Why HK
With the rising importance of Asia in global dynamics, Hong Kong is often described as "Asia's World City". It is one of the world's leading financial centres, an international hub for business, a gateway to China and a springboard to other Asian cities.
Asian universities have become a force to be reckoned with. Three out of the top 10 Asian universities in the QS World University Rankings 2011/12 were from Hong Kong, with HKU topping the list!
Despite the economic downturn in 2008-2009, Hong Kong’s economy gradually recovered towards the end of 2009 and it remains a very competitive economy. Graduating from a university in Hong Kong allows you to establish a social network here in Hong Kong and prepare yourself for a career and business opportunities. You could be one of these graduates!
Ranked as the most culturally integrated economy in the world (Globalization Index, 2010), Hong Kong has a unique blend of Eastern and Western cultures inherited from our cultural past.
Known as one of the world’s safest cities in a United Nations survey, Hong Kong stands out as a city with a remarkably low crime rate when compared to most other Asian and Western countries.
Gorgeous night views, towering skyscrapers, fashionable stores, street markets, and extraordinary culinary outlets are some of the many exciting facets of Hong Kong, while neighbouring Asian countries and their diverse cultures are within easy reach for weekends, "Reading Weeks", or vacations!
Why HKU
1.Renowned Tradition
(1)Transcending Boundaries
Over the past century, HKU has evolved from a minor institution in a colonial outpost into the best university in Asia and one of the top universities in the world, located in a global financial centre. Like the city in which it is rooted, HKU has achieved great things by being many things- not solely East or West, British or Chinese, but all of these together.
From its founding, the University has sought to transcend borders and cultures. In 1911 the British rulers of Hong Kong saw HKU as a vehicle for promoting Western technology and values in the region. The University’s Chinese backers, who provided a large share of its funding, saw it as a means to equip Chinese students with essential modern knowledge and perspectives so they could help society to advance.
(2)HKU’s motto is in 2 parts, one Chinese the other Latin, reflecting our scholarly reach across East and West; “sapientia et virtus”, translates as wisdom and virtue while “mingde gewu” means illustrious virtue and the investigation of things.
(3)Alma Mater of Father of Modern ChinaOf HKU’s early alumni, the most renowned was Dr Sun Yat-sen, the founder of modern China. He studied at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, the predecessor of HKU’s Faculty of Medicine. He visited HKU and made a public address on February 20, 1923 and started off by saying:
"I feel as though I have returned home, because Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong are the birth place of my knowledge."
Public address by Dr Sun Yat-sen
at HKU's Loke Yew Hall on February 20, 1923
2.Academic Excellence:Best-qualified Students
HKU has the best overall entrance examination scores of any university in Hong Kong and has the top Mainland student examination scores.
HKU received 25,000 undergraduate applications for 2012 admissions from students outside Hong Kong schools system. In comparison to 2011, the international application numbers have grown by 44% as well as an increase in diversity of countries of application (96 countries) including 13 countries such as Argentina, Ethiopia, Iceland, Iraq and Jamaica that HKU received applications from for the first time. In addition to reaching new regions, HKU continuously put in efforts to outreach quality students from India, Korea and Malaysia, and they are now becoming the largest population of international undergraduates on campus. Students from Mainland China also form a large part of the population. More than 10,000 applications were received from Mainland and these applicants’ results made them eligible to get into the top university in their province.
HKU works to strive for excellence through admitting outstanding students. This year, four admitted students achieved full GSAT score (scoring 75 out of a maximum of 75) from Taiwan, and 10 admitted students achieved 4*or above in their GCE Advanced Level Examination. Students achieved outstanding results of ATAR 99.8 (out of a maximum 100); IB 45 (out of a maximum of 45); and SAT 2400 (out of a maximum 2400) also chose HKU as their undergraduate study destination.
Top-tier staff
About 45% of academic staff members are drawn from overseas. 94% of teachers have PhD and/or higher professional qualifications who excel in research.
3.International Recognition:
Asia's No. 1HKU is named the best university in the whole of Asia in QS Asian University Rankings (in May 2009 & 2010) and THE World University Rankings (in Sep 2010). Again in 2011 and 2012, the University remains the top in Asia under the QS World University Rankings.
World's No. 23Continuing its legacy as a leading university in Asia, The University of Hong Kong has received a QS World University Rankings of 23rd Best University in the World for 2012. Following suit in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (powered by Thomson Reuters), HKU earned the title of 35th Best University in the World for 2012-2013.
World-wide connectionsYou are able to conduct full year or short-term exchanges on a full credit-transfer basis with more than our 150 overseas partners, including some of the world's oldest and finest seats of learning.
Leadership in Asia
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) recognises HKU as a leading tertiary education institution in Asia. In 2004, HKU was selected as the official WTO training centre for the Asia-Pacific Region, and has since been running regional trade policy courses for government officials from over 30 jurisdictions in the region.
