On 13 September, the Inauguration Ceremony of the School of Public Policy (SPP) & Forum on Global Order and National Governance was held in CUHK(SZ). SPP is the seventh school established by CUHK(SZ), with the renowned scholar, Professor Zheng Yongnian serving as its first dean. Ms. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, former Chief Executive of the HKSAR; Mr. Long Yongtu, China’s negotiator for accession to the WTO and former Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia; Professor Lawrence J. Lau, former president of CUHK and professor at the Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance; and Mr. Tang Jie, member of the governing board at CUHK(SZ) and former deputy mayor of Shenzhen, attended the inauguration ceremony, along with President Xu Yangsheng.
During the inauguration ceremony, President Xu Yangsheng, president of CUHK(SZ) and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, stated that SPP is situated at the forefront of reform and opening up in Shenzhen, leveraging the advantages of the international metropolis of Hong Kong, where Eastern and Western cultures converge. It enjoys a unique “geographical advantage” and “cultural genes” that facilitate the integration of Chinese and Western cultures. “We hope that the establishment of SPP will serve as an important bridge connecting the nation and society, Hong Kong and the mainland, industry and policy, as well as China and the world. With the goal of ‘insight into the world, research on policy, promoting development, and benefiting humanity,’ the school aims to break conventional thinking patterns and undertake a significant role in the economic development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the country, and the world.”
Professor James J. Heckman, a Nobel laureate in Economics in 2000 from the University of Chicago, noted that SPP of CUHK(SZ) boasts a unique advantage by integrating the strengths of both Hong Kong and Shenzhen. In terms of talent cultivation, it can attract a larger pool of young scholars and experts to engage in better academic research and knowledge sharing, providing students with a creative environment. This encourages students to explore new pathways in policy research related to China and the world, helping them to better understand public issues such as government development and industrial policy.
Professor Zheng Yongnian, Dean of SPP, highlighted that SPP, the youngest school at CUHK(SZ), is guided by three principal missions: first, to construct a knowledge system based on China’s path to modernisation and international cutting-edge public policy tools to offer intellectual support for the social and economic development of the GBA, the country, and beyond; second, to cultivate talent with a global outlook and a comprehensive understanding of Chinese public policy and management concepts; third, to nurture global governance professionals for the international community, provide distinct wisdom and expertise to public policy research worldwide, and foster an open environment for educational exchange.
At the Forum on Global Order and National Governance held afterwards, guests including Ms. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Mr. Long Yongtu, Professor Lawrence J. Lau, and Qiu Baoxing, academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences and former deputy minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, delivered keynote speeches.
At present, SPP has established two master’s degree programmes—Public Policy and Urban Studies—with a total of 95 enrolled students. In the future, the school will continue to expand its master’s programmes in public policy (with directions such as Artificial Intelligence and Smart Governance, Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Health and Emergency Management, and Environmental and Climate Policy), as well as master’s programmes in urban studies (Megacity-Cluster Development and Governance), and plans to launch doctoral programmes in public policy.
