PEOPLE FIRST: A Better Environment for Staff and Students I have outlined for you the achievements of a very full year and our grand ambitions for the future. You may be wondering, where and how will HKUMed house these expanded activities? In the past, the problem of space would have been foremost among my concerns, because how can we grow without more space? I am delighted to report that we are making good progress in addressing this perennial challenge and providing urgently needed capacity for growth. Good news came this February when the Town Planning Board supported a rezoning of the site east of 3 Sassoon Road that will allow us to construct a major new academic building there – my deepest thanks to those colleagues, students, alumni and stakeholders who supported our project at the meeting. The rezoning will provide an additional 26,000 square metres by 2028 for teaching and advanced research, including dedicated space for interdisciplinary research. Notably, it will house the School of Clinical Medicine, which celebrated its first anniversary this year and is serving as a platform for closer collaboration across disciplines. Already, the School has established the new Critical Care Medicine Unit and Centre of Cancer Medicine. It has also provided incentives, such as fellowships and protected time, that will help to build up our pool of scientists who can bridge the bench and the clinic. Our other expansion plans are also making good progress. Work is underway on floors 3 to 6 of the William MW Mong Block to provide more teaching and learning facilities, student facilities, and offices, which will fully open by next year. At 6 Sassoon Road, we are redeveloping the Madam SH Ho Residence and Bayview Restaurant into a Clinical Training and Amenities Centre that will open in phases in late 2026 and 2029. Renovation work to improve the old Estates Building has also started and will provide shortterm space before these projects come on-line. Ultimately, major premises on Sassoon Road will be linked and 32
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