A Chinese university has teamed up with an Israeli counterpart to found China's first science and technology institution jointly established by domestic and foreign institutions, with funding from one of Asia's richest men.
The Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) held its opening ceremony in Shantou, South China's Guangdong Province on Monday, with the stated goal of being a a Chinese version of US tech hub Silicon Valley.
The GTIIT was established by Shantong University and the Israel Institute of Technology (IIT) after being officially approved by China's Ministry of Education in December 2016, the news site caixin.com reported.
Two of the key private individuals involved have drawn people's attention, namely billionaire businessman Li Ka-shing and Li Jiange, a prominent figure in Chinese finance and economic research. The caixin.com report said they "happened to share the same view on establishing a Chinese Silicon Valley."
Li Jiange, who is also the president of GTIIT, told caixin.com that he hopes the university will find a new way of recruiting students outside the national college entrance exam.
There are currently 10 IIT teachers working at GTIIT - 60 percent of the total - and this number will increase by 10 each year, according to news portal ycwb.com
Students at the school - which currently number 222 - will also be able to study for a term in Israel in their third or fourth year, ycwb.com said.
The Guangdong and Shantou governments plan to spend a total of 900 million yuan ($ 147 million) on GTIIT and Li Ka-shing has donated 130 million yuan, said the caixin.com report.
