Hong Kong’s secretary of education, Raymond H.C. Wong, went on a diplomatic tour this month to visit top universities and high schools in the United States as an effort to promote Hong Kong’s new status as an international academic center, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education in an article, “Hong Kong Shares Its Plans to Becomes a Major Academic Hub.”
“We want to develop Hong Kong as a regional education hub,” said Wong. “In this globalized world, we need to prepare our students to have a more global outlook.”
To achieve its new academic goals, Hong Kong will be revamping both its secondary and post-secondary educational systems, moving from the British-style system that it’s been working off of until now to a more American education system.
One major change is that undergraduate studies will now span a four-year period, rather than the European three. A stronger emphasis on liberal arts, critical thinking, and creative thinking will also be introduced into the curricula to foster a more American-style learning environment and to develop more well-rounded students.
Mr. Wong explains that “[t]he changes are meant to develop each student into a “whole person” with a global outlook that will help Hong Kong be more economically competitive.”
About 8,000 Hong Kong citizens are studying at American universities, plus more in Canada, Britain, and Australia. One of Mr. Wong’s goals is to make Hong Kong universities more compatible with schools in these countries, to create reforms that will line up Hong Kong’s academic requirements with those in other countries. This change will make it easier for students in Hong Kong to seek study abroad options.
Hong Kong’s goal of collaborating with American universities is two-fold: First, Hong Kong wants to be able to encourage its students to study abroad in the United States, and second, it wants to recruit students from abroad (particularly the U.S.) to come study on its eastern shores.
Wong explains that Hong Kong has greater appeal and a stronger competitive edge than some of its Southeast Asian neighbors because of its competency with the English language, its urban setting, and its unique mix of Eastern and Western cultures.
Related Accepted.com Resources:
- Study Abroad Numbers in Asia Remain Low, Despite International Attention
- Latin American Universities Embrace Globalized Education
- Duke University Continues to Expand Worldwide
- HBS Launches International Seminar Program
Want our news sent directly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Almanac by clicking here!
Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best
Read the full article: A New Academic Hub in Hong Kong
Related Articles
- » To Ph.D. or Not To Ph.D.?
- » London Business School Deadlines 2010-2011
- » My Bad–huge difference in this year’s Stanford goal question, Essay B
- » Admissions Director Q&A: Stephanie Fujii of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley
- » Clear Admit Career Services Director Q&A: J.J. Cutler of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania