Page 24 - Accelerating Research and Impact - Issue 5

Features
International students’ decisions on studying abroad
Five most popular destinations
United States
Hong Kong
United Kingdom
Japan
Taiwan
Five less preferred destinations
France
New Zealand
South Korea
Malaysia
Italy
21 Accelerating Research and Impact
STUDENTS VOICES & CHOICES
The international media report a number of cases showing Asian students and residents who have experienced discrimination or even assaults when wearing face masks in the UK, Europe and Australia. Such images will affect Chinese students’ plans and choices for international education.
It is against the context of confronting the COVID-19 pandemic that a Lingnan University research team distributed questionnaires to non-local students in Hong Kong and students in mainland China, asking them to share their plans regarding study overseas after the global health crisis in late April to early May 2020.
According to the survey, 84% of the respondents said they would choose not to study overseas and only 16% of the interviewees still have plans to study abroad when the global health crisis is over.
“Asian universities could benefit from the situation. Many parents are satisfied with how the region has handled the pandemic. They will consequently wish to send their children to nearby Asian countries to study,” Prof Joshua Ka Ho MOK, Vice-President said.
We also found that those students who had previous overseas learning experiences or had enrolled in transnational education programmes through the Sino-foreign cooperative universities based in mainland China showed more interest in pursuing higher degrees through international education. Their intention to study overseas is around 20% higher than the rest of the survey participants.