The University of Hong Kong will open its first European campus in Barcelona.
The Chinese institution purchases a building of more than 8,000 m² in the 22@ district
BarcelonaThe University of Hong Kong (HKU) will open its first campus in Europe in the city of Barcelona. Specifically, it will do so in a newly constructed building in the 22@ district, on Llacuna Street. HKU, which is ranked thirteenth in the global ranking of business schools compiled by the Financial Times, has purchased a building in the Catalan capital in a transaction involving a real estate consultancy firm and Barcelona City Council.
Sources from the Barcelona City Council explain that the City Council made initial contact with the university during this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) and initiated "business support." Initially, it intervened to "tip the balance" when HKU had to decide in which city in Spain they would locate the campus. Once Barcelona was chosen, advice was provided regarding urban planning procedures, license applications, and business launch through Barcelona Activa.
According to a statement from the real estate consultancy firm JLL, which acted as advisor on the transaction, the building acquired by the University of Hong Kong has a surface area of more than 8,450 m² and was designed by architect Victor Bergnes de las Casas. Despite the confirmation of this purchase, the timeline for the arrival of the Chinese university's staff in Barcelona and the start date for the courses have not yet been disclosed.
The University of Hong Kong was founded over a century ago, in 1911, and was originally a public institution that taught medicine. However, it now offers courses in art, architecture, education, business, law, engineering, and social sciences, among others.
