New Polytechnic University head has Greater Bay Area ambitions, but Hong Kong students have concerns over mainland-born president’s goals
- Teng Jinguang will start five-year term in July after he was named to replace former president Timothy Tong
- Students disappointed that he did not directly answer questions on ‘democracy wall’ controversy
A mainland-born engineering scholar will head Polytechnic University from July, amid concerns from Hong Kong students over his “Greater Bay Area” focus for the school’s development, and anti-independence stance.
The university announced in a press release that its council approved the appointment of Professor Teng Jinguang, born in Zhejiang province, as its next president on Tuesday. Teng is expected to take the reins of the institution from July 1 for a five-year term.
Presently vice-president and dean of the graduate school of Guangdong’s Southern University of Science and Technology, Teng will become the second mainland-born president of the city’s eight public universities when he takes office.
The University of Hong Kong physicist Professor Zhang Xiang become its first mainland-born president when he was appointed last year.
Teng, who worked at PolyU from 1994 to 2017, pledged to work closely with various stakeholders of the university, and help it develop strong education and research programmes in emerging areas, such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
