CUHK
News Centre

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) started planning for a Shenzhen campus – The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen [CUHK(SZ)] – some five years ago, with the staunch support of Shenzhen University (SZU) and the Shenzhen Municipal Government. In October 2012, the State Ministry of Education (MoE) approved the establishment of a provisional body to take forward the planning of this collaborative initiative with SZU. Since then, the University has been working closely with relevant parties to prepare for the operations of CUHK(SZ). After all these years of thorough planning and preparation, CUHK is now pleased to receive formal MoE approval for the establishment of CUHK(SZ).  With the approval, CUHK(SZ) will further implement faculty recruitment, planning and development of academic curriculum, student admission in 2014 and other key strategic plans.

Professor Joseph J.Y. Sung, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK, and Chairman of the Governing Board of CUHK(SZ), said that the approval of the establishment of CUHK(SZ) by the MoE marks an important milestone in the development of CUHK. CUHK(SZ) will endeavour to train future generations of university graduates who are international in outlook, learned in the disciplines they follow, upright in character, and committed to serving the needs of society.

Professor Xu Yangsheng, President of CUHK(SZ), said that the establishment of CUHK(SZ) is of great significance in attracting and nurturing high-calibre innovative professionals in the PRD region, in research and the exploitation of high-end technology, in enhancing academic exchange and collaboration with higher-education institutions in developed countries and regions, as well as in helping to push forward the comprehensive reform of higher education in China.

The approved CUHK(SZ) is a non-profit-making higher education institution with the status of an independent legal entity, operating with a high degree of autonomy within the framework of the law and the CUHK(SZ) constitution. The governing body of CUHK(SZ) is its Governing Board, which comprises eight members each nominated by CUHK and SZU, and is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK, who has a casting vote. Four Governing Board meetings have been held so far to formulate major policies and strategies for the development of CUHK(SZ), and to approve the University management structure, the appointments of the President and Vice-Presidents, the University mission and vision, the constitution and the emblem, etc.

CUHK(SZ) is located in the Longgang District of Shenzhen, encompassing a campus area of around one million square metres, and will be constructed in phases. The renovation of the eight existing buildings on the site has been completed, which shall support the operational, teaching and learning activities of CUHK(SZ) in the initial years. Phase one campus development has also commenced, including the construction of major teaching blocks, the library, the university administration building, a conference centre, a student centre, colleges and staff quarters, and is expected to be completed in 2016 and 2017. A wider range of facilities and resources in the campus shall be available by then.

There are three schools in CUHK(SZ), namely the School of Management and Economics, the School of Science and Engineering, and the School of Humanities and Social Science. Student admission will be phased, with an ultimate student population of 11,000, of whom 7,500 will be undergraduates and 3,500 postgraduates. CUHK(SZ) will first introduce three undergraduate degree programmes in fall 2014, including Marketing and Communication, Global Business Studies, and Economics, and later phase in various programmes in Science and Engineering, Management and Economics, and Humanities and Social Science, including innovative and inter-disciplinary subjects. CUHK(SZ) will draw upon CUHK’s traditions of academic excellence. No effort will be spared to ensure that the high teaching quality of CUHK is maintained at CUHK(SZ) which will become a preferred research university located in Shenzhen, firmly rooted in China, and endowed with a global vision.