Education in the Asia-Pacifi c Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects 28 The Case of Hong Kong

Abstract

This timely book identifi es and addresses key issues, prospects and challenges con- cerning the internationalisation of higher education, with particular reference to the track record and recent experience in Hong Kong , as the Hong Kong government seeks to strengthen HK’s position in becoming an increasingly signifi cant education hub in Asia. An education hub is generally perceived as being an internationally oriented cen- tre for educational excellence, marked by a concentration of leading educational institutions; an educational centre able to attract high-quality international faculty and a large number of high-quality overseas students; and an educational centre that generates high-quality frontline research across a range of disciplines. In terms of societal characteristics, an education hub occurs in: a knowledge- driven society, with resources committed to the cultivation of new knowledge and capabilities; a society where new talent and creativity contribute to commercial enterprises in the business sector; a society where education is seen as a service industry operating through various channels, such as established institutions, e-learn- ing and external outreach (satellite campuses, partnerships, etc.); a society that valo- rises creativity, diversity, human capital, education and training; and a society that has a global vision for its students and for its educational institutions. Education hub s are often successful centres of business activity where knowledge- based industries and enterprises are able to recruit graduates from leading universities based in such centres. The perception in such societies is that there are multiple benefi ts (from such activities) for the society as a whole, both direct, in the form of revenues, and indi- rect, in the form of the development and enhancement of human capital. In terms of Hong Kong government policy, the 2009 Policy Address given by the chief executive of the time was signifi cant when it stated that the purpose of the development of education services [in Hong Kong] was to: enhance Hong Kong’s status as a regional education hub, boosting Hong Kong’s competitiveness and complementing future development of the mainland . Other