Developing Hong Kong into an International Education Hub
Developing Hong Kong into an International Education Hub
Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) released its latest policy advocacy report entitled Developing Hong Kong into an International Education Hub. The report emphasises that building an education hub is a key step to grooming future talents for new industry planning in Hong Kong, especially in the midst of a global talent war.
As Hong Kong faces the challenges of a shrinking labour force and an aging population, it is critical to attract top talents through providing world-class quality education. In fact, countries around the world, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Korea, and Japan, have developed national policies to build its education hub and increase non-local student intake. This does not only increase talent to support countries’ sustainable development but also propel socio-economic growth through tuition and other value-added services. In 2020, education services contributed to a significant portion of GDP in places like Australia (5.2%), the United Kingdom (6.3%), and the United States (5.6%), far higher than that of Hong Kong (1.4%).
Hong Kong currently has a golden opportunity to position itself as an international education hub. Having five top-100 universities globally, Hong Kong has been an attractive place for students from mainland China and overseas. Even so, admission rates for students from mainland China are only around 5-10% across tertiary programmes offered by University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities and self-financing institutions (SFIs), in some cases even lower. The current geopolitical climate also presents an opportunity to diversify the student sources by targeting top talents from ASEAN and Belt & Road countries.
To better leverage these opportunities, OHKF proposes the below policy framework with 9 policy recommendations to promote Hong Kong as the study destination of choice for students from all over the world. Students come to Hong Kong primarily to progress their studies, prepare themselves for future work, and gain international exposure. As such, promoting mutual recognition between mainland and Hong Kong qualifications and raising the regulatory cap for non-local students would remove hurdles for articulation, while fostering school-industry partnership with emerging industries and deepening synergies with the GBA would offer students augmented work readiness and international exposure.
Initiatives to bolster Hong Kong’s attractiveness must be supported by measures to enhance the study experience in Hong Kong. Living conditions, financial hurdles, and job opportunities upon graduation are all critical for talent attraction and retention.
Collectively, OHKF hopes these measures will boost Hong Kong as a preferred location for non-local students, enhance our status as an international education hub, and ultimately contribute to our sustainable development.
Our Hong Kong Foundation (OHKF) released its latest policy advocacy report entitled Developing Hong Kong into an International Education Hub. The report emphasises that building an education hub is a key step to grooming future talents for new industry planning in Hong Kong, especially in the midst of a global talent war.
As Hong Kong faces the challenges of a shrinking labour force and an aging population, it is critical to attract top talents through providing world-class quality education. In fact, countries around the world, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Korea, and Japan, have developed national policies to build its education hub and increase non-local student intake. This does not only increase talent to support countries’ sustainable development but also propel socio-economic growth through tuition and other value-added services. In 2020, education services contributed to a significant portion of GDP in places like Australia (5.2%), the United Kingdom (6.3%), and the United States (5.6%), far higher than that of Hong Kong (1.4%).
Hong Kong currently has a golden opportunity to position itself as an international education hub. Having five top-100 universities globally, Hong Kong has been an attractive place for students from mainland China and overseas. Even so, admission rates for students from mainland China are only around 5-10% across tertiary programmes offered by University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities and self-financing institutions (SFIs), in some cases even lower. The current geopolitical climate also presents an opportunity to diversify the student sources by targeting top talents from ASEAN and Belt & Road countries.
To better leverage these opportunities, OHKF proposes the below policy framework with 9 policy recommendations to promote Hong Kong as the study destination of choice for students from all over the world. Students come to Hong Kong primarily to progress their studies, prepare themselves for future work, and gain international exposure. As such, promoting mutual recognition between mainland and Hong Kong qualifications and raising the regulatory cap for non-local students would remove hurdles for articulation, while fostering school-industry partnership with emerging industries and deepening synergies with the GBA would offer students augmented work readiness and international exposure.
Initiatives to bolster Hong Kong’s attractiveness must be supported by measures to enhance the study experience in Hong Kong. Living conditions, financial hurdles, and job opportunities upon graduation are all critical for talent attraction and retention.
Collectively, OHKF hopes these measures will boost Hong Kong as a preferred location for non-local students, enhance our status as an international education hub, and ultimately contribute to our sustainable development.
