HKU President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Xiang Zhang welcomed the initiatives outlined in Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan and the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address.
“In recent years, HKU’s rising global talent magnetism has drawn world-leading minds, including Nobel laureate-level scholars, to our community,” said Professor Zhang. “As Hong Kong embarks on this new journey of innovation, by leading upstream blue-skies research and aligning our scientific breakthroughs with national strategies, HKU will support Hong Kong in proactively integrating into and serving the overall national development.”
Professor Zhang welcomed the strategic focus on University Towns as the cornerstone of the Northern Metropolis, driven by the synergistic ‘One Town, Five Elements’ framework of education, technology, industry, talent, and urban development. HKU seeks to harness the cluster effect of the University Towns to foster closer interdisciplinary collaborations with top institutions and industry leaders both locally and internationally, bridging basic research with commercial applications to propel the development of the Northern Metropolis.
Professor Zhang believed HKU is well-positioned to play a leading role in supporting the Government’s new ‘Three Major I&T Parks and Five Key R&D Institutions’ paradigm. Committed to serving as a premier hub for upstream research, the University is preparing for the imminent completion of the Tech Landmark, whilst actively advancing world-class deep-technology facilities including the Global Innovation Centre. These landmark developments are set to integrate deeply with the strategic ‘North-Central-South’ geographic layout of Hong Kong’s innovation ecosystem.
Furthermore, Professor Zhang welcomed the Government’s strategic commitment to position Hong Kong as an Asia-Pacific hub for low-altitude innovation and pioneering aerospace technologies. Concurrently, the HKU Research Institute for Civil Low-Altitude Aviation is bringing together interdisciplinary experts to conduct cutting-edge research. By hosting international summits to explore cross-boundary logistics networks, the Institute is set to inject new momentum into the region’s high-quality development.
HKU remains dedicated to its role as a global leader in education and a catalyst for pioneering innovation. By collaborating closely with the Government, industry leaders, and global academic networks, the University is committed to translating frontier research into practical applications that deliver tangible societal benefits, nurturing future-ready global leaders, and shaping a bright future for the nation and the world.
