What is CUHK-Singapore?

As a world-renowned institution, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) has attracted a multitude of creative, outstanding, and talented students from around the world.

On February 22, 2023, a group of students at CUHK-Shenzhen, having recognized many features and certain shortcomings of the University, proposed an intriguing idea: to establish a new university that "retains the essence of CUHK-Shenzhen and discards the flaws." Their proposal, which is later published and called the Singapore Initiative, involved establishing a new university in Singapore that would inherit the longstanding philosophy of CUHK while also addressing its limitations.

Once the Singapore Initiative was proposed, it attracted numerous enthusiastic individuals and advanced thinkers. Prominent figures such as David Li, Willy Dharma, Jasper Lee, Prvz Miah, and Shafin Habib, among others, joined this initiative and injected strong vitality into our new university. As of May 2023, more than 36 "professors" have already joined our new university.

Where will this creative university be located??Never forget why we started, and we can accomplish our mission. In order to fulfill the Singapore Initiative's original aspiration of providing quotas for students from Southeast Asia to join in a university and to reflect our international characteristics, we have decided to establish the main campus in an international city in Southeast Asia. After thorough discussions, research, and comparative analysis, and with the unanimous agreement of all members of the Governing Board, we have chosen Singapore as the location for the main campus. Additionally, as a token of appreciation for the dedicated contributions from Associate President Willy from Indonesia and President Jasper from Thailand, we will also establish branch campuses in Jakarta, the former capital of Indonesia, and Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

When will this creative university be established??We plan to officially establish the university in 2043 and hold the inaugural opening ceremony on September 1, 2043 (Tuesday). 2043 is a significant year as it marks the 80th anniversary of the establishment of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Being a university that inherits the educational philosophy of CUHK, if we can complete the construction of the main campus before this year, we can present a gift to CUHK on its 80th birthday. Furthermore, 2045 is the centenary of Indonesia's independence. If we can complete the construction of the Indonesian branch campus before that year, we can contribute to Indonesia's centennial celebration and offer our gift to commemorate their hundred years of nationhood.

What should this creative university be named??Considering that the main campus will be located in Singapore and to reflect our international characteristics, we have decided to name it "The International University of Singapore", in short "IUS". Of course, since our university is founded by members of CUHK, we also have a nickname, CUHK-Singapore, which is widely known among students and well-known to the public.

Since the Singapore Initiative was first published on February 24, 2023, the University has made many achievements before its formal foundation. Go to key.ius.asia?to view our key events in each year.