhou Campus will focus on post-graduate programs in its preliminary stages and plans to recruit about 10,000 students. 

To promote the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou began discussing the building of the new campus with HKUST in 2017.

Cai also noted that the quality of the HKUST Guangzhou campus will be on par with its main campus in Hong Kong. The greatest difference between the two campuses will be research support measures and methods for cultivating scientific and technological innovation.

"The students will not always be in laboratories. They will be able to commercialize their research findings, set up companies, and list them. We have completely opened up the industrial chain."

HKUST, founded in 1991, is ranked 37th in the 2019 QS World University Rankings. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]