HKBU financial challenges fail to dim hopes on third medical school bid

Hong Kong Baptist University is expected to finish the proposal to establish a third medical school by the end of this month, president Alexander Wai Ping-kong said.

Speaking at a media luncheon on Friday, Wai said the university has finished the second draft of the proposal and expressed confidence in winning the bid to run the medical school.

Wai said the university can only afford a cut of three to five percent in government funding and will review “every aspect of spending” while prioritizing education quality.

“We will tide over any difficulties together with society amid a high public fiscal deficit and we hope the government can restore funds if the budget regains balance,” Wai said.

The university aims to increase the proportion of students receiving transdisciplinary education from the current 10 percent to 30 percent for the 2025-28 triennium.

The university’s Jockey Club Campus of Creativity— a complex providing 1,726 bed places and 5,000 square meters of academic space — will officially open next month.

A 13,000-square-meter outdoor exploration center will be established at Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University United International College in Zhuhai by 2028, allowing students from the Hong Kong campus to attend their classes.

The university also plans to request mainland and overseas fresh students to fill in the police’s anti-scam forms before they arrive in Hong Kong.

Ayra Wang