Sun Yat-sen University Institute to boost East-West exchanges

Xu Anlong, president of the Sun Yat-sen University Institute of Advanced Studies Hong Kong, said the institute is expected to be built into an academic hub with international demonstration effects and become a pivot for East-West exchanges in the following months.

The institute will pay attention to the industrial transformation of scientific and technological achievements while sparing no effort to make breakthroughs in cutting-edge science, basic research and interdisciplinary fields, said Xu.

The institute, unveiled on Monday, integrates teaching, scientific research and the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, said Xu, former president of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and former vice-president of Sun Yat-sen University.

"By leveraging Hong Kong's advantageous location, the institute aims to attract and cultivate top international talent," he said.

It is the first comprehensive research institution that mainland universities have set up in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Gao Song, president of Sun Yat-sen University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that by combining the university's advantages and the development needs of Hong Kong, Sun Yat-sen Institute of Advanced Studies Hong Kong would give top priority to developing three interdisciplinary fields, including biomedical science, applied mathematics and humanities and social sciences.

The research institute will vigorously promote cooperation and exchange in higher education in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to build world-class laboratories, he said.

Wang Jiayi, deputy minister of education, said the institute's establishment is a new attempt by mainland universities to strengthen deep cooperation with Hong Kong.

"The development of higher education in Hong Kong is at the forefront of the world, with a high degree of internationalization, which is conducive to attracting high-end talent and innovative young scholars from around the world, and it also provides more platforms for mainland universities to expand cooperation and exchanges with top overseas universities and high-level universities in Hong Kong," he said.

Christine Choi Yuk-lin, secretary for education of the Hong Kong SAR government, said many Hong Kong universities have achieved remarkable results in establishing branch campuses in the GBA and collaborating with mainland counterparts.

"The establishment of Sun Yat-sen University Institute of Advanced Studies Hong Kong will help integrate innovation resources from Guangdong and Hong Kong and promote higher-level and broader cooperation among universities in the GBA," she said.