HKUST Annual Report 2023-2024

41 HKUST Annual Report 2023-2024 With Strategic Plan 2031 as a compass, we accelerated forward the University’s contribution to economic and societal growth and development through trailblazing cross-border, regional, and global connectivity. Mainland Footprint Advancing Greater Bay Area New-Frontier Vision HKUST(GZ) celebrated its second year of operation in 2023-24, driving forward cross-border synergy and cutting-edge higher education in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) as the Guangzhou campus welcomed its first cohort of undergraduates. The Cross-Campus Coordination Framework was launched, paving the way for broader collaboration and harmonization between HKUST and HKUST(GZ). The framework covers academic, administrative, research and development, and knowledge transfer. Eligible faculty can now be cross-campus affiliates, spurring partnerships and exchange, among others. Students benefited through the Redbird Cross Campus Study Program, a pioneering GBA cross-border initiative. It includes academic, research and social activities, along with credit transfer, and a course-sharing mechanism. In other developments, the HKUST-HKUST(GZ) 20 (Million) for 20 (Projects) Cross-Campus Collaborative Research Scheme was initiated, jointly funded by both institutions. Subsequently, the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province signed a work plan with the two campuses to promote international science, technology, and talent cooperation in the GBA.