Press Release

HKBU hosts Spring Media Luncheon introducing university’s latest developments

Friday, 14 February 2025

At the Spring Media Luncheon today (14 February), members of the senior management team and faculty representatives of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) extended their new year greetings to the media and introduced the University’s latest developments in different aspects.

The event was attended by Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor; Professor Martin Wong, Provost; Professor Lyu Aiping, Vice-President (Research and Development) cum Dean of Graduate School and Acting Dean of School of Chinese Medicine; Dr Albert Chau, Vice-President (Teaching and Learning); Ms Christine Chow, Vice-President (Administration) and Secretary; Professor Terence Lau, Interim Chief Innovation Officer; Associate Vice-Presidents and Deans of HKBU. Professor Chen Zhi, President, and Professor Patrick Chau, Provost and Acting Associate Vice President (Internationalisation) of the Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (BNU-HKBU-UIC), HKBU’s Zhuhai campus, also joined the occasion.

Professor Alex Wai emphasised that HKBU is committed to nurturing transdisciplinary talents with a broad vision, who can master the future and keep abreast of technological developments, as well as create transdisciplinary knowledge and facilitate knowledge transfer. In recent years, the University has actively launched transdisciplinary programmes, together with the new Jockey Club Campus of Creativity which serves as an all-in-one facility for learning, teaching, research and residential use, providing an essential impetus to fuel HKBU in achieving these missions. 

Leveraging its experience in medical education, clinical practice and patient care, as well as its strength in biomedical innovation and translation, HKBU is actively preparing for the submission of new medical school proposal. Progress of related preparatory works is encouraging, including the formation of strategic partnership with The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University; establishment of a Preparatory Committee for the New Medical School, with Professor Wai serving as the Convener, led by Co-chairmen Professor Lee Sum Ping, Former Dean of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong, and Professor Manson Fok, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology; formation of an Expert Advisory Committee that comprises Nobel Laureate Sir Michael Houghton and leading experts from various fields of medicine, public and private clinical practices, the healthcare industry and academia; and the establishment of a strategic partnership with Hong Kong Baptist Hospital.

Professor Wai pointed out that these developments have provided the University with a wealth of experience and expertise in medical operations, as well as an abundance of resources for clinical teaching and research, in its bid to establish a new medical school. The drafting of the University's proposal for the new medical school is well underway, and the new medical school’s research plans will be announced in due course.

Professor Martin Wong introduced the achievements of academic developments at HKBU. He said that the University’s unwavering pursuit of academic excellence has been reflected in the recent results of numerous global university rankings, including a significant leap of 43 places in the 2025 QS World University Rankings, and the rise from the range of 301-350 last year to 251-300 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2025. In the Planning Exercise Proposal submitted to the University Grants Committee for the 2025/28 triennium, HKBU received positive feedback for its proposals on new programmes and study places. In addition, HKBU will celebrate its 70th anniversary next year. Starting this year, the University will begin preparations for the momentous celebration, which will include major events ranging from the Founders’ Day Thanksgiving Service, the HKBU Alumni Carnival, to the Gala Dinner, as well as a variety of academic activities to bring together faculty members, students, alumni and friends of HKBU.

On HKBU’s research development, Professor Lyu Aiping highlighted the University’s determination to become a global university of impact and significance through research excellence. HKBU has identified four strategic clusters with a transdisciplinary research theme, namely Creative Media and Practice, Health and Drug Discovery, Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, as well as Humanities and Cultures. Through the support of eminent early career researchers, recognition of outstanding research achievements, promotion of scholarly research exchange, strengthening of innovation and technology collaboration, and enhancement of research facilities, HKBU has created an open and collaborative research and development culture with great success. In 2023/24, HKBU academia published over 2,000 peer-reviewed journals, over 80% of which have been published in leading international journals. There are over 1,000 projects, with the awarded funding amount close to HKD2.59 billion. In the realm of research collaboration, HKBU has formed partnerships with over 3,800 institutions from 130 countries and regions to date. 

Dr Albert Chau gave an overview of HKBU’s blueprint for nurturing future-shaping students. In the 2025/26 academic year, HKBU will introduce curriculum reforms with a focus on transdisciplinary education, experiential, solution-based and contextualised learning. The reforms include the launch of the new Bachelor of Arts and Science (Hons) in Digital Futures and Humanities, seven new Transdisciplinary Second Majors and two Second Majors. To address the industries’ need for talent, two two-year transdisciplinary programmes, namely Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Sports Industry Management and Bachelor of Communication (Hons) in Interactive Media Publishing, and a new major in Sports Science within the existing Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in the Physical Education and Recreation Management programme will be introduced. In line with its “One University, Two Campuses” strategy, HKBU introduced the Extended Study Programme in the Greater Bay Area in the last academic year. Some 580 international students from 57 countries and regions participated. They visited HKBU’s Zhuhai campus and undertook diverse activities such as study tours in the Greater Bay Area. Some students also completed a semester or a year of study at the Zhuhai campus. In the interactive and explorative education centre of the Zhuhai Campus which is now under planning, HKBU will offer adventure-based programme to cultivate students’ qualities such as leadership and resilience.

Ms Christine Chow outlined the achievements of HKBU’s campus development and sustainability initiatives. She highlighted that HKBU, as the contractor of the service deed of The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong, has been fully engaged in the hospital’s preparation work to support its commencement of operation in phases by the end of the year. In late 2024, facilities of the Jockey Club Creative Campus went into operation, including the Jockey Club Creative Hub which is an integrative space for teaching, research and co-creation, as well as the Village CARE. In terms of sustainable development, HKBU is committed to reducing carbon emission by 50% in 2035/36 from its 2012/13 levels, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2044. To attain this goal, HKBU will adopt a four-pronged approach through energy saving, building green infrastructures and logistics, waste reduction and driving participation. In recent years, the University has received numerous accolades for its sustainability efforts. The Jockey Club Campus of Creativity development project was presented the Merit Award at the “Green Building Award 2021”. Other commendations include the Energy Management Grand Award at the “Smart Energy Award 2023” organised by CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, and the Silver Award at the “2023 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence”. HKBU’s Crop Science Laboratory also earned a spot as one of the two finalists in the Green Building Award 2023, under the Institutional Completed Projects category.

Professor Terence Lau elaborated on the University’s work in innovation and translation. HKBU established the Wu Jieh Yee Institute of Translational Chinese Medicine Research, a modern Chinese medicine development platform dedicated to translating research outcomes into clinical applications and commercialisation. On the other hand, CHRYSALIS - HKBU Art Tech Incubation Hub is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, set to facilitate technology translation, collaborations and entrepreneurship in art-tech. HKBU’s projects on innovation and technology translation have also achieved impressive results. In the art-tech realm, HKBU hosted the “Fly Me There” exhibition at the Hong Kong International Airport; in sports technology, HKBU conducted technology demonstrations, and convened sharing and discussion at the OLY House during the Paris Olympic Games, and showcased its sports technology for monitoring and safeguarding the health of athletes. Furthermore, two HKBU translational research projects have been awarded funding from the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+). The projects focused on a fully automated multiplexing molecular detection platform for disease diagnosis and a new Chinese herbal medicine for treating functional constipation in the elderly respectively. The University also aims to secure more project funding in the second phase of RAISe+.

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