HKUST approved to establish Hong Kong's 3rd Medical School
發佈日期: 2025-11-18 21:39
TVB News
The Executive Council has approved a proposal by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology or HKUST to establish the city's third medical school.
The government says the decision was made after a holistic assessment, taking into account financial capability and nine other criteria. HKUST is expected to enrol its first batch of 50 medical students in 2028.
A task group led by the Health Bureau and the Education Bureau had spent a year reviewing submissions from HKUST, Polytechnic University, and Baptist University before reaching its final recommendation.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau says he has confidence in HKUST's ability to follow through on its proposal.
HKUST will follow the government's positioning by admitting second-degree students, meaning applicants who already hold a degree, and will develop its programme in a complementary manner with Hong Kong's existing two medical schools.
The first intake in 2028 will include 50 students, with the first graduates expected in 2032.
Lo stressed that the decision was based on overall strategic, financial and academic considerations, without using a scoring system.
Lo said HKUST is already very strong in life sciences, AI, big data and neuroscience.
He notes that HKUST's funding model, in which the university and the government contribute roughly equal amounts over the next 25 years, covering both capital works and recurrent expenses, aligns with policy expectations.
HKUST will invest 2 billion dollars of its own funds to construct a medical school building at its Clear Water Bay campus.
Lo stressed that this does not mean the government is giving up the planned site in Ngau Tam Mei which will only be completed in the 2034/35 academic year at the soonest,
so interim arrangements are required.
Secretary for Health LO CHUNG-MAU: "The teaching hospital in Ngau Tam Mei will not be ready for quite a while. We will need to rely on some other teaching hospitals, which is actually included in the proposal by UST. This is also the reason that we have to seek support from the Hospital Authority, which is the main healthcare service provider in Hong Kong"
On admissions, the government said the new medical school will follow the same rules as other publicly funded universities and can enrol up to 50 percent non-local students.
Secretary for Education Christine Choi says the aim is to train doctors who will serve Hong Kong's healthcare system, and medical professionals are expected to be proficient in "biliterate and trilingual" communication.
So the third medical school will adopt similar language requirements at both admissions and curriculum levels.
