PolyU president Teng Jin-Guang made the remarks on Wednesday as the chairman of the institution’s governing body said he hoped potential university funding cuts would be not so drastic under the coming government budget.

Authorities are expected to record a financial deficit of about HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) for the financial year ending in March.

Discussing PolyU’s medical school application, Teng said the university already offered numerous healthcare-related programmes such as physiotherapy, optometry, medical laboratory science, radiography and nursing.

The university also had more than 1,300 medical-related teaching and research staff, in addition to laboratories, that could support the launch of the medical school.

“PolyU has a 45-year-old history of offering healthcare education and has nurtured 50,000 graduates for the healthcare industry. This is a strong foundation,” he said.