The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s planned new campus in Guangzhou intends to hire 400 scientists and scholars from around the world in the next five years in an effort to make the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area a global talent hub, the university’s provost said on Thursday.
HKUST hopes to net 70 to 80 of them for next year, and they will work on the existing campus in Hong Kong before the new Guangzhou campus opens in September 2022, Lionel Ni Ming-shuan said at a news conference.
The Guangzhou campus will be in Nansha district, a pilot development zone in the southernmost part of Guangzhou. The State Ministry of Education last year approved the application that allows HKUST, the Guangzhou Municipal government and Guangzhou University to jointly establish the new campus
He added the number of hires is expected to reach 150 in 2022. Currently, HKUST’s Clear Water Bay campus in Hong Kong has about 500 faculty members.
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With the exception of the new campus’ president, there will be no restriction on faculty members’ nationalities, HKUST President Shyy Wei told the media, adding that the university wants to see the new campus’ academic environment to be more diverse and cosmopolitan.
The Guangzhou campus will be in Nansha district, a pilot development zone in the southernmost part of Guangzhou. The State Ministry of Education last year approved the application that allows HKUST, the Guangzhou Municipal government and Guangzhou University to jointly establish the new campus.
Shyy said the establishment of the new campus will create more two-way cooperative opportunities in innovation and technology within the Bay Area, as well as boost academic exchange and communication between Hong Kong and other cities in the region.
In addition, every program provided in the Guangzhou campus will involve more than two disciplines and complement those provided in Hong Kong. The unique academic structure is designed in response to the demand for cross-discipline professionals in the Bay Area.
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The university launched a pilot program in the existing campus last year that allows students to take part in programs and research areas proposed for the Guangzhou campus.
Ng Ting-yin is one of the 106 postgraduate students admitted to the pilot program last year. Ng is working on a master’s degree in philosophy at HKUST’s Division of Social Science.
Under the pilot program, she is studying digital media and arts, while also dabbling in both computer science and in political science, her original major.
“The cross-disciplinary program allows me to see the world from a different perspective,” Ng said.
Though it’s challenging to learn computer science without any relevant research background, she said her two supervisors gave her a lot of advice and helped her adjust her learning progress.
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Like many others, Ng also has set her sights on the nine Guangdong province cities inside the Greater Bay Area for career building once she graduates, considering the abundant opportunities there.