4.Comprehensive University
HKU is a comprehensive university offering, at present, over 35 undergraduate programmes covering some 50 major areas of study. We endeavour to provide you with a broad-based education across different disciplines with a global perspective, in order to develop your intellectual and personal strengths.
5.Strong Alumni Network
Across-the-world alumni network
HKU has an extensive alumni network in Hong Kong and worldwide – over 75 local alumni groups and 21 offshore associations – which enable YOU to stay tuned with HKU after you have graduated. You can further enchance your learning experiences by joining various alumni events that take place around the world.
HKU has alumni groups in:
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong
Japan, Malaysia, Singapore
New South Wales, Australia, New Zealand
UK British Columbia, Ontario
New York, New England, Washington
6.Pioneer in Research
Top Research University
In the annual General Research Fund exercise and the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme by the Research Grants Council (RGC, the major source of local institutional funding for research), HKU attained the highest number of awards of any University Grants Committee-funded institution (UGC), with 196 winning proposals in the year 2012-2013. HKU also secured the largest amount of funding of HK$151M from the total yearly allocation of HK$517M by the RGC General Research Fund Award scheme. HKU has secured the largest amount of funding of any UGC-funded institution from the RGC GRF Awards for 11 successive years. For more details onHKU’s research statistics, click here
There are many opportunities for undergraduates to apply for research internships in one of our professors' laboratories. This is one of the ways in which you can further develop your enthusiasm and interest in your discipline, as well as providing you with deeper intellectual challenges in the area. 111 HKU professoriate staff have been ranked by the Institute for Scientific Information as being among the world's top 1% of scientists, based on the number of citations recorded for their publications. HKU’s Research Centres and Institutes can be viewed here.
Our international research collaborations also enable a few talented undergraduate students to take up a research internship during the summer at other world-renowned laboratories (e.g. Princeton, Cambridge, NASA, MIT, CalTech and European Space Agency)
State Key Laboratories
The Chinese government indicates its confidence in HKU's high standards of research by accrediting four of the University’s laboratories as state key laboratories (SKLs), which are considered crucial in the country’s national research programme in science and technology. Two of the SKLs, Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Emerging Infectious Diseases, were set up in 2005, and were then the first and only SKLs in their respective fields located outside of mainland China.
Two more SKLs, Liver Research and Synthetic Chemistry, were established in 2010. SKLs are regarded as key components of China's science and technology research system. They serve as the base for top-level basic research and applied basic research development, assembling and nurturing outstanding researchers, as well as scholarly exchanges for the country.
State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases
State Key Laboratory for Liver Research
State Key Laboratory of Synthetic Chemistry
Collaborative Research
HKU Scholars Hub
HKU has a wide range of expertisefor collaborative and contract research, which can be searched through the institutional repository of the University – The HKU Scholars Hub. The Hub strives to make HKU authors and their research very visible, with the goal of increasing all forms of collaboration.
Technology Transfer Office
More than 1,000 patent applications related to discoveries at HKU have been filed in recent years. Our deep ties with industry have become a springboard for new research projects, broader educational opportunities, and collaborative investments.
Two offices smooth the process of connecting our inventions and research know-how with the marketplace: the Technology Transfer Office (TTO)and our commercial arm, Versitech Ltd.
HKU has established close research partnership with leading institutions:
AIDS Institute, in partnership with the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York
HKU-Pasteur Research Centre, in partnership with the Institut Pasteur of Paris.
7.Career Prospect
HKU Graduates – The Most Sought After By Employers
In an annual poll carried out by HKU's Public Opinion Poll, 1,200 people were involved in a random telephone survey, including 240 employers. In 2012’s poll, employers named HKU graduates as the most preferred employees they would like to hire, for the eleventh consecutive year.Respondents also ranked HKU the top university when asked about their general opinions of the performances of universities in Hong Kong.
Increasing number of HKU graduates joining the Engineering and Architectural sectors
Summary
The Careers and Placement Section of the HKU Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) released on May 10, 2012 the latest findings of the employment situation of its 2011 undergraduates. The key figures are:
Full employment for the sixth consecutive year (99.7%), same rate as in 2010
As economy remains sounded, slightly more graduates went for employment, while slightly less opted for further studies
Graduates working with the Engineering and Architectural industries increased by 2.2 percentage points as compared with 2010, probably due to the launching of a number of large scale infrastructure and construction projects last year, generating more job opportunities and better service conditions.
Business services combined with financial institutions continued to account for the largest sector of employment, which reflected the importance of the two sectors to HK's economy and labour market.
Average gross salary increased by 5.8%. Among the different sectors, the highest increase was in the commerce & industry, and followed by the sector of community, social & personal service.
Across the salary ranges, majority of respondents fell in the range between $15,000 and $24,999. Proportion of those in the range of $14,999 or below has decreased.
Survey methodology
The survey was conducted in the form of questionnaires to all 3,975 full-time graduates at all levels of the University. A total of 3,535 graduates replied, representing a response rate of 88.9%. Among the Bachelor Degree graduates, the response rate was 92.1%.
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