CityU hosts Beijing-Hong Kong Universities Alliance Council Meeting and Theme Forum 2023
City University of Hong Kong (CityU) successfully hosted the Beijing–Hong Kong Universities Alliance (BHUA) Council Meeting and Theme Forum 2023 on 28 November. The event was held in physical mode for the first time since the BHUA was launched in 2018, gathering representatives from the supporting organisations of Beijing and Hong Kong, as well as 21 member universities, to explore new opportunities with the BHUA.
Attending the event were Mr Shu Gangbo, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan office of the Ministry of Education; Ms Wu Cheng, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Mr Li Yi, Director-General of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission; Mr Esmond Lee Chung-sin, Deputy Secretary for Education of the Government of HKSAR; and the 2nd BHUA co-chairmen, Professor Lu Chun, Vice-President (Mainland Strategy) at CityU, and Professor Du Peng, former Vice President of Renmin University of China; as well as senior management members of the member universities.
Mr Shu paid tribute to both the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities and member universities for their continuous efforts to promote exchanges and collaboration between Beijing and Hong Kong, adding that he was grateful to CityU for hosting the event.
“This year marks the 5th year of the establishment of the BHUA. Throughout the years, the member universities have continuously strengthened their collaboration in nurturing talent, and research and innovation, based on the principles of complementarity and mutual benefits, making a significant contribution to the development of higher education,” he said.
Professor Lu extended a warm welcome to all the guests and said that since the establishment of the BHUA, it has been committed to enhancing the level of collaboration between Beijing and Hong Kong’s higher-education institutions. “As we are now at a critical moment of global cooperation, the BHUA will strengthen cooperation in various fields, including nurturing talent, research, innovation, entrepreneurship and international exchange,” he said.
CityU and Renmin University of China, the second BHUA co-chairman parties, shared the work results of the member universities at the meeting. Then Professor Lu hosted the Council meeting. The Council ratified the membership of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and Beijing International Studies University, and announced that Tsinghua University and Hong Kong Baptist University had become the third BHUA co-chairman parties.
The theme of this year’s forum was “The Establishment of an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem”. The participants discussed how to strengthen university-enterprise cooperation to provide entrepreneurial support and resources for students.
Participants in the forum included Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise) of CityU; Professor Lyu Aiping, Vice-President (Research and Development) of Hong Kong Baptist University; Professor Fang Fuquan, President of Capital Normal University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Professor Su Sen, Vice President of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications; and representatives from Peking University and Tsinghua University.
At the forum, Professor Yang shared the research and innovation progress at CityU and details of the HK Tech 300 innovation and entrepreneurship programme. He said that HK Tech 300 had been extended to the mainland and Southeast Asia over the previous two years, and that it had launched a HK Tech 300 National Start-up Competition in the mainland in 2022 and a HK Tech 300 Southeast Asia Start-up Competition in 2023.
Launched in 2018, the BHUA is a voluntary non-profit alliance between universities in Beijing and Hong Kong. The BHUA is committed to deepening exchange and collaboration between the participating institutions in terms of nurturing talent, admission and recruitment, research and technology, innovation and policy consultation to enhance the level of cooperation in higher education.
Member universities in the BHUA:
Beijing: Peking University, Renmin University of China, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, Beihang University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Capital Normal University, Capital Medical University, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing International Studies University, and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Education University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and The University of Hong Kong.
