The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) hopes to further enhance Hong Kong’s position as a regional education hub and to bring about greater internationalization and diversification of the higher education sector, said Secretary for Education Michael Suen.

Speaking at an April 13 ceremony to honor 2009-10 recipients of the HKSARG Scholarships, Mr. Suen noted, “Internationalization is not just about attracting non-local students to come to study in Hong Kong.  

“It is about creating a diversified cultural and learning environment, and broadening the horizons of our students. It is about enabling non-local students to immerse in our society and enjoy the Hong Kong experience.”

He said non-local students act as a bridge between Hong Kong and the places they come from, as they develop both a deep understanding of Hong Kong and lifelong friendships within the local community.

Congratulating the local and non-local scholarship recipients, Mr. Suen said the awards are fitting testimony to the students’ academic performance, contribution to community service, leadership and communication skills.

This was the second year of the HKSARG Scholarships. Close to US$3.07 million was allocated to 441 students of nine publicly funded tertiary institutions.

The US$128.2 million HKSARG Scholarship Fund was established in 2008 to recognize outstanding local and non-local students. Its two goals are to convince outstanding local students to advance their studies at home and meritorious non-local students to pursue higher education opportunities in Hong Kong.

The scholarships are US$5,128 per year for each local student and US$10,256 for each non-local student.

The nine participating institutions are City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.