HKUST writes new chapter in Bay Area, with its 30 years of excellence

The genesis of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was closely related to Hong Kong's growth. Now with its new Guangzhou campus, HKUST (GZ), scheduled to open in September, this notion of "HKUST 2.0"－formed under a "unified HKUST-complementary campuses" framework－will seek to contribute further toward higher education in science and technology, translational research and knowledge transfer in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and beyond.

"When the government proposed to build the third university and the first research-focused one in Hong Kong back in the 1980s, the city was at the crossroads of transforming from an industrial-based economy to a knowledge-based service center in Asia, and the HKUST was founded to help nurture the right talents for the mission," HKUST Council Chairman Andrew Liao Cheung-sing said.

The HKUST did strive to serve its mission. With just 30 years of history, the university has risen to become one of the world's top three young universities, while its faculty, students and alumni have also created an array of influential inventions, including a COVID-19-killing antimicrobial coating and a simple blood test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease.

As a research university, the HKUST emphasizes the spirit of science－fusing inquisitiveness, resilience and problem-solving skills into its curriculum. It was the first university in Hong Kong which allows undergraduate students to participate in frontier research, among the first in Asia to launch online education, and has been constantly introducing new programs to keep abreast of changing societal needs.

Prior to the city's first technology boom before 2000, the HKUST made a mark in many fast-moving fields such as nanotech, microelectronics and computer engineering, nurturing many talents essential for the city's later transformation into an innovation-based economy.

Seeing the needs of strengthening Hong Kong's role as a global financial hub, the HKUST also founded the Kellogg-HKUST Executive Master of Business Administration program in 1998, ranked No 1 by Financial Times 10 times, and is still one of the world's best business programs to date.

After decades of endeavors, the HKUST is now a world-recognized university on many fronts. More than 140, or about a quarter of the HKUST faculty members, were rated by Stanford University in 2021 among the world's top 2 percent scientists. Eighty-one percent of HKUST research projects were of "internationally excellent" or "world-leading" quality, according to the University Grants Committee's Research Assessment Exercise 2020.

The HKUST continues to attract first-class talents around the world－it is the most internationalized university in Hong Kong regarding the proportion of international undergraduate students, with students and faculty coming from nearly 80 and 40 countries and regions, respectively.

Graduates of the HKUST are also well sought-after as they are constantly ranked among the top 30 most employable by employers around the world.

On the 30th birthday of the HKUST and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the HKUST is ready to enter a new chapter－HKUST 2.0.

"In 2017, the Guangzhou municipal government invited the HKUST to build a new campus in Nansha district to help propel the city's innovation and technology development. Riding the wave of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the Bay Area Development Plan, we gladly took up the mission," Liao said.

The HKUST has been expanding its presence in the Bay Area since the beginning of this century. A number of research, innovation and entrepreneurship platforms and incubators were established in Guangdong's Shenzhen, Foshan and Guangzhou.

Companies founded or co-founded by professors and students of the HKUST have grown rapidly in the Bay Area－a fertile land full of innovation momentum.

According to a Hong Kong X Foundation survey in 2021, seven out of 18 Hong Kong unicorns were founded or co-founded by HKUST members, including global drone manufacturer DJI and smart autonomous driving vehicle developer CiDi.

On the back of the HKUST's strong research capabilities and a culture of innovation, diversity, and entrepreneurship, HKUST (GZ) will adopt a novel hub-based academic structure to facilitate cross-disciplinary education, research and knowledge transfer, complementing the traditional disciplines at the HKUST. The two campuses will truly integrate under the "unified HKUST-complementary campuses" framework, where resources and advantages of the twin campuses will be maximized and shared among their members, according to the university.

HKUST President Wei Shyy, who spearheaded this curriculum development, said: "Synergizing the Chinese mainland's remarkable progress and motivation as well as Hong Kong's internationally respected educational system, the HKUST and HKUST (GZ) will together create HKUST 2.0 to contribute to socioeconomic needs, to nurture youths with an innovative and optimistic mindset, and to prepare our graduates for the challenges facing us. We are confident that the notion of a unified HKUST with its complementary campuses will serve the region well and beyond, as well as offer an original model for the international community to observe, assess and adopt."

HKUST (GZ) President Lionel Ni said the Bay Area possesses all the favorable conditions for the implementation of a new education model like HKUST 2.0, noting that "after more than 40 years of the country's reform and opening-up, the Bay Area has developed a complete industrial chain. Governments at all levels have increased their support for innovation and entrepreneurship. An open and inclusive atmosphere that encourages innovations and ambitions has also taken shape in the area, attracting talents, capital and other factors from all over the world".

"I hope HKUST (GZ) would become a role model of higher education collaboration between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, as well as a world-class university to nurture the right kind of talent for the region's development," Ni added.

Nancy Ip Yuk-yu, HKUST president-designate and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said she is full of confidence and expectation with HKUST 2.0, adding that she will work together with Ni, as well as the faculty, staff members and students of the two campuses to create a new chapter of the HKUST.

Clockwise from top: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The HKUST's new campus in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, is to open in September. HKUST Council Chairman Andrew Liao Cheung-sing (center) and HKUST President Wei Shyy (first from the right) lead a delegation to visit the site of HKUST(GZ) in 2018. HKUST President Wei Shyy (second from the left), HKUST(GZ) President Lionel Ni (second from the right) and HKUST President-designate Nancy Ip Yuk-yu (first from the left). CHINA DAILY