With the help of the HKSAR Government, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has commenced preparations to set up a brand new medical college. Dedicated to coaching a brand new era of tech-savvy medical doctors, the School will bolster the long run readiness of the native healthcare system and advance Hong Kong’s growth as a global hub for medical coaching, analysis, and innovation.
Prof. Harry SHUM, HKUST Council Chairman, remarked, “The launch of preparations for Hong Kong’s third medical school at HKUST represents a landmark milestone for the University. This initiative is essential to addressing the city’s evolving healthcare needs and will significantly enhance the resilience and sustainable development of Hong Kong’s healthcare system. HKUST expresses its deepest appreciation to the HKSAR Government’s Task Group on New Medical School for its comprehensive assessment on the submitted proposal, and to the numerous experts, scholars, and community members who have provided unwavering support over the past two years.”
Prof. Shum emphasised that HKUST eagerly anticipates collaborating intently with the medical faculties of the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. By sharing assets and leveraging complementary strengths, these partnerships will advance medical schooling and analysis throughout the town. He additional highlighted the sturdy foundations established by Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Chinese medication, allied well being, and nursing, respectively, noting substantial alternatives for multifaceted cooperation to enrich and diversify Hong Kong’s healthcare schooling ecosystem.
Prof. Nancy IP, HKUST President, reiterated her gratitude to the Chief Executive, the Secretary for Health, and the Secretary for Education for his or her steadfast help. “The HKSAR Government has shown a visionary foresight in establishing Hong Kong as an international hub for scientific research and medical education, actively supporting the national goal of building China into a leading country in education,” she stated. “HKUST is fully committed to aligning with the government’s strategic plans, including the development of the Northern Metropolis. The new medical school represents a pivotal initiative that supports ‘the 2024-2035 Master Plan on Building China into a Leading Country in Education.’ It will advance Hong Kong’s ambition to develop world-class universities and disciplines. Leveraging the Northern Metropolis University Town as a strategic platform, we aim to deepen industry-academia-research collaboration and cultivate more top-tier talent in healthcare and technology for the benefit of both Hong Kong and the nation.”
“Scientific research is in the HKUST’s DNA, and we place paramount importance on interdisciplinary education and research. The HKUST School of Medicine will be guided by the core principle of ‘integrating engineering and medicine through research.’ Through an interdisciplinary approach, we will enhance students’ clinical competencies and technological proficiency, while instilling a deep commitment to professional ethics, empathy, and a patient-centered philosophy throughout the curriculum,” acknowledged Prof. Ip.
“We are dedicated to cultivating medical professionals who excel in clinical practice and possess a forward-looking vision for technological innovation, equipping them to address the increasingly complex healthcare challenges of the future. The School will also drive cutting-edge medical research, accelerating the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical applications. By balancing technological advancement with profound humanistic care, we will chart new courses for the future of healthcare in Hong Kong.”
Prof. Ip acknowledged that HKUST will undertake an modern, strategically complementary positioning to the 2 present medical faculties in Hong Kong, thereby totally leveraging its institutional strengths. She highlighted HKUST’s rating as first in Hong Kong and seventeenth on this planet in knowledge science and synthetic intelligence. She emphasised that the following era of medical doctors should grasp the appliance of know-how and AI-understanding of each its capabilities and limitations to deploy them successfully in medical follow.
Prof. Ip additional elaborated: “We are fully confident in our campus readiness, particularly with an inaugural cohort of just 50 students and a campus expansion plan already well underway. Curriculum development is also significantly advanced, having commenced at the earliest planning stages. Despite the ambitious timeline, we are confident that, with continued guidance from the government and the Task Group, all preparatory work will be completed on schedule.
The early response to faculty recruitment has been highly encouraging. Even before launching a formal global search, we have received expressions of interest from 36 senior medical professors based in the United States, Europe, Singapore, and Australia-many of whom maintain strong ties to Hong Kong.
We are equally optimistic about student recruitment. As one of Hong Kong’s most international universities, HKUST is ideally positioned to attract outstanding local and international talent, thereby enriching the pipeline of healthcare professionals for the city. Our immediate next step is to sign a memorandum of understanding with the government, which will enable preparatory work to proceed at full speed.”
