City University of Hong Kong to set up research centre for vet and food safety postgraduate courses in mainland China
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A Hong Kong university is planning to launch a research institute next year in mainland China that will focus on postgraduate courses in veterinary medicine and food safety.
City University will also concentrate on engineering and technology for its new centre in Huizhou, a city in southeast Guangdong. Enrolment for postgraduate students is expected to begin next year.
During a media session on Thursday, university president Way Kuo said it recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Huizhou Municipal People’s Government for the 404-hectare (988 acres) development called CityU’s Huizhou Project.
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Kuo said the centre would only be for students pursuing a master’s degree or a doctorate, and that CityU hoped to begin enrolment next year. He added that the project was still at an early stage with further details to be revealed later.
Separately, Kuo also said the university could provide “CityU milk and ice cream” next year, after it bought a farm for its veterinary medicine course launched last year.
The school acquired 100,000 sq ft of land in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po two months ago and will bring in 28 cows from Australia.
“Hopefully we can provide our own CityU milk and ice cream this time next year, which will be hygienic and healthy as they are from our own cows,” he said.
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With overwhelming demand leading to 1,000 applications for its veterinary programme last year, among which only 12 were accepted, Kuo said CityU would increase the quota to 20 this year.
The programme is currently a self-financed six-year undergraduate course.
The University Grants Committee earlier rejected CityU’s funding application for the programme twice. The committee said the institution had overestimated local demand for vets and underestimated the cost of running a veterinary school.
The university is expected to submit a funding application to the committee again this year, with hopes of offering a subsidised local course in 2019.
