January 15, 2024
HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s Education Bureau is set to partner with the city’s universities in 2024 to recruit students from overseas, especially in the Middle East and Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, as the students can help attract enterprises from their home countries to explore business opportunities in the city.
The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will also provide more guidance and fiscal supports to aid vocational education, officials from the EDB said at a media luncheon on Friday.
The government will allocate funding in the 2024 Budget to form the Alliance of Universities in Applied Sciences, which was proposed in the 2023 Policy Address, supporting further development of vocational education and training, said Li
Undersecretary for Education Jeff Sze Chun-fai said the promotion will begin in Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, adding that he observed local people’s interest in studying in Hong Kong during an earlier visit to Dubai. He noted that local universities are also interested in attracting students from ASEAN countries and India.
Overseas students can help enterprises from their home countries to tap into Hong Kong’s market, Sze said.
According to the SAR government’s latest policy address, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu vowed to build “universities of applied sciences” to boost vocational education, with the aim of setting up the first such university this year.
Permanent Secretary for Education Michelle Li Mei-sheung said the government will publish a road map this month, providing guidelines for self-funded education institutions to develop into “universities of applied sciences”.
The government will allocate funding in the 2024 Budget to form the Alliance of Universities in Applied Sciences, which was proposed in the 2023 Policy Address, supporting further development of vocational education and training, said Li.
As for local students’ development, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said the government is dedicated to cultivating students’ international perspectives through education. She said the EDB will offer opportunities to help students learn more about foreign cultures, especially those countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
At the beginning of the event, Choi, Li and Sze tried brewing a pot of Hong Kong-style milk tea with the help of students from the International Culinary Institute, where the luncheon was held.
Choi said that just like milk tea brewers use tea leaves from around the world to get a good mixture of tastes, Hong Kong needs talented people from different parts of the world to build a better city.