PolyU establishes an alliance with eight institutions in the Greater Bay Area to advance research in nursing

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with eight participating universities / institutions in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) to establish The Nursing Alliance of Research and Knowledge Transfer. The initiative aims to strengthen collaboration in nursing research and knowledge transfer among cities of the GBA in response to the national strategy for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The MoU was signed in Shenzhen in the Mainland by Prof Alex Molasiotis, Chair Professor of Nursing and Head of the School of Nursing, PolyU, and the eight representatives of other institutions, including:

• Dr Li Yanlian, Vice President, Macao Polytechnic Institute;
• Prof.Zhou Ying, Associate Dean of the School of Nursing, Guangzhou Medical University;
• Prof.June Zhang, Associate Dean of the School of Nursing, Sun Yat-Sen University;
• Prof. Zhang Lili, Dean of the School of Nursing, Southern Medical University;
• Prof. Chen Weiju, Secretary and Associate Dean of the School of Nursing,Director of the Nursing Department of the First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University;
• Ms Mo Beirong, Vice President of the Nanshan District People's Hospital of Shenzhen;
• Prof. Wang Chunmei, Vice Director of Zhuhai Campus Management Committee, Zunyi Medical University; and
• Ms Zhang Li, Director of the Nursing Department, The First People's Hospital of Foshan.

 "The signing of the MoU heralds a significant milestone in the collaboration in nursing development among Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macau," said Prof David Shum, Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, PolyU, at the ceremony. In the 3-year collaboration, the Alliance will actively promote nursing research cooperation, enhance the quality of care services, encourage sharing of information, resources, evidence-based nursing practice and research outcomes, as well as facilitate training of nursing personnel.

"With our unique position as an international and a core city for driving regional development, Hong Kong and PolyU will grasp the opportunities to advance the discipline of nursing; develop inter-disciplinary, cross-institutional, as well as international collaborative research projects; and promote training and innovative services for the benefit of the people in the GBA, " said Prof Alex Molasiotis.

The Alliance was selected as one of the top projects at the 2^nd Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GreaterBay Area Health Cooperation Conference held earlier. The honour was received by the representatives from PolyU, Sun Yat-Sen University and The Nanshan District People's Hospital of Shenzhen.