Hong Kong’s newest medical school will nurture a new generation of doctors with professional expertise, technological command, a global perspective, and a patient-centered philosophy, raising the city’s research and medical education capabilities, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday.
“This is the future we are building – for Hong Kong, and for every patient who will one day be healed by the doctors trained here,” he said while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Medical Education and Research Complex at its Clear Water Bay campus.
The new medical school will ensure better quality, greater efficiency, and higher capacity in the city’s healthcare and medical services, the CE said, adding that it will increase local doctor training, thus easing manpower shortages.
On Nov 18, 2025, the special administrative region government gave the nod for the HKUST to establish the city’s third medical school. The eight-storey complex at the Clear Water Bay campus – which will rise as one of the core facilities of the medical school – is scheduled for completion in mid-2028 to welcome the first cohort of 50 students, starting in the 2028/29 academic year. They are expected to graduate in 2032.
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“The national 15th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong in becoming an international hub for high-caliber talent. A new medical school will help turn that vision into reality, attracting and training top talent in healthcare and higher education,” Lee said in his speech at Tuesday’s event.
According to him, it will also contribute to a Healthy China, one of the Five-Year Plan's key goals, by deepening collaboration with the Chinese mainland.
The HKUST medical school will develop differently from our two existing ones, creating synergy, driving innovation, generating multiplier effects, and raising Hong Kong’s medical-education capabilities.
“Hong Kong is fast emerging as an international center for medical training, research and innovation. Building a third medical school will get us there that much faster,” Lee added.
After a rigorous assessment process by the Task Group on New Medical School and its expert advisors, the SAR government approved HKUST's proposal in November to launch a four-year, graduate-entry medical program, a combined bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degree.
A day after the approval, the university said it would commit more than HK$7 billion to set up the medical school, including HK$2 billion for establishing a new medical complex on the Clearwater Bay campus.
Three working groups set up under the Task Group will now work with HKUST on every stage of implementation, advising on curriculum and finances.
“Our goal is clear: to ensure that the new medical school and its teaching hospital become a key pillar of Hong Kong's medical teaching and service system. The government is backing this commitment with substantial resources. We have set aside funding, on a matching basis, to support HKUST,” said the CE.
The government has also reserved land at Ngau Tam Mei in the Northern Metropolis for the medical school's permanent campus and an integrated hospital of medical education, research and patient-care, he added.
Expressing his confidence in HKUST, the CE said the university enjoys an outstanding international reputation in science, life sciences, engineering and business. “The new medical school will take full advantage of these formidable strengths to create its own medical education and research foundations.”
In the latest Asia University Rankings 2026 by the London-based magazine Times Higher Education, the HKUST continued to rank as Asia’s 12th top university and is among the top three in Hong Kong.
Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR Zhou Ji, Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR Li Yongsheng, HKUST Council Chairman Harry Shum and President of the HKUST Nancy Ip Yuk-yu were present among the dignitaries during the ceremony.
