CUHK Vice-Chancellor Professor Rocky S. Tuan led a high-level delegation to visit Kunming from 28 to 30 July, 2024. During the visit, together with representatives from CUHK(SZ), they signed a tripartite strategic cooperation agreement with the Yunnan Provincial People’s Government. The agreement aims to strengthen collaboration in areas such as green energy, biomedicine, digital economy, innovative materials, big data, and artificial intelligence, with a focus on promoting the development of scientific research platforms, technology transfer, talent cultivation, and aggregation.

According to the cooperation agreement, the Yunnan Provincial Government will support the research teams from both CUHK and CUHK(SZ) campuses in establishing laboratories and technology innovation centres. In terms of education, the agreement will enhance cooperation in higher education, vocational education, and student innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as jointly build practical bases. The three parties will also establish exchange mechanisms and actively explore innovative cooperation models. During the visit, the CUHK delegation met with representatives of the Yunnan Provincial People’s Government, including Mr. Wang Yubo, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Yunnan Province, Ms. Yang Yang, Vice Governor, Mr. Wang Xueqin, Director of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology, and Mr. Zhao Derong, Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Education.

The delegation also visited the Kunming Institute of Zoology and the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to discuss future cooperation. CUHK has a long history of collaborative research with these institutes, including the jointly established Laboratory of Biological Resources and Molecular Mechanisms of Diseases, and the State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China. During the visit, Professor Rocky S. Tuan met with the leadership of the institutes, including Professor Yao Yonggang, Director of the Kunming Institute of Zoology, and Professor Puno Pematenzin, Director of the Kunming Institute of Botany, to exchange briefings on the latest developments, research dynamics, and specific future plans. CUHK and the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed a cooperation agreement as early as the 1980s and have been collaborating in various scientific research fields. Professor Rocky S. Tuan stated that CUHK is actively strengthening exchanges with various research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and developing various cooperative projects.

This visit is of great significance for CUHK in promoting multi-faceted exchanges with Yunnan Province, deepening cooperation in education and scientific research, cultivating top-tier talent, and promoting technological development. It has also strengthened the understanding and connection between CUHK and the research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, actively advancing close cooperation between the two parties in academic and scientific research.