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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), CUHK-Shenzhen and Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (GDSTC) signed a work plan yesterday (21 May) to support and carry out in-depth technological cooperation. A “1+1+1” joint funding programme will see the three parties jointly invest nearly HK$90 million over the three-year period from 2024 to 2026. This is the first time that Guangdong Province and the universities with campuses in both Guangdong and Hong Kong have jointly invested in research collaboration. This cooperation is a milestone, as CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen, the two earliest and strongest “one university, two campuses” institutions in the Greater Bay Area, join hands to contribute to the innovation and technological development of the region.

To accelerate the development of the Greater Bay Area as an international science and technology innovation centre, and to leverage the advantage of CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen as one brand with two campuses, the GDSTC, in accordance with the Co-operation Agreement on Technology and Innovation Exchange between Guangdong and Hong Kong, has collaborated with CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen to jointly support deepened technological cooperation between teams from the two places.

The scope of cooperation includes:

• Over the three-year period from 2024 to 2026, GDSTC will invest RMB10 million of provincial fiscal funds per year, CUHK will invest HK$10 million per year and CUHK-Shenzhen will invest RMB10 million per year respectively. This will form a seed fund pool to support joint scientific research collaboration between the two universities’ teams in the region.
• Establishing innovation platforms, exploring the construction of joint Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao laboratories in the fields where the two universities excel, and participating in science forums in the Greater Bay Area and hosting related international academic conferences in Hong Kong.
• GDSTC welcomes the two universities to apply for provincial key area research and development programmes, basic and applied science research major projects, natural science fund projects and other provincial science and technology projects. The two universities will undertake GDSTC projects, jointly conducting scientific research and institutional research to address major technical challenges, in line with the strategic needs of the Greater Bay Area.
• To further promote international science, technology and talent cooperation, the two universities will share their brands and jointly bring in and cultivate high-level research teams globally, leveraging their resourceful assets to nurture top talents to promote more extensive and in-depth research collaboration between the two universities’ teams.

The signing ceremony took place on the CUHK campus, and was witnessed by Mr Wang Xi, Member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Vice Governor, Mr Huang Mingzhong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government, Mr Zhu Kongjun, Secretary of the Education Work Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Party Secretary and Director-General of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, and Ms Long Guangyan, Deputy Director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Guangdong Province.

Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK, represented CUHK and signed the work plan with Mr Gong Guoping, Director of Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province, and Professor Xu Yangsheng, President of CUHK-Shenzhen.

Professor Tuan said, “CUHK was one of the earliest Hong Kong universities to engage in academic and scientific research exchanges and establish a presence in the Greater Bay Area. Over the past decade, CUHK-Shenzhen has achieved remarkable progress across an extensive range of areas, fully leveraging the advantages of our one university with two campuses. Today’s signing ceremony is a testament to our determination to further nurture and develop new productive forces, and to capitalise on our globally leading, pioneering disruptive research capabilities.”

He continued, “We are honoured to collaborate with Guangdong Province on this exciting journey. The two universities will leverage our top-tier resources, including research facilities, faculty expertise and student talent, in alignment with the long-term national ‘Strengthening China through Science and Technology’ strategy, to contribute to the technological and innovative development of the Greater Bay Area.”

Professor Xu said, “Under the strategic positioning of ‘one brand, two campuses’, we will combine the advantages of the two campuses of CUHK to jointly promote in-depth cooperation between the two universities in areas such as scientific research, platform building, talent introduction and cultivation. We will jointly introduce top-level research teams from around the world, leverage our resource advantages to cultivate top talents, and participate in national science and technology projects and platform construction, as well as large-scale international scientific collaboration.”

The work plan covers areas of collaboration such as joint funding schemes, establishing innovation platforms, and undertaking provincial science and technology projects in Guangdong, as well as promoting international science and technology cooperation and talent exchange.

After the signing ceremony, the Guangdong provincial leaders and guests visited the Greater Bay Area Joint Laboratory for Organ-on-Chip and Organoid that is being established by CUHK. Professor Tuan introduced the work of the joint laboratory to the guests, explaining the integration of advanced artificial intelligence and medical technologies in the development and application of organs on chips and organoids, as well as their contributions to precision medicine and new drug R&D.