Hong Kong’s third medical school denies poaching veteran HKU professor

Hong Kong’s third medical school has dismissed allegations of talent poaching after recruiting a veteran haematologist with nearly three decades of service at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

On Wednesday, Professor Anskar Leung Yu-hung met the press at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in his capacity as the new medical school’s senior associate dean of medicine.

“The opportunity to be part of a team to [build] a new medical school from ground zero, with a new curriculum and a new ideation about how to train the next generation of doctors is a very exciting experience for me – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Leung said.

“I share the founding mission of the school and look forward to contributing the clinical, research and teaching expertise I have accumulated.”

Leung obtained his medical degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and joined HKU in the 1990s as a clinical assistant professor.

He served there for almost three decades, rising to chair professor of haematology and associate dean of the medical school.

“I am grateful for the many opportunities I have been given over the years at HKU. Both the dean and my department heads have maintained an open-minded attitude and provided us with ample room for development.”

In response to Leung’s departure, HKU earlier told the media that it respected his personal choice but urged the third medical school to “follow HKU’s example” and recruit more top scholars from overseas to prevent “vicious competition”.

At the press briefing, HKUST president Nancy Ip Yuk-yu denied allegations of talent poaching.

“Just like the other two medical schools, HKUST has always conducted talent recruitment globally, guided by an open and rigorous selection process,” she said.

Ip added that the team also visited the United Kingdom in July to search for talent that shared their vision.

“Poaching is not something that we do. As a new medical school, a vision of ours is to work with the other two medical schools – that is the best way to advance local medical education and healthcare development.”

Asked how many teaching staff the new school had recruited so far, medical dean, Professor King Li King-chuen, declined to provide an exact figure, citing ongoing recruitment.

Li said the teacher-to-student ratio will be more than one to one and that he was confident the school will have the people it needs when its first semester begins in 2028. At least 100 staff will be hired by 2030 to cover all specialities, he added, with students scheduled to begin clinical internships that year.

Li added that the school aimed to collaborate on medical education with the other two schools. CUHK is expected to share an anatomy course, and cooperation with HKU will be explored.

The new medical school will offer a four-year graduate-entry programme. It aims to enrol its inaugural class of 50 students for the 2028-29 academic year.

Apart from Leung, other members of the medical school include Clinical Professor Roger Ho Chun-man, previously with the National University of Singapore, Chair Professor Jeremy Nicholson and Professor Elaine Holmes, formerly with Murdoch University.

The school recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hospital Authority on financial arrangements, curriculum accreditation, clinical teaching and other matters. The new Kai Tak Hospital will serve as its interim teaching hospital.

An eight-floor teaching complex in the Clear Water Bay campus was recently topped off, with drone landing facilities to be installed on the rooftop.

The Medical Council of Hong Kong is reviewing the new school’s proposed curriculum framework.