Development of veterinary medicine and other professional fields

This afternoon, I attended a ceremony in recognition of the donation of $100 million by Dr Li Dak Sum for the establishment of the "Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Development Fund for Veterinary Medicine". The Fund will support the development of the School of Veterinary Medicine at City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

Dr Li is a successful entrepreneur. While building up his business, he never forgets contributing to society and the country. He well deserves our respect.

Nowadays many of our diseases originate from animals, but our scientists knew little about it. Moreover, animals are a major source of food for human beings. A better understanding of the biology of animals is therefore conducive to the improvement of food safety and the prevention of emerging diseases. Hong Kong and other places in south China are densely populated, and thus there are frequent contacts between people and animals. Some outbreaks of diseases in the past, including SARS and avian flu, were closely related to animals. By integrating human, veterinary and environmental research, CityU's School of Veterinary Medicine is set to make a significant contribution to food safety and public health in Hong Kong and the neighbouring region.

The School of Veterinary Medicine is a collaboration between CityU and Cornell University's College of Veteri­nary Medicine, the top-ranked veterinary school in the United States. The School launched last year an interdisciplinary PhD Programme in Veterinary Sciences, and plans to offer a Master of Science Programme in Aquatic Production and Veterinary Health next year. In the long term, it will also provide a 6-year Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine Programme so as to nurture more experts in this area.  The programme will emphasize local issues that affect Hong Kong and the Mainland.

CityU's experience and the model it adopted in developing veterinary medicine set an inspiring example for the nurturing of professionals in Hong Kong. By leveraging Hong Kong's role as a "super-connector", local institutions can collaborate with leading scientific research institutes around the world to train professionals serving not only Hong Kong, but also the Mainland – especially the huge south China market – and beyond.

March 14, 2015