Durham University has entered into a partnership with the MarcoPolo700 Foundation to develop a pioneering East-West Institute in Hong Kong and Durham.
The first of its kind in the world, the Institute will bring the connected histories and cultures of East and West to a new generation in Hong Kong, Macau, and the rest of the Greater Bay Area. It will be supported by innovative AI and digital technologies.
Today, Wednesday 10 December 2025, an online event was held to celebrate the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Durham University and the MarcoPolo700 Foundation. Before the start of the ceremony, all participants observed a minute’s silence in remembrance of the victims of the tragic fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.
The MoU provides for a collaboration combining technology and cultural entrepreneurship with research and higher education in the arts and humanities.
This collaboration is to be achieved principally through the creation of an East-West Institute, with bases in Hong Kong and in Durham, UK. Wednesday’s ceremony included the premiere of a short film using digital AI technology to communicate the vision at the heart of the collaboration.
The Institute will act as a hub, working in partnership with universities and cultural institutions in the Greater Bay Area, to build an educational pathway for young people in the region from high school to university and beyond.
It will support digital AI art competitions led by the MarcoPolo700 Foundation and inspired by the famed journey of 13th-century Venetian traveller, merchant, and writer Marco Polo along the maritime and mainland Silk Roads. Using the latest AI techniques, it will promote cultural diversity and education for young people living along the Silk Roads today.
Its first phase of collaborative research will see the institute explore histories of trade and knowledge exchange in the age of Marco Polo, deepening Durham University’s close collaboration with the Beijing Palace Museum and developing partnerships across the cities of the Silk Roads that Marco Polo famously travelled from Venice to Beijing. It will connect school and university students and scholars across maritime and overland geographies that stretch from China to Europe via South and Central Asia and the Middle East.
About Durham University and MarcoPolo700 Foundation
Durham University is a world leader in arts and humanities research, ranked 43rd globally in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, and featuring in the World Top 10 in Archaeology, Theology & Religion, and Classics & Ancient History.
The MarcoPolo700 Foundation, established in 2024 on the 700th anniversary of the traveller's passing, aims to amplify his legacy by promoting curiosity, exploration, and discovery, and advocates for open exchange and free trade among cultures.
Announcing Board leadership
Durham University and the MarcoPolo700 Foundation have also announced the creation of a Board to support and promote the establishment of the Durham East-West Institute.
The Board will be co-chaired by Dr George Lam and Professor Richard Scholar. Dr Lam is a member of the Durham University Business School International Advisory Board, Chair of the United Nations ESCAP Sustainable Business Network Finance Task Force, and a Trustee of the MarcoPolo700 Foundation. Professor Scholar is Director of Durham University’s Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, in a job share with Professor Ita Mac Carthy, and holds a Chair in French in the University’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures.
We are excited to partner with the MarcoPolo700 Foundation as we seek to develop a new East-West Institute for collaborative research. Durham's East-West institute, the first of its kind, will pioneer new approaches to the study of cultures and heritages of the Eurasian continent to explore today’s global challenges: education, environment, climate change, and more.
We are honoured to be a part of this prestigious East-West Institute here in Hong Kong. The Greater Bay Area has long been a maritime hub and, through many Chinese dynasties, has hosted many foreign ships. Our partnership with Durham University will promote the legacy of Marco Polo, leveraging UK and Hong Kong as regional tourism hubs for cultural exchange events and regional research projects.
Mr Piesse, a trustee of the UK charity, has lived in Hong Kong for many years.
The age of Marco Polo saw long-distance trading increase significantly in volume. Geo-political changes along the mainland and maritime Silk Roads promoted, financed, and delivered this increase. The organisation of investment and risk in mercantile ventures in Venice made Marco Polo’s home city a hub of exchange between nations. The story of Marco Polo’s legendary journey from Venice stands today as a global icon of open trade and cultural exchange between East and West in an interconnected world.
- For further information, please contact Lucian Hudson, Executive Director, Communications & External Relations, at Durham University: communications.team@durham.ac.uk.
- Explore our Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies.
- Visit the MarcoPolo700 Foundation.
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