Outlining the recruitment and curriculum plans for the brand new medical college, Prof. Ip introduced that HKUST will initially supply a four-year graduate-entry Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program. The inaugural cohort will comprise round 50 native and non-local college students. The program seeks candidates with a powerful ardour for medication who maintain a bachelor’s diploma in a science or healthcare-related subject from a number one college in Hong Kong or abroad.
Global admissions will open by 2027 or earlier, with the primary cohort commencing within the 2028/29 educational 12 months or earlier. The curriculum, benchmarked in opposition to main medical faculties worldwide, is designed to deal with Hong Kong’s main healthcare wants whereas integrating rigorous medical analysis coaching. This ensures graduates possess the skilled competencies and medical expertise required to meet the requirements of follow of the Medical Council of Hong Kong.
HKUST is assembling a world-class, numerous, and extremely achieved faculty-spanning each medical and non-clinical disciplines-for its new medical college. In parallel with a significant international recruitment drive to appeal to main worldwide consultants and top-tier expertise for key management roles, together with the founding dean. The University can be appointing honorary and adjunct school from its medical service companions. These appointees will play a key function in shaping the medical college’s strategic route, curriculum design, and the event of its instructing and analysis initiatives.
Regarding assets, Prof. Shum expressed sturdy confidence within the University’s fundraising capabilities. He acknowledged, “We sincerely thank those who share the educational vision of HKUST School of Medicine and are prepared to contribute generously. HKUST has a solid financial foundation, being entirely debt-free and maintaining substantial fiscal reserves. To support the medical school’s development, the University has made a firm long-term financial commitment, planning to invest approximately HK$7 billion over the next 25 years-an average of around HK$300 million annually. The HKSAR Government, through the University Grants Committee, will provide recurrent funding for the academic programs. It will also subsidize the construction of the medical school’s campus in the Ngau Tam Mei New Development Area as part of the public works program and will equip the School with the necessary education and research facilities. This robust public-private partnership will ensure ample resources for both the establishment and the sustained operation of the medical school.”
The HKUST School of Medicine will initially be situated on the University’s Clear Water Bay campus, the place a devoted medical analysis and instructing constructing can be constructed. Upon completion of the Ngau Tam Mei Development Area, the School will relocate to the University Town there, adjoining to the newly established good hospital. Looking ahead, the School will collaborate with the San Tin Technopole within the Northern Metropolis and the University Town to create synergies that help the event of the Greater Bay Area.
Ranked among the many prime establishments within the Times Higher Education’s Most International Universities, HKUST advantages from its excessive diploma of internationalization and an in depth international community, which can be instrumental in attracting excellent medical instructing and analysis expertise from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, and abroad.
Capitalizing on its management in cutting-edge fields equivalent to synthetic intelligence, knowledge science, and robotics, the University is dedicated to establishing a medical college that integrates distinctive medical experience with technological innovation. It will nurture a brand new era of medical doctors who embody excessive moral requirements, a patient-centered method, and proficiency in making use of superior applied sciences to medical practice-thereby revolutionizing healthcare providers.
HKUST’s strong translational analysis capabilities, bolstered by its dynamic innovation and know-how ecosystem, will speed up the interpretation of medical analysis from the laboratory to medical software and commercialization. This method is about to ship vital breakthroughs in main healthcare, precision medication, and personalised healthcare.
Since asserting its intention to set up the town’s third medical college in early 2024, HKUST has actively solid partnerships in medical internships, curriculum design, expertise growth, educational exchanges, and joint analysis. To date, the University has signed agreements with about 40 famend medical faculties, establishments, and hospitals from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and abroad. Hospital companions embrace The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University; Peking Union Medical College Hospital; Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University; Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine; Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital; and Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, amongst others. Medical college companions embrace Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, University of California, San Diego, Imperial College London, University College London, and King’s College London, Karolinska Institute and KTH Royal Institute of Technology and the University of Edinburgh.