Dongguan’s newly established Great Bay University (GBU) was officially inaugurated on Saturday, multiple media outlets report. The publicly-funded institution is positioning itself as a supplier of high-level talent to the Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to GBU president Tian Gang.
Tian, the former vice-president of Peking University, noted at the inauguration ceremony
that GBU was positioning itself as a “science and engineering-based, small yet elite, high-level research-focused institution.”
The university’s first cohort comprises 80 students from 53 middle schools across 16 cities in Guangdong province. Students do not have to settle on a major until their second year, which Tian said gave them time for academic exploration and to figure out their strengths.
GBU offers six core disciplines – materials science, advanced engineering, life sciences, information science and technology, fundamental science, and financial management – to support technological innovation and reflect the GBA’s development priorities.
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The university, which began operating in August, has already launched joint graduate programmes with institutions including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Macau, Harbin Institute of Technology, Southern University of Science and Technology, and Sun Yat-sen University.
To date, it has recruited more than 300 research faculty members. All hold doctoral degrees, and over 70 percent have overseas study or work experience, according to Tian.
Located near Songshan Lake, GBU’s campus sits within the pilot zone of the GBA’s Comprehensive National Science Center – close to major research infrastructure like the China Spallation Neutron Source and the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory.
Several leading technology companies, including Huawei, also operate in the surrounding area.
