Globalisation has changed the world's higher education sector - into one which is expected to nurture globally competitive graduates. It is the common goal of the Administration, the UGC and the entire higher education sector to internationalise our institutions in order to rise to the challenges of globalisation. Indeed, the Chief Executive announced in his 2009-10 Policy Address initiatives further to develop education services to enhance Hong Kong's status as the regional education hub, including the initiative further to internationalise our institutions.

The world of higher education is moving very quickly and Hong Kong cannot afford to lag behind. We have an excellent base to build on, but the future of Hong Kong's higher education depends on our strategies today. It is against this background that the UGC in 2009 embarked on the Higher Education Review 2010 (HER 2010), which is also a follow-on to the "Higher Education in Hong Kong" published by the UGC in 2002 (HER 2002). HER 2010 will examine the development of the higher education sector in the context of the entire landscape of the post-secondary education, with particular emphasis on the degree awarding sector.

The UGC has established a Higher Education Review Group (HERG) to take forward the Review, which is led by Sir Colin Lucas, a senior UGC member. HERG will review progress made on the recommendations of the HER 2002, having regard to the present higher education landscape in Hong Kong. It will also identify new issues facing Hong Kong's higher education sector and to discern world trends with a view to recommending strategies for the future development of the sector, with particular emphasis on:

a. vision and role of higher education in Hong Kong;

b. the demand for and provision of higher education opportunities and the increase in the diversity of higher
    education;

c. quality assurance for higher education;

d. research support strategy and research funding mechanism;

e. relationships and collaboration among providers of higher education from a system perspective;

f. the position of higher education in Hong Kong in the context of globalization and the value of
　internationalisation generally, and the rapid development of higher education in Mainland China and the
　region specifically; and

g. other matters that are relevant to the main purpose of the review.

The UGC would like the Review to be fully informed by views from stakeholders. Therefore, HERG has been consulting widely. We invited views from the public in May 2009, conducted in-depth discussions with a wide spectrum of stakeholders and, in September 2009, conducted two consultation fora for institutional staff and students. Another round of consultation fora will be conducted in April 2010.

Sir Colin Lucas, Convenor of HERG, and members at a Consultation Forum of HER 2010 held in September 2009

The UGC aims to come up, within 2010, a forward looking document that can assist the Administration and the community in reflecting the purposes of higher education, perceived world trends, and hence the strategies for Hong Kong's higher education system. This Review will be a major focus of the UGC in 2010.

The UGC is gratified by the Administration's policy initiative further to internationalise our institutions with a view to enhancing Hong Kong's status as the regional education hub. The UGC believes that internationalisation will help diversify the local higher education sector, enhance cultural exchanges, and broaden the horizons of local students. Starting from the 2008/09 academic year, the UGC-funded institutions are allowed to increase, in phases, the non-local student quota for publicly-funded programmes at the sub-degree, degree and taught postgraduate levels from 10% to 20% of the approved student number targets. The percentage of non-local students in institutions has been on the rise:

Chart 1: Non-local Student Enrolment (Headcount) of UGC-funded Programmes, 2005/06 to 2009/10

Note: Figures in brackets denote percentages of non-local students to total student enrolment.

The UGC-funded institutions fully appreciate the importance of internationalisation, and have been trying hard to recruit quality non-local students. In 2009/10 academic year, the institutions recruited 1 651 first year first degree non-local students from the Mainland and other places, accounting for about 11% of the planned intake. The UGC-funded institutions also continued with numerous student exchange activities in 2009. They have by now established academic links with institutions from all round the world. The UGC is pleased that institutions can and are using part of the funding raised from the Matching Grant Schemes for supporting student exchanges.

Chart 2: Non-local Student Enrolment (Headcount) of UGC-funded Programmes by Institution and Place of Origin, 2009/10

Chart 3: Incoming and Outgoing Exchange Students by Institution and Source/Destination in 2008/09

The successful implementation of internationalisation requires more than the recruitment of non-local students. There are other aspects such as internationalisation of faculty members, review of programmes and curriculum, and international or cross boundary collaboration at the institution and project levels. With UGC's support, the Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM) organised a symposium titled "Internationalisation of Higher Education in Hong Kong: Opportunities and Challenges" in October 2009 to reflect on related issues on internationalisation.

HUCOM's Symposium on Internationalisation held on 31 October 2009

The UGC will continue to work closely with the Administration and UGC-funded institutions to attract more quality non-local students and deepen internationalisation. Indeed the RGC launched a Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme in the year partly to attract the best and brightest students from around the world to undertake RPg education in Hong Kong. More details can be found the chapter "Activities Review - Research".