Chief Executive John Lee met University Grants Committee (UGC) members today to exchange views on the latest developments of higher education in Hong Kong. Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin and Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Lillian Cheong also joined the meeting.

UGC Chairman Tim Lui briefed the Chief Executive on the initiatives being taken forward by the committee to support the Education Bureau’s work.

The work included a partnership with the eight UGC-funded universities to attract more students from around the world to pursue education in Hong Kong under the Study in Hong Kong branding initiative, as well as the expanded co-operation between local higher education institutions and overseas and Mainland universities in student exchange and research collaboration.

Looking ahead, Mr Lui said the UGC will actively guide the universities in achieving the current-term Government’s targets on the ratio of students studying in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) disciplines and those related to the “eight centres” under the National 14th Five-Year Plan.

Mr Lee thanked the UGC members for their valuable insights, and recognised the committee’s progress in driving internationalisation, promoting innovation in teaching, and enhancing research impact.

He noted that the Government had drawn reference to the UGC’s recommendation and announced in last year’s Policy Address the development of Hong Kong into an international education hub for post-secondary education.

The Chief Executive also hoped that the UGC would continue to support universities in the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research, the nurturing of talent, as well as the transformation and commercialisation of research outcomes.

These could help Hong Kong dovetail with the development of new quality productive forces of the country, thereby injecting continuous impetus into the city’s high-quality development, he added.