Press Release
Hong Kong Baptist University announces founding collaboration partners from Hong Kong/Greater Bay Area for new medical school proposal
Thursday, 12 December 2024
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is pleased to announce the formation of strategic partnership as part of its bid to establish a new medical school. This new medical school initiative aims to address the growing demand for medical education and healthcare professionals in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA), and by collaborating with leading medical experts and partners worldwide, HKBU seeks to create a world-class medical school that will landmark Hong Kong as an international hub for medical education, clinical training, and research and innovation.
Following the announcement in November to bid for the new medical school, HKBU has formed strategic alliance with The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University (FAH-SYSU). FAH-SYSU and its affiliated hospitals are committed to providing recommendations for the curriculum and infrastructure planning of the new school, as well as offering clinical training resources, including but not limited to the provision of clinical teaching and exposure in different specialities, internship opportunities and sharing of clinical expertise. Additionally, HKBU and FAH-SYSU will engage in strategic cooperation in areas such as innovative research and development, jointly establishing a medical innovation and training centre to promote collaboration in the healthcare system and nurture talents in Hong Kong and the GBA.
HKBU has set up a Preparatory Committee for the New Medical School (Committee) which recommends strategies and develops a detailed implementation plan for establishing the new medical school. With Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU serving as the Convener, the Committee will be led by Co-chairmen Professor Lee Sum Ping, Former Dean of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), and Professor Manson Fok, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), and comprised of Senior Advisors and Members, including The Honourable Dr Bernard Charnwut Chan, GBM, GBS, JP, former Convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong SAR; Professor Xiao Hai-peng, President of FAH-SYSU; Professor Lai Ching Lung, the global authority on hepatology, plus other renowned experts.
“HKBU is thrilled to welcome Professor Lee and Professor Fok as Co-chairmen of the Committee. Their knowledge, expertise, and leadership in establishing both medical schools and hospitals will significantly contribute to HKBU’s proposal to establish a new medical school. I would also like to express our sincere appreciation to Professor Xiao, Professor Lee and Professor Fok on their immense passion and support on promoting seamless collaborations between Hong Kong and the GBA. Together with leaders and experts Dr Chan and Professor Lai, HKBU is looking forward to an exciting partnership and impactful outcomes ahead,” said Professor Wai. “As preparations continue, more international advisors as well as our international support and collaborative plan will be announced separately when collaborations are secured, promising an exciting future for the University and the wider community.”
Professor Lee Sum Ping and Professor Manson Fok are globally renowned pioneers in the medical field. As the Former Dean of Medicine at HKU, Professor Lee led the establishment of two HKU-related hospitals (including The University of Hong Kong – Shenzhen Hospital). He is currently an Emeritus Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology at the School of Medicine, University of Washington. Professor Manson Fok is currently the founding Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at MUST and the President of the World Association of Chinese Doctors. He is a renowned surgeon and scholar, and the only experienced individual to have led the founding of a new medical school and the launching of a new Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programme in the Hong Kong and Macau regions in the recent forty years.
With this exceptional line-up of unique authorities, HKBU is poised to contribute to Hong Kong, the GBA, and our nation towards a transformative ecosystem which integrates cutting-edge research, comprehensive clinical training, and innovative healthcare solutions.
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About The First Affiliate Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University (FAH-SYSU)
Founded in 1910, the FAH-SYSU is an important base for research, medical service, medical education, preventive care and rehabilitation in South China. It is well known for its high quality and excellent service in China and Southeast Asia. It is also one of the first high-quality major hospitals in Guangdong Province and a key unit of the Guangdong International Precision Medicine Center, with comprehensive strength ranking first in South China. There are 5 “National Key Disciplines” and 36 “National Key Clinical Specialties” which have contributed to the inclusion of Basic Medicine and Clinical Medicine disciplines in the “Double First-Class Disciplines” and listing of Clinical Medicine discipline among the top 0.5‰ of ESI global rankings. The FAH-SYSU continues to promote high-quality development, aiming to become a national medical center with Chinese characteristics and world-class standards, focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of complicated cases, disaster medicine, scientific and technological innovation, and the cultivation of medical elite talents. FAH-SYSU is a member of the China Elite Teaching Hospital Alliance (the only one in South China), leading domestically in medical education, international cooperation, and scientific and technological innovation. For example, FAH-SYSU is where the China office of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) is located, and it won the 2023 ASPIRE to Excellence Award (the first in the Mainland). 335 faculty members are AMEE-certified medical teachers, and it collaborates with Harvard MGB/DFCI on course development, with the University of Birmingham on co-building a research institute on healthy aging, and with UC Berkeley on AI and robotic surgery. FAH-SYSU is one of the first clinical teaching and training demonstration centers in the Mainland and one of the first national standardized training bases for resident physicians, providing clinical training for medical students from all over the country.
