On day two of their Korea visit, Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki and a delegation visited local universities and held meetings with officials, with a view to providing a solid reference for the planning and development of the Northern Metropolis University Town (NMUT).
Mr Chan is leading a delegation of the Working Group on Planning & Construction of the University Town under the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis.
In the morning, they visited the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology in Daejeon and toured its campus facilities.
The delegation met Hong Kong students studying there to learn about their studies and the institute’s efforts in fostering students’ innovation capabilities.
The delegation specifically discussed with them student support and ancillary measures on campus, the institute’s strategies for attracting international students, and its liaison and co-operation with industry, accumulating practical observations for the NMUT’s campus ecosystem and industry-academia collaboration.
Afterwards, the delegation met the Vice Mayor for Political Affairs, Economy & Science of Daejeon Metropolitan City Choi Sung-ah to learn about the local development of the institutions and innovation districts, governance and funding models, industry-academia-research integration, and talent attraction.
They also exchanged views on deepening co-operation in the education sector between the two places.
Mr Chan said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is fully committed to developing the NMUT, with the aim of establishing it as an international education, innovation, and technology hub.
He expressed hope that through this visit, the delegation could learn from Daejeon’s successful experience in attracting top scientific and research talent, its efficient governance and funding models, and understand how the city transforms scientific discoveries into industrial applications.
In the afternoon, Mr Chan led the delegation to the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) located in the Daedeok Innopolis, where they visited the Science Culture Center and met the institute’s Acting President Kim Yeong-duk.
They gained an in-depth understanding of the institute’s experience in areas such as basic research and applied innovation, as well as talent attraction.
Established in 2011, the IBS is Korea’s first institute solely focused on basic science. It possesses advanced shared facilities and large-scale scientific research infrastructure.
The Chief Secretary said the IBS is devoted to integrating basic research with applied innovation, and focuses on establishing a vibrant scientific research ecosystem, adding that the experience provides valuable reference for Hong Kong in planning the NMUT.
Mr Chan hoped to learn more about the institute’s continuous support for fundamental research and how it facilitates the seamless integration with applied innovation and industry, helping Hong Kong better plan the NMUT, and thereby promoting the transformation of excellent research outputs into impactful scientific discoveries, achieving technological breakthroughs and unlocking potential economic value.