Enhancing our Mainland Presence
There is widespread agreement within the University community that HKU must further enhance its profile and activities in the Mainland if it is to become a truly eminent international university within China.
HKU should make valuable contributions to the training of talents in the Mainland. As a leading institution in the world and in Asia and a comprehensive research-led university which has developed a unique perspective of eastern and western tradition and thought, the University is in a singular position to take advantage of its geographical location, cultural heritage, social structure and economic standing to contribute to the Mainland’s reform and development efforts and connectivity with the world. The heritage of Hong Kong and indeed HKU has evolved beyond simply a meeting and co-existence of East and West, to the development of a new and unique culture underscored by an integration of these societies providing greater scope for cultural advance.
The University has made great efforts in strengthening its Mainland presence through strategic collaborations with Mainland universities. HKU has a high degree of visibility in Shanghai and Beijing. Our IMBA programmes with Fudan University produce some 300 graduates each year. We are also offering joint Master degree programmes with Beida and Tsinghua in Beijing. Through these programmes as well as recruitment of Mainland students to its degree programmes in Hong Kong, the University has enhanced its reputation and successfully built its brand in the Mainland.
The University is planning to develop activities in Shenzhen, taking advantage of the close proximity between Hong Kong and Shenzhen and the support that Shenzhen is prepared to give to collaborative activities of institutions of the two cities. We have the following plans:
- to set up research facilities to strengthen and expand our research activities and to attract academics and researchers in the Mainland institutions to work together with our research teams as well as to attract research funding from Mainland sources
- through teaching and research, to provide educational and professional services to the Shenzhen and the Mainland communities
- to set up new teaching bases to enable our students to gain learning and capstone experience in the Mainland
We also wish to build a campus, in Shenzhen or in the far northern part of Hong Kong close to Shenzhen, which will enable us to expand our student population and teaching and learning, research, knowledge exchange and collaborative activities as well as to provide new campus life and learning experiences to our students.
Our plans will be developed in phases. We aspire to set up our new teaching bases, research facilities and educational and professional services before the end of 2014. The setting up of a new HKU campus could be a longer term development which we hope could start within the period covered by this Strategic Development document.