Source of information: The First Affiliate Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University
About Professor Lee Sum Ping
Professor Lee Sum Ping is the Former Dean of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (August 2008 – July 2013). He is currently a Professor Emeritus of the Division of Gastroenterology at University of Washington. Apart from serving as the Co-Chairman, Professor Lee will also be the spokesperson of the Preparatory Committee.
Professor Lee received his MBBS and MD degrees from HKU in 1970 and 1980 respectively, and his PhD in 1978 from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians London (Hon), and the American College of Gastroenterology, and a Member of the American Association of Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Investigation.
Professor Lee has conducted clinical medicine and research work in various countries and regions, including Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and served as an advisor to several major academic journals and research funding agencies. Professor Lee has received many international honours in the medical field. For example, he was the first Asian selected by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) as the recipient of the 2010 AASLD Distinguished Achievement Award to honour his excellent contributions to the field of liver disease and the scientific foundations of hepatology. Furthermore, Professor Lee, as an outstanding clinician in Gastroenterology, was conferred with a Master award by the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). Before his return to HKU and serving as the Dean of Medicine, he had been the Head of the Division of Gastroenterology of the University of Washington School of Medicine (UW) Teaching Hospitals for 13 years and was on the honour role of “Best Doctors in the US” 10 years in a row. His teaching course conducted at the UW was ranked #1 among all the clinical teaching courses 20 years in a row. He is passionate in introducing multi-disciplinarity to medical education. For example, during his tenure at HKU, he founded the Centre for the Humanities and Medicine and the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law. He introduced inter-disciplinary and transdisciplinary teaching and learning in human biology, physiology and anatomy among medical students, medical students studying Chinese Medicine, and nursing students; and introduced the teaching of the medicinal properties of herbs to Pharmacy students.
About Professor Manson Fok
Professor Manson Fok is the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) and Director of the MUST hospital. Professor Fok founded MUST Faculty of Medicine in 2019. He is the only doctor-scholar who has experience in leading the establishment of a medical school and the launching of a new Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery programme in the Hong Kong and Macau regions in the recent forty years.
After receiving his medical degree (MBBS) from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 1982, Professor Fok was appointed as a faculty member in the Department of Surgery of HKU. He has published many original research papers in top-notch international medical journals and written chapters in academic books on minimally invasive treatment for oesophageal surgery.
Professor Fok is the Chairman of Virtus Medical Group, one of the largest private medical specialties groups in Hong Kong. He is also the board chairman/member of a number of biotechnology companies, and serves as an executive committee director/member of multiple foundations, professional committees, and medical associations.
Professor Fok is the President of the World Association of Chinese Doctors. He has also been appointed by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) as an Ambassador for China of the Global Fair Pay Charter in 2024. He has also been designated to set up a comprehensive medical simulation training centre in the GBA to provide medical training for healthcare professionals in the Southern Hemisphere on behalf of the United Nations.
In December 2024, Professor Fok was nominated by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China as one of the top 100 candidates for the National Outstanding Physician Award. He is also the chief editor of the textbooks for higher medical education in the GBA, assisting in designing medical textbooks suitable for the integration of medical education in the GBA.
As the Chairman of the Sino-Luso International Medical Forum, Professor Fok has been dedicated to promoting cooperation in medical education between Portuguese-speaking countries and the GBA for many years. Professor Fok’s immense contributions have been recognised by the Duke of Braganca (former King of Portugal) and the Portuguese Royal Family and in 2023, he was awarded with the Knight Grand Cross of the Portuguese Royal House.
