These developments are not limited to the MBBS. We keep all of our academic programmes under review to ensure they are agile and adaptive, especially as technology advances and new opportunities for learning open up in the region. In that vein, we re-launched the BSc in Bioinformatics this September, with an initial intake of 13 students. All of these measures are coming under scrutiny through next year’s accreditation of the MBBS programme by the Medical Council of Hong Kong and the imminent academic review of the Faculty as a whole by the University. While I have no doubt that the Faculty’s excellence will be duly recognised, we will be working very hard to meet the demands of these exercises. Scaling up HKUMed’s international reputation has soared throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which has showcased our research and expertise in emerging infectious diseases. In January, for instance, we performed better than ever in the Research Grants Council’s funding exercise, receiving $82.4 million which is over 40% higher than last year. Our COVID-19 expertise has contributed to our success, so has the enthusiasm of our young researchers and the increasing collaboration between the biomedical and clinical fields. 10
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