HKBU co-established the Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Water Security with Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus and other institutes. The Laboratory is supported by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory Establishment Programme of the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province, with a strategic research investment of RMB 5 million over the period of 2021 – 2024. To serve the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area and build a first-class innovation platform with high academic influence in the field of water security at home and abroad, the Laboratory will gather innovative resources, highlight cross-disciplinary innovations, and promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in water security. At the same time, the Laboratory will contribute to solving scientific and technical challenges restricting the reform and development of water conservancy as well as improving the water governance system in the Greater Bay Area. The first meeting of the Academic Committee was held at Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus on 16 April, 2021. The meeting agenda included a review of the the development plan and the research direction and research plan of the Laboratory.

Dr Jianfeng Li, Associate Professor of the Department of Geography and Director of the Centre for Geo-computation Studies, will be the major investigator from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) in the Joint Laboratory. His  responsibility will be to investigate the mechanism of flood disasters and develop a flood monitoring and warning platform based on the coupling of atmosphere, flood, and storm, collaborating with other researchers to mitigate the impacts of flood disasters in the Greater Bay Area. The Laboratory is led by Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus, and the partnering institutions include HKBU, the Guangdong Research Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the Centre Testing International Group Co., Ltd.