In the past year, Hong Kong tertiary institutes have played an active role in enhancing ties with the Chinese mainland in the research and development of high technology.

Hong Kong universities have collaborated with tertiary education, business and government sectors of the mainland to run training programs and research centers to promote research commercialization and technology transfer.

In June, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) took the lead in joining National University Science and Technology Park of the Virtual University Park in Shenzhen and became the first local tertiary institution to set up research centers and training facilities there.

President of PolyU Poon Chung-kwong said both public and private sectors in Hong Kong today are strengthening their ties with the mainland in various areas.

Poon believed cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland will facilitate universities to more effectively promote technology transfer and human resources development in the mainland, so as to create a win-win situation for both Hong Kong and the motherland.

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Anhui Province, a university established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), signed an agreement in June to jointly establish a high level joint research center in Suzhou.

The agreement is based on the principle of mutually beneficial collaboration with which both universities complement each other's strengths, to work together on joint research projects, supervision and teaching of research students, and to furnish professional training opportunities.

Besides linking with education institutes, Hong Kong universities have also joined large-scale high technology exchange programs held in the mainland to enhance the communication between the mainland and Hong Kong in the discipline.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) showcased its latest unique achievements in research and development at the sixth annual China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) held in Shenzhen in October.

HKUST featured more than 30 new technologies and products in which a wide range of technologies were covered, including nanotechnology, multimedia, logistics and RFID technology, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology.

HKUST also collaborated with a prominent mainland manufacturer on the development of a nanomaterial-based high-capacity lithium battery, the latest in a series of successful technology transfer agreements reached by HKUST.

"HKUST is now pouring in more resources to fund research into the new technologies required by industry in the Pearl River Delta. The university will also continue to leverage its extensive relationships with international research institutions and multi-national corporations to boost the development of advanced technologies which can find immediate practical application in China," said HKUST President Paul Ching-Wu Chu.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2004)