City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) and Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) signed two cooperation agreements on 23 May to establish partnerships in areas such as digital medicine and law to foster talent nurturing and exchange.

Witnessed by Professor Freddy Boey, President of CityUHK, and Professor Gao Song, President of Sun Yat-sen University and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a strategic cooperation framework agreement was signed by Professor Lee Chun-sing, Provost and Deputy President of CityUHK, and Professor He Yulong, President of the Seventh Affiliated Hospital of SYSU, to jointly promote the development of life sciences, digital medicine, computer science, biomedical engineering, and other disciplines, to foster scientific research, technology transformation, talent cultivation and exchange of scholars.

The second cooperation agreement was signed by Professor Lin Feng, Dean of the School of Law of CityUHK, and Professor Zhang Liang, Dean of the School of Law of SYSU, and was witnessed by President Boey and President Gao. The agreement aims to provide opportunities for students from SYSU’s School of Law to study at CityUHK and nurture talent with legal knowledge of both the mainland and Hong Kong.

Professor Boey highlighted that the CityUHK Institute of Digital Medicine was officially established in April with the long-term goal of advancing research into the integration of life and health technologies, data science and artificial intelligence with medical science and public health. He expressed his hope that CityUHK would continue to leverage its research strengths in engineering, data science and life science. By combining the resources and advantages of the Seventh Affiliated Hospital of SYSU in medicine and clinical practice, the two universities will work together to promote medical innovation and contribute to future healthcare development.

He said that he was also pleased to see CityUHK and SYSU establish a partnership in nurturing legal talent and that he hopes that students of the two universities will strengthen exchange and cooperation to contribute to the development of the rule of law on the mainland and Hong Kong. 

After the signing ceremony, Professor Julie Li Juan, Associate Vice-President (Mainland Strategy) introduced some of CityUHK’s academic achievements and major projects, including the CityUHK Academy of Innovation. Professor Li said that the establishment of CityUHK (Dongguan) had been approved by the Ministry of Education in April and that its first academic year would commence in September this year, further solidifying CityUHK’s leading position in innovative education and talent development and promoting the development of higher education in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

President Gao introduced some of SYSU’s features and latest development. Both parties then engaged in fruitful discussions on medicine, new energy, law, business administration, biomedical engineering and graduate programmes.

CityUHK representatives attending the meeting included Professor Kalok Chan, Dean of the College of Business; Professor Wang Xin, Dean of the College of Science; Professor Sylvia Kwok Lai Yuk-ching, Associate Dean of the Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies; Professor Zhang Hua, Herman Hu Chair Professor of Nanomaterials; Ms Sng Jing Li, Director of the Office of the President; Professor Zhang Yong, Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering; and Professor Huang Yu, Head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Members of the SYSU delegation included Professor Chen Zengping, Dean of the Graduate School; Professor He Yulong, President of the Seventh Affiliated Hospital; Professor Pan Yihang, Vice President of the Seventh Affiliated Hospital and Deputy Dean of the School of Medicine; Professor Yao Xiangdong, Dean of the School of Advanced Energy; Professor Zhang Liang, Dean of the School of Law; Professor Zhang Junsheng, Dean of the School of Business; and Professor Yi Changqing, Assistant Dean of the School of Biomedical Engineering, etc.