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The southern boomtown of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, is set to invest approximately 6 billion yuan ($840 million) in the initial construction phase of the new Shenzhen Ocean University (SOU) campus, with completion expected by 2026.
SOU is expected to play a pivotal role in transforming Shenzhen into a global ocean hub, aligning with national guidelines that support the city's efforts to become a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Over the past four decades, Shenzhen has evolved from a small fishing village into an international metropolis. Despite its rapid economic growth, the city has lagged in developing top-tier universities, a relative weakness for an innovation hub of its stature.
In the past decade, Shenzhen has accelerated efforts to enhance its higher education landscape, building nine new universities and focusing on both expansion and quality improvement. By May, the city was home to 17 universities, with a full-time student population of around 155,000.
Shenzhen still needs to improve the quality of its higher education offerings. Currently, only one local university is included in the national list of world-class universities and academic disciplines.
Lu Xiaozhong, dean of the Institute of Advanced Study of Education Development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area at South China Normal University, emphasized the need for higher education in Shenzhen to align with local socioeconomic development, as well as demographic shifts.
He urged local universities to seize opportunities to elevate the quality of their academic programs and talent cultivation models.
This news article originally appeared with the headline "Shenzhen puts big bucks into university project".
Source: Chinadaily
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