People attend the inauguration ceremony of the Great Bay University (GBU) in Dongguan city, south China's Guangdong province, Dec. 6, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

The inauguration ceremony of the Great Bay University (GBU) was held on Saturday.

Situated in the Dongguan city of south China's Guangdong province, the university has two campuses that cover about 2,000 mu (about 133.3 hectares) in total. It initially sets up five regular undergraduate programs, namely mathematics and applied mathematics, physics, materials science and engineering, computer science and technology, and industrial engineering.

A public institution of higher education, sponsored by the Guangdong provincial government and supported by the municipal government of Dongguan, it received approval from China's Ministry of Education in June. The 80 freshmen had started their first semester since August.

This undated photo shows the campus of the Great Bay University (GBU) in Dongguan city, south China's Guangdong province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Tian Gang, the founding president of the GBU and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said at Saturday's inauguration ceremony that the university is to "provide high-quality talent for the accelerated development of new productive forces in Dongguan as well as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and to facilitate scientific and technological innovation and the development of emerging industries there."

He noted that GBU is to collaborate with multiple universities, research institutions and leading enterprises to jointly nurture postgraduate students.

One of the most economically dynamic regions in China, the Greater Bay Area's gross domestic product reached 14.79 trillion yuan (about 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2024, exceeding that of the New York and San Francisco Bay Areas.