Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS) firmly seizes the opportunity of the national development scheme for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, actively launches the "GBA Campus" program according to the national needs, the development trend of GBA and GDUFS‘s own strength, pushes forward inter-university cooperation and exchanges in GBA, promotes the "bringing in" and "going out" of educational resources in GBA, and aims to create a leading demonstration area for international education. On the 20th Anniversary of Macao's Return to the Motherland and the Fifth Government Inauguration Ceremony of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, pointed out that the national strategies should be actively implemented, opportunities should be grasped to jointly build "The Belt and Road Initiative" and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, and our own strengths should be better played and our competitive edge should be enhanced. To earnestly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech, we must ensure that "GBA Campus" be in line with the development of GBA. With the spirit of reformers and doers, we should innovate mechanisms and systems, make sustainable and long-term development plans, and build a sound GBA education ecosystem in terms of talent training, scientific research, social services, cultural inheritance and innovation, as well as international cooperation and exchanges, so as to create a new model with an international vision and level for the development of China's higher education.

The program will take the cooperation between GDUFS and its cooperative universities in Hong Kong and Macao as the trial basis. When the operation mechanism is fully completed, it can be extended to the cooperation between other universities in Guangdong and those in Hong Kong and Macao, which will benefit many in the three regions. The specific cooperation mode is as follows:

Every year, GDUFS, and universities in Hong Kong and Macao will select excellent students majoring in Portuguese, English, economy and trade, law, business administration, information technology and art to participate in the program, with a maximum of 20 (the specific number of students per year shall be negotiated by the university alliance according to the actual situation). After formal enrollment, students will be jointly trained in two sessions:

Session 1 (preparatory education): In the first and second academic year, universities will offer basic courses regarding the economy, culture, history, science and technology of the three regions to students in the program, so as to help them be better prepared for distance learning in the second session.

Session 2 (mobile campus for students from universities in the three regions): Students selected by each university will be divided into two groups. In the third academic year and the first semester of the fourth academic year, they will go to GDUFS, and universities in Hong Kong and Macao respectively for professional courses, cultural, literature and history courses with the characteristics of each own university, as well as graduation paper. See the table below for details:

*Centralized training: GDUFS will offer centralized courses for students from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in the program, for instance, the introduction to Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA. Courses shall cover a wide range of knowledge, namely, the overview of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, development and comparison of global bay areas, development of GBA urban agglomeration, construction of international science and innovation center, development of transportation infrastructure, development of modern industrial system, international trade and investment, coordination of regionals rules, key platforms, development of Shenzhen socialist leading demonstration area, ecological civilization and sustainable development, international business environment, overview of enterprise development in GBA, Lingnan culture and history, as well as human capital and education. The teaching adopts flexible and diverse methods, including lectures, analysis, group discussion, and field trips. It is designed to deepen the understanding among students from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in GBA through a comprehensive and systematic introduction to the development history, current status and future trend of GBA so as to attract great students to participate in the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA.

*Student status: Students in this program are non-academic students when they study in the receiving universities. They may only obtain academic degrees in their own affiliated universities, and shall not receive any degrees in the receiving universities. Students will have access to courses prescribed by the program.

*Mutual-recognition credits: Credits obtained by students in the receiving university can be recognized by their own affiliated university in accordance with its corresponding regulations on credit mutual recognition. The receiving universities are obliged to provide students' credit information to their affiliated universities in time.

*Certificate: Certificate of participation will be jointly issued to students by the three universities at the end of the program.

*Expenses: Students shall pay related expenses in accordance with the financial arrangement of their affiliated universities. No tuition fees or other fees will be charged by the receiving universities. The details shall be subject to the agreement between all the universities concerned.

*If it fails to achieve three-party cooperation, GDUFS will start with the cooperation with Macao Polytechnic Institute, and take dominant specialties, such as Portuguese and Linguistics, as the trial pilot. And beneficial exploration will be made on specific inter-university cooperation mode under the framework of the program, which may be extended to several other fields of discipline and universities in the three regions. This will benefit GDUFS and may play a big role in talent cultivation, scientific research, social services, as well as cultural inheritance and innovation of other universities in GBA.

Significance of GBA Campus

First, it will establish a new mode of collaborative education in the three regions, create a highland of education and talents in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA, and jointly cultivate high-end talents participating in the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA. Through more than four years of rotational learning and by making use of local teaching resources, students will be able to enjoy a good learning and communication platform, on which students can, apart from professional learning, better understand the politics, economy and culture of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, so as to lay a solid foundation for better participation in the development of GBA in the future.

Second, it will promote the complementary advantages and sustainable development of higher education in GBA. During the execution of the program, university teachers in the three regions can learn from and promote each other in their teaching, so as to further improve the teaching expertise. In addition, with the program platform, they will be able to carry out cooperative scientific research and score more achievements connected with the development of GBA.

Third, it will enhance mutual understanding and recognition among the three regions. Students in this program shall be selected in accordance with high standards, high levels and high requirements, as they may represent the image of young people in the three regions, better promote mutual understanding, enhance the feelings of patriotism, love for Hong Kong and Macao, and better unite the young generation in the three regions.