Hong Kong Universities Increase Efforts to Attract Int’l Students Amidst Surge in Chinese Enrollment

Public universities in Hong Kong are actively working to attract more international students, especially after a surge in Chinese students in the city, which have now exceeded the record figure of 10,000 at these institutions.

Data indicate that Chinese students now account for 70 percent of all non-locals at universities in Hong Kong, Erudera.com reports.

According to figures from the University Grants Committee (UGC), which allocates funding to the city’s public universities, nearly 14,800 international undergraduate students are enrolled at the eight higher education institutions across the region.

Of this number, 10,358 students are from China, and the remaining 4,400 are from the rest of the world. The number of Chinese students moving to Hong Kong to pursue studies increased by 50 percent from six years ago to over 70 percent.

The eight universities which receive funding from the UGC are:

• City University of Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Baptist University
• Lingnan University
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong
• The Hong Kong Institute of Education
• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• The University of Hong Kong

Between the 2019/20 and 2021/22 academic years, these universities recorded an increase from 12,349 to 13,376 international or non-local students, with about 65 percent hailing from China.

The number of Chinese students in Hong Kong has been on the rise since enrollment information was first available in the 1996/97 academic year. Back then, the academic year started with only five students.

Hong Kong universities want to specifically focus on India when it comes to recruiting international students. However, institutions say they are aware of the competition because India is one of the main source countries of international students in several top study destinations.

Recently, countries like Finland and France have announced plans to attract more Indian students in the upcoming years. In France, the target is 30,000 Indian students by 2030.

India, on the other hand, wants itself to attract more international students, setting the most significant target of 500,000 by 2047.

Authorities in Hong Kong have worked on policies to attract talented immigrants, including international students. One of these initiatives is the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS), which was launched in 2022.

Under TTPS, individuals who earn sufficient income and graduate with diplomas from the world’s top 100 universities and who have a minimum of three years of work experience in the past five years will be eligible for visa grants.