UK-China universities explore pathways for impactful research

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) held a Global Open Day in London on Sunday, bringing together academics and higher education representatives from China and the United Kingdom to discuss research collaboration, innovation and student exchange.

The event featured a joint panel with the University of Bristol entitled "Innovative Connections: UK–China University Dialogue on Impactful Research", which explored ways to strengthen UK-China research collaboration, including translating fundamental research into industrial applications, assessing research impact, and promoting university-industry cooperation.

Lionel Ming-Shuan Ni, president of HKUST (Guangzhou), said the UK is one of the university's valued international partners and that the university aims to connect the academic strengths of European institutions with the innovation ecosystem of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Ni stressed the importance of research collaboration between academia and industry, which has more scenarios, data, and real-life applications. By solving real problems from industry, he said, university research can have more tangible and concrete societal and economic impact.

The London event was the first stop on a six-country European tour of the delegation led by Ni, which also includes France, Spain, Serbia, North Macedonia and Turkiye.

In the UK, the delegation is scheduled to meet with representatives from universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Bristol and Birmingham to explore new partnerships.

Student exchange and alumni connections were also highlighted at the London event, with Guangzhou-Bristol youth ambassadors and students from the University of Strathclyde sharing their experiences of summer school and international programs on HKUST's Guangzhou campus.

Zhou Xiao, an alumnus of HKUST (Guangzhou) who is now a PhD student in robotics at Oxford University, said the research support he received during his master's program in Guangzhou was very helpful to his studies.

"I got access to world-class research labs and professors with a global mindset," said Zhou, who published six papers during his two-year master's program at HKUST (Guangzhou), and presented his research at an academic conference in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Over the past three years, nearly 800 young people from more than 60 countries have participated in the university's short-term academic programs.

Oliver Quick, associate pro vice-chancellor for international partnerships and reputation at the University of Bristol, said the partnership between the two universities was developing rapidly and that the forum provided a platform for further innovation and technology exchange.

Quick said international collaboration starts with student exchange and academic mobility.

"Realizing that for global challenges, no country and no university can hope to solve them alone in isolation, we must learn from each other," said Quick. "And hopefully by blending the best of our cultures, attitudes, and approaches, we can thrive together."