Bulletin No. 2, 2021

Greater Expectations : CUHK's vision and action in the Greater Bay Area 11 With the Central Government’s resolve to build the Bay Area as a world-class hub of modern technology, the GBA has been supplied with a huge amount of capital in areas of innovation and technology (I&T) and research and development (R&D), continually making impressive progress over the past few years. Along with these extensive investments come an indispensably high demand for I&T talent in order for the R&D projects to succeed. ‘Innovation is like a relay race. Even if the first leg of the race has gone well, the team requires the best baton pass to the next runner to make it to the finishing line. Now that our country has set very clear strategic goals for the GBA, we need talent to employ the right tactics to actualize them. This is where Hong Kong universities come in,’ said Professor Tuan at the 2021 Economic Summit Forum, a public event to discuss the future development of Hong Kong organized by the local online news portal HK01. As revealed in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index in September 2021, Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou had come second for two consecutive years among the world’s top science and technology clusters. However, Guangdong, home to China’s largest provincial economy, is unable to meet the burgeoning demand for I&T talent alone, despite a recent increase in its gross tertiary enrolment ratio. Technological and industrial transformation in the GBA will only be possible if it produces enough highly skilled professionals and attracts sufficient research talent to give new impetus to its future economy. On the other hand, with five out of its eight publicly-funded universities landing in the world’s top 100 universities, Hong Kong is an internationally renowned powerhouse of education, research and innovation and enjoys a unique edge. There is, therefore, huge potential to see local universities leverage their education and research capacities to drive the development of I&T in the GBA. ‘Talent is the inherent requirement for innovation. Local universities have been cultivating top-tier I&T talent for the GBA and setting up branch campuses and research institutes across the border. They are sure to enhance higher education resources and invigorate the basic and applied research ecosystem in the GBA,’ Professor Tuan said. Staying ahead with ‘talents’