The Renmin University of China, a premier university on the Chinese mainland, has established a research institute for advanced studies to better leverage Hong Kong’s research and innovation resources, with the aims of serving the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and promoting Hong Kong’s integration into national development.

At the institution’s launch ceremony, held in Hong Kong on Thursday, Zhang Donggang, Party secretary of the Renmin University of China, said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s role in connecting the mainland with overseas markets has become more important in view of the grand blueprint of the Chinese path to modernization, and RUC considers it necessary to deepen cooperation with the SAR the serve the country’s need.

The Beijing-based institute will help RUC to work closely with all sectors in Hong Kong, helping the city to better integrate into the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the country as a whole, actively building a global innovation hub and contributing to the steady progress of "one country, two systems" and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, said Zhang.

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In the future, RUC will continue to fully leverage its education and talent advantages and cooperate with the education and business sectors, as well as with its own alumni in Hong Kong, to launch various partnership programs in the city to boost high-quality development, Zhang said.

For instance, this year, the RUC will for the first time launch part-time doctoral programs in law and accountancy and enroll Hong Kong professionals, hoping to meet the urgent demand for high-level talent for the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area, the university said.

Also at the ceremony, Li Dahong, chairman of the Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group, said the group will fully support RUC and its new institute with its media resources. For example, Li said, the group will leverage its multimedia platforms to introduce the institute's cutting-edge achievements and perspectives to Hong Kong society and the international community.

Guo Yike, provost of the Hong Kong Science and Technology University, said he believes RUC’s research focuses align well with those of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, particularly in terms of integrating science and engineering with humanities, and he feels confident about establishing a collaborative framework encompassing student development, industry-academia partnerships, and more with RUC.

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HKUST would like to leverage RUC's strengths to develop some disciplines it lacks — such as law — and to integrate technology into RUC, thus furthering talent cultivation, Guo said.

Wang Wei, president of RUC’s alumni association in Hong Kong, said that there are around 3,000 alumni based in Hong Kong. These members are active across sectors such as finance, law, and journalism, and are committed to contributing to Hong Kong’s development, Wang said.

The association will closely unite alumni across different sectors in the SAR, serving as a practical bridge and communication platform for the newly established research institute, and fully engage in talent cultivation across all sectors in Hong Kong, Wang said.

At the same event, RUC announced its cooperation with top local universities, including a memorandum of understanding signed between its School of Statistics and the School of Computing and Data Science of the University of Hong Kong; a framework agreement and an undergraduate student exchange agreement reached with HKUST; a joint training program with the Faculty of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; and an exchange program with CUHK’s statistics and data science department.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com