HKU and UChicago building key partnership for global impact

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the University Chicago (UChicago) agreed on August 12, 2016 to set up a partnership that will foster a deeper institutional engagement across all levels and result in broader local and international impact. This not only opens the door for students and researchers from HKU, the U.S. and the region to share best practices and ideas, but also provides an enabling platform for UChicago’s regional vision and HKU’s 3+1 Is to converge synergistically. “The formation of global strategic partnerships constitutes an important component of HKU's internationalisation effort,” said the Vice-President and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global) Professor W. John Kao.

The MOU provides the opportunity for the two institutions to engage in a wide range of activities including cross-disciplinary research and collaboration, teaching and learning opportunities (e.g. training and exchanges for academic staff and students, internationalization of HKU campus), and partnership arrangements on projects that address pressing global issues such as those identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG). Other areas of exploration include joint postgraduate teaching and research, post-doctoral training, comparative literature, history and postcolonial studies and possibly joint degree programmes, etc.

HKU President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Mathieson represented the University in signing the agreement with UChicago President Professor Robert J. Zimmer.  

Professor Mathieson said: “A key component of our vision of being “Asia’s Global University” and achieving our strategic aims of Internationalisation, Innovation and Interdisciplinarity, all converging on Impact, is to build meaningful relationships with the world’s top universities. UChicago has already demonstrated its commitment to Hong Kong with the relocation here of the Asia campus of its Booth School of Business. President Professor Zimmer and I share the vision of much wider collaboration between our universities, and this new agreement is just the start. Marine biology will be an initial focus but we aim for complementary activities in teaching and learning and in research more widely which will build on the existing strengths of the two universities and make us stronger together.”

The two universities will launch jointly a Global Partnership Fund on a matched fund basis to support collaborations. “Through this Fund and by taking full advantage of HKU’s unique attributes, assets, networks, and talent pools, opportunities certainly exist to strategically reposition the University to deliver local and international impact,” said Professor Kao.

HKU’s Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS) Director Professor Gray A. Williams welcomed the new partnership and the new Global Partnership Fund. He said: “The partnership between SWIMS and Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) of UChicago seeks to tackle the complex issue of ensuring the sustainable use of our coastal marine ecosystems, including the Pearl River Delta and US Northeast. This goal requires a multidisciplinary approach involving biological and environmental sciences, engineers, coastal resource managers and others, which will have impacts on local ecology, influence social behaviour and inform public management and policies. This agreement will open doors for students and researchers from HKU, the US and other regions to share their ideas, learn from each other, and develop best practices to achieve this goal.” UChicago Associate Vice President for Global Engagement Dr Michael Kulma said: “Global engagement is at the very heart of who we are as a university.  This MOU will allow us to expand collaborations between MBL and SWIMS, as we also work together more broadly to address some of the world’s most important challenges.”

Media enquiry:
Communication and Public Affairs Office Ms Rhea Leung (Tel: +852 2857 8555 / +852 9022 7446; email: rhea.leung@hku.hk)