LU hosts roundtable discussion at QS Higher Education Summit China 2022
Lingnan University recently hosted a roundtable discussion on the theme of “Creating a New Destination Market” as part of the QS Higher Education Summit China 2022.
The international online event took place on 14 April, giving high-powered speakers the chance to examine issues surrounding student mobility, research exchanges, scholarship funding and partnerships between institutions at a time when diplomatic tensions and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic have brought all kinds of new challenges.
During the discussion, LU President Prof Leonard K Cheng noted that Hong Kong’s universities still face some operating constraints in admitting non-local students. These relate predominantly to UGC funding for undergraduate programmes, with a cap of around 20 per cent on mainland or overseas students, who have to pay higher tuition fees.
“We’re also working to establish joint schools or colleges with partners in the Greater Bay Area to enrich students’ learning experience and tap into the possibilities for research and co-supervision of PhD students.” Prof Cheng said. “The rise of China in terms of education and research capability will be the key driver for partnerships and student mobility. I see global education as a pyramid. For PhD programmes, the US will still be dominant, but for undergraduate, master’s and professional programmes, China will move up this global pyramid as the ‘local knowledge’ aspect starts to count more.”
Prof Shalendra Sharma, Associate Vice President (Quality Assurance and Internationalisation) expressed general confidence that the longer-term trend will see a beneficial expansion of two-way exchanges. This will be helped by the fact that China has an increasing number of world-class universities winning a reputation for advances in engineering, nanotechnology and green technology.
“The rise of China as a consequential global player will continue,” Prof Sharma said. “Most leading mainland universities now offer curriculums in Chinese and English, so transferring credits is not that much of a problem. But we are also trying to send some of our students to places off the beaten track, such as Jilin province, so they appreciate the differences and learn more about the country’s history and culture.”
Scholars joining the discussion were Prof Anthony Welch, Professor of Education at the University of Sydney in Australia, and Prof Shen Wenqin, Associate Professor at Peking University’s Graduate School of Education.
In other conference sessions, Prof Joshua Mok Ka-ho, Vice-President, contributed to a lively discussion on the topic of growth and opportunities, while two Research Assistant Professors, Dr Daisy Zhu and Dr Zhang Youliang, took part in a panel looking at the key subject of “Exporting Research” and how current practices and new initiatives are likely to develop.