HKU Photo: cnsphoto

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is to set up campus in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, the first of its kind for HKU in the Greater Bay Area, in a bid to attract more students and professional talents, following a rising trend of Hong Kong universities establishing branch campus in the region.

In recent public remarks, Max Shen Zuojun, vice-president and pro-vice-chancellor (research) of HKU said that HKU will establish a campus in Shenzhen, a move which they hope will provide more space for the development of the various faculties of the university, Singapore major news outlet Lianhe Zaobao reported on Wednesday.

Shen also noted that working with the Greater Bay Area and securing resources for the construction of laboratories will help attract more postgraduate and professorial talent.

There has been extended speculation regarding HKU's intention to set up branch campus for many years after Shenzhen municipal government issued a report for the promotion and construction of the Greater Bay Area in 2021 in which the need for the acceleration of establishing branch campus in Shenzhen, as the seventh Hong Kong universities to settle in the region, was firstly exposed. But HKU had not responded to the plan, media reports.

As one of the world's leading universities, HKU has been faced by the challenge of limited space in Hong Kong for campus expansion,and has resultingly taken step to strengthen its development, including plans to build a campus in Shenzhen, Shen confirmed. The plan is expected to provide more space for the development of various schools of HKU.

Once it is completed, all teachers and students of the university will be able to travel between the main campus in Hong Kong and the branch campus in Shenzhen.