A year and a half ago, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) came to an end.Over the past year, HKCU has held more than 120 celebrations covering academic, sports, arts, recreation and exchanges to share the achievements of HKCU's 60 years of hard work.At the end of the celebration, China Science Daily interviewed Duan Chongzhi, president of the University of Hong Kong, asking him to introduce the latest scientific research layout, university development concept and important measures to actively integrate into the national development.
China Science Journal: In recent years, HKCU has performed well in many world university rankings and QS world university disciplines. What is your philosophy for HKCU's future development?
Duan Chongzhi: As a research university, HKCU advocates creating value for society through research and innovation.In 2021, we announced a new "five-year strategic plan" that sets out a detailed roadmap for the development of HKCU.We have identified seven important goals to lead the University to peak again in the fast-changing era and realize the vision of HKCU's "excellence and long-term commitment".
HKCU has made research and innovation one of the priorities of its Five-Year Strategic Plan, which aims to promote Hong Kong as an international science and technology innovation center with the advantages of a highland of universities and a cradle of knowledge.
In the development blueprint of the university, research should not stop at the level of seeking knowledge, excavating or creating knowledge, but should focus on combining research, innovation and enterprise to become an important part of service productivity.
We hope to make good use of the knowledge and technology accumulated by the University over the years to achieve the ultimate goal of building a society.Therefore, Hong Kong and China strongly support the HKSAR Government's key innovation project, "InnoHK Innovation Hong Kong R&D Platform".At present, we have six research centers that have entered the platform.
In 2022, when General Secretary Xi Jinping came to Hong Kong to attend the 25th anniversary celebration of the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, he also visited some of the top scientific research achievements of the InnoHK Research Center.With the support of the state, the Hong Kong-China Conference has taken advantage of its scientific research strength to contribute to the future of Hong Kong and the country.
China Science Journal: What are the important measures taken by CUHK in serving the SAR Government and integrating into the overall national development situation?
Duan Chongzhi: At present, the national development is facing an important historical opportunity period, and HKCU has actively integrated with the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Construction Strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative.In line with the strategy of national science and technology power and talent development, CUHK has continued to build a scientific research platform in the Mainland, and five national key laboratories have been established after approval by the Ministry of Science and Technology.We are working with a number of state-level research institutions to build joint laboratories and research institutes to take advantage of HKCU's strengths in AI, quantum information, life sciences and healthcare.
In May last year, Lin Hanming, professor of life sciences at HKCU and director of the State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology, led the team to launch Longhuang Soybean samples aboard Shenzhou 16 and successfully arrived at the Chinese space station.
At the same time, we have been thinking about how to help the construction and layout of the real estate research base with the power of university science and technology to accelerate the transformation of scientific research results.We will also work with the international community to explore in-depth issues such as climate change and ecological environment, and work with the international community to find ways to solve major international problems and deal with common crises.
China Science Journal: HKCU has a lot of experience in training innovative talents. What measures are in place to promote cooperation with the Mainland?
Duan Chongzhi: One of the achievements of HKCU's development in the Mainland is the establishment of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) (hereinafter referred to as HKCCS) in 2014 with the approval of the Ministry of Education.All HKCSS courses are approved by the HKCU Sha Tin Campus Council, which ensures that the overall quality of education continues to rise, and the admission score of HKCSS undergraduate level is the highest in Guangdong Province.In recent years, Hong Kong and Shenzhen have ranked first in the country in the ranking of soft science Chinese cooperatively-run universities.
As the first Hong Kong university to fully enter the Greater Bay Area, we have set up a number of education and research platforms in the GBA in 2006 and promoted the development of basic research, talent development, innovation and entrepreneurship.
China Science Journal: What do you think is the biggest attraction of HKCU to mainland students?
Duan Chongzhi: HKCU is a first-class university with a deep cultural heritage of Chinese tradition and an international perspective.We can refer to the role of Hong Kong and Hong Kong universities as sand hourglass, and Hong Kong universities are facing the world with their backs to the motherland and have very convenient conditions to "integrate China and the West".
HKCU's distinctive "college system" is very helpful for the growth of young talents and their mental health.We adhere to the "two languages and three languages" strategy of both Chinese and English, so that students are very competitive.At the same time, HKCU has close ties with international universities, we are a member of the Pacific Rim University Alliance, in which HKCU students can conveniently visit or exchange with other universities.At the same time, HKCU also attracted a large number of foreign students to study here.
China Science Journal: What are the future plans of CUHK in terms of joint production, learning and research and the transformation of scientific research results?
Duan Chongzhi: In 2011, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute was established to focus on research, but later we found that this was not enough. Soon after, we established CUHK Shenzhen Research Center to support CUHK teachers, students and alumni in entrepreneurship.In the past six years, HKCU has hatched more than 90 companies, four of which have become "quasi-unicorn" enterprises.
In 2023, CUHK established six new industrial and academic research bases in the Mainland, and established a strong scientific and technological network in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.Recently, CUHK has established CUHK Innovation Limited, which will work with the industry to jointly invest in promising CUHK start-ups to ensure a stable lead in training a new generation of innovative research leaders.
In the future, CUHK will continue to serve as an important bridge between Hong Kong, the Mainland and the world, promote collaboration in the Greater Bay Area and support Hong Kong's scientific research and talent development as a GBA.
Universities should teach, research and serve society on three legs.From basic research, invention and innovation to becoming a commodity, there is a long way to go.HKCU will strengthen the functions of base centers in scientific research, teaching, academic exchanges, and supporting entrepreneurship, further paving the way for the transformation of achievements, and transferring innovation to the world.