Six high-level universities in Guangdong will be promoted to enter the country's "Double-First Class" initiative, according to the "14th Five-Year (2021-2025) Plan for the Development of Guangdong Education" released on November 1.
The six universities are the South China Agricultural University, the Southern Medical University, the Guangdong University of Technology, the Guangzhou Medical University, the Shenzhen University, and the Southern University of Science and Technology.
The aerial photo of the South China Agricultural University. (Photo: Newsgd.com)
The term "double first-class" refers to a "world-class university" and "world-class discipline", were approved by China's deepening reform lead group in 2016 as a new impetus for the development of China's higher education sector.
12 to 15 GD universities will be built into country's leading universities
The plan emphasized that by 2025, 12 to 15 universities in Guangdong should be built into top institutions in the country, and a number of disciplines should take the lead in the country or reach the world's first-class level. So the comprehensive strength and international influence of Guangdong's education will reach the domestic advanced level. The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Education Demonstration Zone will achieve significant progress.
Attract more Hong Kong and Macao universities to run schools in Guangdong
The number of Sino-foreign, mainland and Hong Kong-Macao cooperative educational institutions with legal personality in Guangdong accounts for half of the national total. In the next five years, the Plan proposes that 3 to 5 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cooperative educational institutions, to 5 non-corporate educational institutions and joint research institutes will be newly established in Guangdong.
Building a batch of new universities with high standards
The Plan revealed that Guangdong will accelerate the high standard construction of Shenzhen University of Technology, Shenzhen Ocean University, Shenzhen Institute of Innovation and Creative Design, and Guangzhou Transportation University, focusing on building a batch of high-level international universities closely related to the development of 5G, artificial intelligence, cyberspace, life information, biomedicine, marine economy, smart economy, comprehensive health and other industries.
Author: Ariel