HKUST forms task force to establish new medical school

The University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has launched a medical education task force as part of its initiative to establish the city's third medical school. 

Alongside HKUST, Baptist University and Polytechnic University are also exploring this opportunity.

Operating under the Planning Committee for the New Medical School, which was established last year, the new task force is composed of veteran scholars and doctors with extensive experience in medical education planning and public healthcare, HKUST said Monday.

The task force will concentrate on developing the medical curriculum for the new school, offering expert advice on global medical education trends, local societal needs, and the requirements of the Medical Council of Hong Kong. 

Notably, the task force includes both current and former medical school deans from the Planning Committee, with former Chinese University medical dean Fok Tai-fai and ex-University of Hong Kong medical dean Raymond Liang Hin-suen serving as co-chairs, alongside Singaporean ophthalmologist Wong Tien-yin, dean of Tsinghua Medical School.

The task force also draws on extensive experience from local public hospitals, featuring members such as Ho Hiu-Fai, former deputy chief executive of Queen Elizabeth Hospital; So Hing-Yu, president of the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists at the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine; and Wong Yung-Hou, dean of Science at HKUST and a former member of the Medical Council of Hong Kong.

“The task force will support HKUST in developing a medical program that prepares students for local medical practice and future clinical challenges, with a patient-centered approach and the integration of cutting-edge technology and clinical medicine,” the university said.

(Eunice Lam)