It is a great pleasure to be here today for the groundbreaking of the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) Medical Education & Research Complex. I am delighted to witness this milestone with you – Hong Kong’s third medical school is now taking shape.
The National 15th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong in becoming an international hub for high-calibre talent. A new medical school will help turn that vision into reality, attracting and training top talent in healthcare and higher education. It will also contribute to a Healthy China, one of the Five-Year Plan’s key goals, by deepening collaboration with the Chinese Mainland.
Equally important, the new medical school will ensure better quality, greater efficiency, and higher capacity in our healthcare and medical services. It will increase local doctor training, easing manpower shortages. It will help us meet the challenges of an ageing population.
Beyond these, HKUST’s medical school will develop differently from our two existing ones. That will create synergy, drive innovation, generate multiplier effects, and raise our medical-education capabilities. Hong Kong is fast emerging as an international centre for medical training, research and innovation. Building a third medical school will get us there that much faster.
We are moving decisively to bring these benefits to Hong Kong. Last November, I approved HKUST’s proposal, agreeing in principle to launch a four-year, graduate-entry medical programme. It offers a combined bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degree. About 50 students will make up the first cohort, starting in the 2028-29 academic year.
HKUST’s winning bid followed a rigorous assessment process by the Task Group on New Medical School and its expert advisors. They fully recognised HKUST’s innovative strategy, its financial commitment and its ability to deliver.
To turn this decision into reality, the Government has set up three working groups under the Task Group. The members include relevant government departments and outside experts, such as the Chairman of the Medical Council of Hong Kong.
These groups will now work with HKUST on every stage of implementation, advising on curriculum, finances and more. I am sure HKUST will also work closely with the Medical Council to complete course accreditation and advance all fronts.
Our goal is clear: to ensure that the new medical school and its teaching hospital become a key pillar of Hong Kong’s medical teaching and service system. The Government is backing this commitment with substantial resources. We have set aside funding, on a matching basis, to support HKUST.
We have also reserved land at Ngau Tam Mei in the Northern Metropolis. That land is for the medical school’s permanent campus and an integrated hospital of medical education, research and patient care. We will also work with HKUST on the development and operational model for the new hospital.
Today’s groundbreaking ceremony, here at the Clear Water Bay campus, is a tangible step forward. The eight-storey complex will rise as one of the core facilities of the medical school. It is scheduled for completion in mid‑2028, just in time to welcome the first cohort of students. It will support the school’s phased development, and its technology-enabled teaching, for years to come.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have every confidence in HKUST. It enjoys an outstanding international reputation in science and life sciences, as well as engineering and business. The new medical school will take full advantage of these formidable strengths to create its own medical education and research foundations.
It will nurture a new generation of doctors with professional expertise, technological command, a global perspective, and a patient-centred philosophy. It will raise Hong Kong’s research and medical-education capabilities.
This is the future we are building – for Hong Kong, and for every patient who will one day be healed by the doctors trained here. Let’s build it together.
Chief Executive John Lee gave these remarks at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the HKUST Medical Education & Research Complex on April 28.
