A top adviser to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), which is vying to set up the city’s third medical school, has said the institution could attract top scholars and greater resources despite its lack of experience in training health professionals.
Urologist Dr Leong Che-hung, chairman of the university’s Council Advisory Group and former chairman of the Hospital Authority, said last week the school’s unique strengths in nurturing physician-scientists would be appealing to those “sharing the same vision”.
“HKUST has no medical background, but it could do it. CUHK also [had] a blank slate when it set up its medical school,” he said, referring to the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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“The idea is to uplift Hong Kong’s healthcare by training doctors that can do both clinical and research work that we need ... the school would definitely attract academics who share the same vision.”
He said HKUST’s approach had already attracted top overseas experts to join the advisory group. They include former British health minister Professor Ara Darzi, renowned HIV/Aids researcher Dr David Ho Dai-i and Tsinghua University medical school head Professor Wong Tien Yin. The group has yet to convene a meeting.
HKUST’s strong research background in basic life sciences and artificial intelligence (AI) also gave it a competitive edge, he added.
Asked how the school could balance research and clinical training, Leong said it was important to solve the manpower shortage in the local healthcare system, noting the city would lack more than 1,000 doctors by 2035.
But it would also be more beneficial if those doctors had a “research mindset”. Leung cited the examples of Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, a top microbiologist who made a substantial contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic response worldwide, and Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, a molecular geneticist and “father” of non-invasive prenatal testing.
The city currently has two medical schools, one at the University of Hong Kong and the other at CUHK.
Apart from HKUST, Polytechnic University, which trains nurses and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists, and Baptist University, which offers a traditional Chinese medicine programme, have also indicated their interest in setting up the third medical school.
Leong demurred to state how confident he was that HKUST would win the bid, but said he hoped the government and public would agree with the institution’s philosophy.
There would surely be challenges, such as in sourcing teachers and funds, but those problems were “solvable” with the strong network of the school’s president, Professor Nancy Ip Yuk-yu, and the “philanthropic heart of many Hongkongers”, he added.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau earlier said the third medical school should avoid “unhealthy competition” with existing ones and adopt an American-style, four-year second-degree programme, to broaden its source of students.
Lo said he also hoped the school could have a more innovative financing model, one partially funded by private sources.
The government’s task group on the new medical school held its first meeting in late October to discuss the strategic directions and major parameters for the new school.
It said it would invite interested universities within this year and they would need to submit their proposals by the end of the first quarter of next year.
More from South China Morning Post:
- US health expert backs Hong Kong plan to adopt the American model for third medical school
- HKUST reveals group of top experts to bolster plan for Hong Kong’s third medical school
- Hong Kong’s third medical school could adopt US-style curriculum to broaden recruitment
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