World’s top universities look to Hong Kong and rest of Greater Bay Area to foster innovation and technology talent
- Universities from around the globe examine collaborations with research and education institutions in the Greater Bay Area
- Global Innovation and Technology Summit in Hong Kong brings together government officials, academics from city, mainland China and overseas
Tony Chan Fan-cheong, president of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), said on Wednesday his university had set up an innovation centre in Shenzhen a few months ago as part of the “strategic plan of KAUST”.
“The idea is to bring the KAUST people of Saudi Arabia to Shenzhen to learn about the ecosystem – you cannot teach this on paper, you have to go there,” he said. “And hopefully they will bring something back to grow the ecosystem.”
Chan, a former president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), said the decision was well-received and KAUST had built partnerships with several institutions, including Shenzhen’s Tsing Hua University research institute and graduate school.
“In the next 10 years, where will be the major centres for science and technology?” he asked. “US and China. We are in the Middle East or West Asia, and we’ve got to hedge our bets, we’ve got to be invested.”
Chan added that many Saudis could speak fluent Chinese and highlighted that the country’s high schools were required to teach two hours of Chinese a week.
He was speaking as university presidents on Wednesday gathered for the second Global Innovation and Technology Summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday, organised by the Greater Bay Area Association of Academicians.
