The Polytechnic University (PolyU) further elaborated on its plans to build a third medical school in Hong Kong on Wednesday, claiming it has been able to put forward a “most cost-effective” proposal thanks to the school’s 45-year history in healthcare education and its experience in medicine-engineering integration.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu gave the go-ahead for a third medical school in his last policy address, and on Monday, three of the city’s top-tier tertiary institutions — the PolyU, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) — submitted their proposals for consideration to the SAR government’s Task Group on New Medical School.

So far, Hong Kong has two medical schools — run by the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong — each admitting up to 295 students annually.

During a press conference on Wednesday, the PolyU’s Council Chairman Lam Tai-fai revealed that the university is committed to covering all the financial costs associated with establishing the third medical school until moving to the Northern Metropolis.

READ MORE: HKUST to establish city's third medical school by mid-2027

“We are willing to work hand-in-hand with the government, investing in Hong Kong’s development and supporting the city to weather the current fiscal difficulties,” he said, adding that the university will announce a detailed budget in due course.

The three institutions in contention each claim to be able to provide unique advantages in line with the government’s 10 key requirements to ensure, among other things, their school’s innovative strategic positioning, clinical exposure for students, and sustainable financial management.

“With 45 years of history, 50,000 competent graduates, and a team of 1,300 academic staff members, one of PolyU’s biggest advantages lies in its robust foundation in the medical education field,” said Lam. “This is not something that can be achieved overnight.”

PolyU president Teng Jin-Guang highlighted the universities strengths in the “medicine-engineering interaction” pedagogical model, which the school has long been practicing.

“The university already offers a string of programs such as radiography, optometry, medical laboratory science, and nursing, (and is) equipped with over 90 specialized laboratories and clinical facilities. Running the city’s third medical school would make the university a comprehensive institution in healthcare education,” Teng noted.

Teng said that community-based healthcare and preventive medicine will be among the top items featured on the school’s program list, all following an AI-empowered, student-oriented curriculum design. Its programs are set to span four years, targeting top students with related first degrees.

Details of the university’s dedicated expert advisory committee were also revealed on Wednesday. The committee will be led by Zhong Nanshan, recipient of the nation’s Medal of Republic and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, along with Barry Marshall, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine.

Sixteen out of the 21 members of the panel are leaders at renowned medical schools on the Chinese mainland, a fact that is expected to help deepen Hong Kong’s integration with the mainland, particularly with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), Teng said.

Teng added that if the PolyU wins the bid, the new medical school — in addition to securing internships and training opportunities for students at the city’s leading institutions — will also provide such opportunities for students at mainland teaching hospitals.

Meanwhile, HKUST has been promoting its global partnerships and local relevance as key selling points for securing the bid. The university has been signing agreements with over 20 high-caliber medical institutions and hospitals in Hong Kong, across the nation, and worldwide, including with the medical faculty at Britain’s Imperial College London — ranked among the world’s top 10 — and Hong Kong-based HKSH Medical Group, which runs leading private healthcare provider Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital.

HKBU is banking on its longstanding strengths in Chinese medicine. The university established its Chinese medicine program in 1998 — the first such programs in the city — and will start operating Hong Kong's first Chinese medicine hospital this year.

On Monday, HKBU pitched “Frontier Integrative Medical College” as the name for the new medical school, if it wins the bid, reflecting the school’s core vista of technology integration as well as of Chinese and Western medicine.

READ MORE: Task group to invite proposals on third HK medical school

David Lam Tzit-yuen, a lawmaker for the medical sector, underscored the critical need for a “globalized character” in the city’s planned third medical school, expressing hope that the school can set ample admission quotas for nonlocal students, regardless of the bidding outcome.

Reflecting on his personal experience, Lam said, “I graduated from the then-just-established Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where we still faced a shortage of local staff. The diverse backgrounds of our professors instilled in us the belief that ‘doctors are without borders.’ An internationalized learning and teaching environment is essential for broadening students’ globalized perspective and enhancing Hong Kong’s soft power.”

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com