On day three of their Korea visit, Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki and a delegation visited universities in Seoul and held meetings with officials, with a view to providing a solid reference for the planning and development of the Northern Metropolis University Town (NMUT).

Mr Chan is leading a delegation of the Working Group on Planning & Construction of the University Town under the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis.

In the morning, the delegation visited Kyung Hee University's Seoul Campus, where they met the university's president Kim Jin-sang to learn about its self-financing operation model and experience in achieving financial sustainability.

They also toured various facilities on campus, including the startup centre, and listened to a briefing on how the centre assists high value-added technology startups in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and biomedicine to develop their businesses through different programmes.

Established in 1949, Kyung Hee University is a top-tier private university in Korea, renowned for its programmes in humanities, international studies, medicine, hospitality and tourism.

Mr Chan expressed hope that the university's successful example of diversifying its operating funds can serve as a reference for self-funded higher education institutions in NMUT, and that its development model, which integrates academic research, innovative thinking, start-up incubation and industry collaboration, can also serve as a useful reference.

Afterwards, the delegation attended a luncheon to exchange views with representatives from the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority, the Incheon Global Campus Foundation and several top Korean universities, on how to build a university town that deeply integrates higher education, scientific research and industry. Through this visit, they also aimed to promote exchanges and co-operation in the education field.

In the afternoon, the delegation met Vice Mayor for Political Affairs of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Kim Byung-min. They had in-depth exchanges on government-university collaboration, attracting internationally renowned universities and talent, campus and innovation district planning, as well as future co-operation opportunities between the two places.

Mr Chan said both Hong Kong and Seoul are committed to promoting the deep integration of education, technology, and talent development, and the potential for co-operation is immense.

During their recent visits to Seoul and other Korean cities, the delegation exchanged views with representatives from various higher education institutions, research organisations and government departments on the planning and development of university towns.

Mr Chan said their extensive experience in campus planning, industry-academia-research collaboration, talent cultivation, and multi-university shared campus models made the discussions highly insightful.

The Chief Secretary added that he looks forward to collaborative projects between Korea's top universities and Hong Kong's institutions in the NMUT, fostering innovative talent with an international perspective.

The delegation then paid a courtesy call on Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Dai Bing to brief him on the planning and development of Hong Kong's NMUT.