By Katie Hung
The university of Chicago has been strengthening its collaborations with institutions in China and Hong Kong.
The university renewed two memorandums of understanding in January on student exchanges and research with the University of Hong Kong for three years until 2021.
While the number of HKU undergraduate students going on exchange doubles, students from the university taking part in quarter-long academic programs based at the new Hong Kong campus are granted access to HKU’s campus and facilities.
New projects, such as symposiums for radiology for breast and body imaging, and workshops about robotic surgery, are covered under the expansion of the joint Global Partnership Fund. It provides more support for cross-disciplinary activities from both universities.
More research initiatives focusing on China are targeted to roll out fast with the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics – China being launched with a memorandum of understanding signed with Tsinghua University in Beijing.
With the newly established Hong Kong campus serving as its base, the new project has three initial areas of research focus – the Chinese model of economic growth, a macro study of the Chinese financial markets and Chinese energy and environmental policy, said the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics director, Michael Greenstone, who is also a professor of economics at the college and its graduate institution, Harris School of Public Policy.