Talent cultivation and collaborative cross-border education

Analysis

Each recent trip I have made into the broader GBA from Macau – official trips which have become more frequent and are almost monthly now – has heralded some new development in the tertiary education space. Policies supporting tertiary education and growth in higher education, research facilities and promoting cross-border collaboration, innovation, and human capital mobility are being realised across the GBA.

First came the overall pronouncements as per the Outline of the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in February 2019 stating that the GBA should become an international science and technology innovation centre and an “international education demonstration zone.”  Within this ambit was to be included the introduction of world-renowned universities to assist with this world-class university hub development. Since then, specific frameworks like the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance” although developed earlier, have proven prescient. The university alliance was an early inventive developed to cultivate “innovative composite talent.” The cooperative is comprised of 21 universities in Guangdong, 9 in Hong Kong and 7 in Macau whose mission is to serve local and national development strategies.

According to Macau’s Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), the number of alliances struck have been ramping up since COVID time among which are “the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance,” “the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Library Alliance,” “the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Engineering Alliance,” “the Jiangsu-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance” and “ the Global Consortium of Metropolitan Universities.”

The “Annual Funding Plan for Higher Education Institutions” established by the Education Fund in 2022 includes specialised subsidy programmes to support inter-institutional, regional cooperation and exchange projects to drive cooperation between local tertiary institutions and participation in further alliances in the Greater Bay Area and beyond. The Subsidy for Cooperative and Developmental Projects for private higher education institutions is in place to encourage more international exchange and cooperation and even to construct tertiary education institutions in the GBA. The funding subsidies are open for a very broad range of activities – for training, incoming and outgoing student and staff exchanges, and other forms of regional and international education cooperation, as long as the efforts are cooperative. Universities are also to build Macau into a Tourism Education and Training Base and Chinese-Portuguese Bilingual Talent Training Base. In the last subsidy application, provision was made for the publication, development and compilation of Portuguese language teaching materials for Chinese native speakers.

Of course, Macau is positioned to build strong alliances with Portuguese-speaking institutions by virtue of sociolinguistic and legal system similarities and shared histories – recently, Spanish-speaking countries and platforms have been added. Efforts to extend educational cooperation in these areas have been ongoing and renewed: examples include DSEDJ’s exchange tour to Portugal in April and May of 2023 for higher educational cooperation, opportunities in Portugal for continuing education; protocols and promotions, and Memoranda of Understanding signed at the time with University of Lisbon, University of Porto, Universidade de Coimbra, and Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism. And, the work continues: In March 2026 DSEDJ organised for Macao higher education institutions to participate in Futurália fair in Portugal to promote Macau universities to high schools and continue the work of consolidating collaborative activities and networked relationships.

Reaching out to South-East Asia, in 2023 representatives from DSEDJ and 7 tertiary institutions went on a student admission and exchange tour of Malaysia, building relationships with local universities to promote Macau’s higher education whilst facilitating the recognition of the Malaysian Unified Examination Certificate in Macau. Other promotional fairs have been organised in Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The harmonisation and mutual recognition of admissions criteria and graduate certification are necessary conditions for integration and collaboration.

The Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China has approved the intake of postgraduate students from across China into seven Macau tertiary institutions and there’s now easier access to mainland universities through the Joint Entrance Examination of Ordinary Universities in China for Overseas Chinese, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Students and Joint Entrance Exam of Ordinary Universities in Mainland China for Macao’s Recommended Students. A growing number of Mainland universities are admitting students from Macau through the Joint Admission Examination for Four Higher Education Institutions. Each step helps integrate the tertiary education sector, easing flow of students between areas of the GBA and beyond.

The Central Government’s development of an internationalised, integrated and innovative economy relies on the myriad of similar actions to grow quality industrial, educational and talent capacity. Cooperation between Hong Kong, Macao, Guangdong as key players, each with their respective strengths, is demonstrating significant and critical mass. Industry/academia partnerships were highlighted in Hong Kong’s policy address 2025 as was the Study in Hong Kong brand which is extending itself firmly into the GBA. Guangdong cross-border student exchange and joint degree programs are part of the trend.

In Hong Kong, the focus on mutual reinforcement between technological innovation and talent cultivation – this nexus between education and industry –  is a core part of talent development and continued international recognition: Hong Kong is currently ranked second globally in overall education competitiveness. Leveraging from Hong Kong’s reputational gravitas, collaborating with institutions in the GBA and building upon global institutional and industry networks is a four-pronged operation in synergistic advantage. Layered on top of this investment and collaborative institutional infrastructure are incentives to encourage Chinese students to benefit from a variety of international educational offerings.

One recent concrete example of a collaborative effort realising these policy intentions is in the May inauguration in Zhuhai of the Karlshochschule International University (KHS) International Student Exchange Center (Zhuhai) for scholarly exchange and its new program introduction. The Center will provide 1+2 bachelor’s degree programs delivered in English in International Business, Creativity and Management, Computer Science and Mechatronics. The first year is conducted in collaboration with and on the mainland campus of BNBU, while the remaining years are spent on campuses in Europe.

BNBU is itself a jointly established entity between Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University. Innovative from its beginnings in 2005, this early convergence of two institutions of excellence from Hong Kong and the mainland brought to Zhuhai the first liberal arts university and is the embodiment of the Guangdong high-level university development plan. Bachelor’s degree graduates from BNBU receive both degree certificates from Hong Kong Baptist University and certificates of graduation from BNBU.

The new collaboration between BNBU and KHS will provide further impetus to a new stage of international cooperation in education and talent cultivation, not to mention deepening ties between German and Chinese educational establishments. 

KHS is over a hundred and twenty years old but clearly in step with the collaborative vision of the GBA educational narrative. It emphasizes internationalisation and practical application of learning, clearly articulated in course internships, industry projects and practical units of study. The deep, networked relationships the university has with European industry fits neatly with the core principles of vocational and industry-focused collaboration in higher education expressed in China’s “2024-2025 Master Plan on Building China into a Leading Country in Education”.

It is these sorts of individual step-by-step innovations and international exchanges manifesting all over the GBA educational landscape that not only provide Chinese students with broader global curriculum and career pathways but build firm foundations for current and future policy direction toward the opening up and internationalisation of the GBA. by Leanda Lee