Beijing Normal–Hong Kong Baptist University (BNBU) marked a major milestone as it celebrated its 20th anniversary on 18 November 2025, with a series of high-profile academic events, distinguished guest visits, landmark lighting, and community performances that brought together scholars, alumni, students, and partners from across the world.
This year’s celebration featured a full programme of flagship activities, including the 20th Anniversary Development Ceremony, a Roundtable Forum with laureates of the Nobel Prize, Turing Award, Fields Medal and Member of Academy, the Deans Forum for Media and Communication Education, the Symposium of High School Principals and Jao Tsung-I Poetry Competition Award Ceremony, and a vibrant art showcase by the BNBU community.
A 20-year journey of vision and innovation
Founded in 2005 by Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University, BNBU pioneered the first full-scale cooperation in higher education between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong. As the first university in the Chinese Mainland dedicated to innovative liberal arts education, BNBU has, over two decades, grown into a vital academic force in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area.
At the Development Ceremony, BNBU President Chen Zhi reviewed the university’s achievements since its founding.
He highlighted that with 20 years’ dedication to academic construction, this year, 15 BNBU scholars are selected as the world's top 2% scientists list compiled by Stanford University and Elsevier. At the same time, significant breakthroughs were achieved in securing funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Ministry of Education Foundation on Humanities and Social Sciences.
BNBU President Chen Zhi presents the University Development Report
He continued to introduce the progress of the “1+1+1” Joint Funding Programme with Guangdong Province and HKBU, as the first batch of 15 projects was successfully launched this April. BNBU’s research transformation has accelerated in recent years, with around 40 start-ups incubated by its industrial-university research collaboration centre to support regional innovation.
“Internationalisation is a hallmark of BNBU,” Chen Zhi noted. Nowadays, its faculty come from over 40 countries and regions, while its Talent 100 Scheme aims to attract 100 leading scholars worldwide in three years. With partnerships with nearly 100 universities and the establishment of new centres in Boston and London, BNBU continues to build a global platform for student and faculty collaboration.
Wang Shoujun, Chairman of the BNBU Council and Executive Vice President of Beijing Normal University, attends the ceremony
Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, Chairman of the Council and the Court of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), attends the ceremony
Alexander Ping-kong Wai, HKBU President, attends the ceremony
Ng Ching-fai, BNBU Founding President, attends the ceremony
Tang Tao, BNBU Second President, attends the ceremony
Tree gifts from Beijing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University at BNBU Phase II campus
World laureates gather at BNBU
From 17 to 19 November, five world-renowned scholars convened at BNBU to celebrate this milestone with a series of lectures: Joachim Frank, 2017 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry; Leslie Lamport, 2013 Turing Award Laureate; Dan Shechtman, 2011 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry; Eric Westhof, Member of the French Academy of Sciences and the Leopoldina German Academy of Sciences; and Efim Zelmanov, 1994 Fields Medal Laureate.
The BNBU 20th Anniversary Roundtable Forum has brought together five distinguished scholars
At the roundtable forum, “Science in the Era of AI: Opportunities and Challenges”, the scholars exchanged views on AI’s transformative role in scientific research. They also met with more than 20 media outlets, sharing perspectives on future scientific cooperation and higher education.
Expanding dialogue across institutions
BNBU also hosted the Deans Forum for Media and Communication Education, where experts from around 30 institutions worldwide, including the Renmin University of China, the Communication University of China, Fudan University, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Peking University, HKBU, the Macau University of Science and Technology and the State University of New York, examined the profound impact of AIGC and emerging technologies on the communication landscape.
Deans Forum for Media and Communication Education is organised at BNBU
The Symposium of High School Principals and the Jao Tsung-I Poetry Competition Award Ceremony took place on the same day, honouring 44 outstanding poems selected from entries worldwide.
BNBU holds the Symposium of High School Principals and Award Ceremony for the Jao Tsung-I Poetry Competition to celebrate its 20th anniversary
Heritage, culture, and global communication
BNBU has long been committed to nurturing students with a global outlook grounded in Chinese culture. With courses such as Guqin and Shedao (Chinese archery), the university established China’s first English-taught undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programmes in Chinese Culture and Global Communication. This year, the Yuzhen Jinsheng Yayue Orchestra launched its global tour, scheduled to perform in cities including Boston and New York.
A new three-volume book series documenting BNBU’s 20-year development was also unveiled, capturing cherished stories, milestones, and the collective memory of its community.
The book launching ceremony is held at BNBU
The evening atmosphere reached its climax with joint performances by students, faculty, staff, and alumni, followed by the illumination of major landmarks, including the Canton Tower and the Zhuhai Grand Theater, symbolising BNBU’s shining future.
BNBU celebrates its anniversary with a gala dinner for its community members
Looking ahead
From a rented building to a thriving campus with over 160 acres, from recruiting just over 200 students to cultivating more than 20,000 graduates with outstanding admission rates to QS Top 100 universities, BNBU has grown alongside every member of its community. “As we look ahead, we will continue to advance liberal education, embrace new technologies, deepen global partnerships, and nurture graduates with both cultural grounding and a global perspective,” said Chen.
Now, at a new starting point, the university is poised to embark on its next chapter, toward greater innovation, deeper global engagement, and a future shaped by excellence.
From MPRO
Reporter: Cecilia Yu
Photographer: Owen Li
Video by Owen Li, Hanna He, Season Li, Wang Bowen
