16 May 2025
Dear students and colleagues,
The first five months of 2025 have seen Hong Kong Baptist University making outstanding progress on various fronts. I would like to take this opportunity to update you on our latest achievements, and to express my heartfelt gratefulness toward all members of the HKBU community whose contributions in different aspects helped chart new frontiers of the University’s development.
International academic rankings serve as a useful yardstick for assessing a university's performance in different aspects. In the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings published in April, HKBU rose from 63rd to 50th place, marking our best performance in this ranking since 2018. This places HKBU in the top 6% of all ranked universities in Asia, reflecting a significant leap from 105th to 50th in just two years.
The ranking result is a recognition of our improvements in research quality and environment, and also speaks compellingly of the University’s continuous efforts to strengthen its transdisciplinary research, as well as teaching and learning capabilities. This international recognition confirms that our strategy of integrating creative culture, technological applications, and diverse learning experiences is on the right track, and we will continue this cohesive approach going forward.
In March, we made a visionary move to venture into a new dimension of academic excellence. With an aim to train high-quality doctors and medical professionals to meet the healthcare needs of a rapidly ageing population, we have leveraged our strengths in biomedical innovation and translation, our solid tradition of patient care, education and research in Chinese medicine, as well as a strong alliance with academic, professional and industry partners in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and around the world, and submitted a proposal for establishing a new medical school, named “Frontier Integrative Medical College”, to the HKSAR Government on 17 March.
An interview session with the Government’s Task Group on New Medical School was held on 3 May. During the session, our dedicated team, which included representatives from the University, three current/former medical school deans, one former dean of Chinese medicine, five Western medical doctors, and a Nobel Laureate, explained to the Task Group the strengths of our proposal which lie in (i) the design of an innovative curriculum, training competent doctors fit for practice and who meet The Medical Council of Hong Kong’s requirements, (ii) a team of medical doctors ready to help with the implementation of the proposal, (iii) collaboration with the GBA partners for an integrative medical education platform for the whole GBA, (iv) promotion of the integration of Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine, and (v) the establishment of the Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute.
While the results of the proposal’s assessment process will only be available later this year, I believe our application and related preparatory works are advancing towards a very positive direction. On 29 April, the University announced a strategic partnership with Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co Ltd (SIIC) to leverage our respective strengths to advance the proposed establishment of the new medical school. SIIC and its subsidiary Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd will also actively participate in our newly founded Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute.
On the other hand, we recently explored with our collaborators the development of the Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute. The fruitful discussions have encouraged 2020 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Sir Michael Houghton, a founding member of the Research Institute and a member of our Preparatory Committee and Expert Advisory Committee for the New Medical School, to express a strong willingness to inject funding in support of the research related to the Research Institute’s collaborative projects. This is indeed a solid testament to the potential and impact of our initiatives. These strategic collaborations will enhance HKBU’s medical education and research capabilities, contributing to Hong Kong’s evolution into an international hub for medical training and innovation.
Back in March, our Zhuhai campus, known as Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College since its establishment in 2005, was officially renamed Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University (BNBU). The renaming signifies a key milestone of BNBU when it celebrates its 20th anniversary.
The name BNBU also denotes its core essence: a Beacon in guiding and inspiring the development of liberal arts education in China; a central Nexus in research, teaching, learning and innovation; a Bridge for interdisciplinary and intercultural exchange, merging the essence of Chinese and Western cultures; and promoting the Universality of knowledge and curiosity, with a focus on nurturing future leaders with a global perspective. From initially admitting fewer than 300 new students to being a renowned higher education institution that now boasts of a global alumni network of approximately 20,000 individuals, I firmly believe that BNBU, guided by its mission and core essence, will continue to flourish together with HKBU, and unleash the potential of the “One University, Two Campuses” concept to the fullest in lifting higher education excellence in the GBA to a new height.
Last but not least, HKBU is about to celebrate a most meaningful milestone, our 70th anniversary in 2026. I am delighted to see staff and students going the extra mile to engage the community with our HKBU 70th Anniversary Logo & Slogan Design Competition. This is the perfect occasion to flex your creative muscle, and showcase your HKBU spirit. I cannot wait to see what 70 years of educational excellence and commitment mean to everyone. With the extraordinary talent we have at the University, I have every confidence our 70th anniversary celebration will be another memorable occasion to remember.
President and Vice-Chancellor
Chair Professor of Photonics