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.
(A)
HER 2010
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.
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Sir Colin Lucas, Convenor of HERG,
and members at a Consultation Forum of HER 2010 held in September
2009
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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.
(B)
Internationalisation
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 |
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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.
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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".