Northern Metropolis university towns built to attract ‘world’s finest’ talent: John Lee

Hong Kong’s university towns in the Northern Metropolis are designed to attract the world’s finest students and scholars, the city’s leader has said at a global education summit, with overseas institutions expressing interest and calling for incentives to enter into partnerships.

Speaking at the Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit on Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government would invite institutions to establish basic research institutes and shared research platforms, such as high-performance computing centres, joint laboratories and interdisciplinary research centres, in the three university towns located near the mainland Chinese border.

“These three university towns are being built to attract the world’s finest scholars and students … The towns are also designed to empower industry. We will encourage university staff to undertake research at companies. We will encourage industry professionals to contribute to university teaching and research,” he said.