'HK universities are attractive to foreign students'

RTHK

13 hours ago

'HK universities are attractive to foreign students'
Christine Choi says the strength of Hong Kong's higher education sector is reflected by the latest QS World University Rankings. Photo: RTHK
University applications from non-local students have been flooding in, the education chief says, as Hong Kong seeks to attract international students whose study plans may have been affected by Washington's shifting policies towards their own tertiary institutions.
Secretary for Education Christine Choi also pledged both funding and policy support for the tertiary sector so that the SAR can develop into an international hub for post-secondary education.
In an interview marking the third anniversary of Chief Executive John Lee's administration, Choi said local universities have already made offers to dozens of students having second thoughts about studying in the United States.
"The institutions have responded quickly to the government's call to assist these students. They provided different convenience measures based on their own situation, including a dedicated email address for interested students wishing to make enquiries," she said.
As of late last month, eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee received 850 enquiries.
Those, Choi revealed, translated into "hundreds" of applications, while some schools even reported a near two-fold jump in the number of applicants. Around 40 offers have since been made altogether.
According to the latest QS World University Rankings, five SAR institutions made it to the top 100, led by the University of Hong Kong at 11th, up six places from the previous year.
"The results are very encouraging. Nearly all of our universities have recorded a major improvement, including our first University of Applied Sciences," she said, referring to the self-financing Hong Kong Metropolitan University which made its debut in the rankings in the 781–790 range.
"This demonstrates the strength of Hong Kong's higher education sector. We have what it takes to attract world-class scholars."
Choi also brushed off suggestions that the government is scaling back support to the institutions, after the UGC-funded universities were asked to return HK$4 billion in grants to the government.
"Our support to universities goes beyond funding. For example, if you look at our policies and resources, it seems rather unfair to focus only on the return of that HK$4 billion," she argued.
"We've relaxed the quota for postgraduate students, and for that purpose we allocated additional resources to the universities, and boosted our scholarship programmes. All these measures benefited the institutions. We also have the new round of Research Matching Grant Scheme coming up."
Choi emphasised the government's determination to lure in more overseas students, citing a new Development Bureau initiative to encourage private developers to convert hotels and commercial buildings into student dormitories.