HKUST Nansha campus gets green light

Mainland authorities have given the green light to Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to set up a campus in Nansha, Guangzhou, to coincide with the province's "Nansha Plan."

The Nansha campus will offer bachelor's degrees in areas like artificial intelligence, big data technology, data science and artificial manufacturing.

HKUST (Guangzhou) will also run 15 master's and PhD courses in advanced materials, smart transportation and microelectronics.

The Nansha branch will admit students following the country's student-recruitment policy.

Students will receive their certificates of graduation from HKUST (Guangzhou) as well as their bachelor's degree certificates and degree diplomas from both HKUST (Guangzhou) and HKUST.

"I am pleased to see HKUST's vision of cross-disciplinary education find a solid foundation to grow and thrive in the opportunities presented by HKUST[Guangzhou] under the 'Unified HKUST-complementary campuses' framework," said university president Wei Shyy.

"HKUST and HKUST [Guangzhou] will form a blueprint for next-generation pedagogies that take advantage of the complementary academic structures and shared resources to nurture forward-looking creative talents and pioneer a new way forward in higher education."

The Nansha Plan includes development around the Guangzhou branch and building incubation bases for Hong Kong Science Park.

The Ministry of Education said the Nansha campus will "play a constructive role in serving the development of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area."

Earlier this month, the State Council issued the overall plan to promote comprehensive cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau by further developing Guangdong's Nansha district, which covers a total area of about 803 square kilometers.

Party secretary of Guangzhou Municipal Development and Reform Commission Li Haizhou said some major scientific infrastructure and an advanced interdisciplinary studies platform will be introduced at the Nansha Science City.

"HKUST [Guangzhou] will be set up on a high standard and we will build the Hong Kong Science Park Nansha Co-incubation Base and a 'Hong Kong-style community' surrounding the campus," Li said.

The commission will work on enhancing benefits for Hong Kong and Macau residents working and living in Nansha, including enabling Hong Kong seniors to use their health-care vouchers.

HKUST will be the third Hong Kong university to set up a mainland branch, after Baptist University's United International College in Zhuhai - set up jointly with Beijing Normal University in 2005 - and Chinese University's campus in Shenzhen in 2014.

City University has also gained the education ministry's approval to set up a branch in Dongguan which is expected to offer courses from 2023.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com