The Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Universities Summit was opened here Wednesday, gathering academic leaders from around the world to discuss the development and future of Asian universities.
The three-day summit, themed “The Asian University in 2050,” was co-organized by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Times Higher Education.
Phil Baty, chief global affairs officer of the THE, said at the summit that Asian universities, especially those in the Chinese mainland, have made encouraging progress in the THE rankings in recent years, thanks to policy support and continued investment in education and research.
Baty said that university rankings have become a communication platform for universities in different parts of the world to cooperate with each other and enhance their understanding of each other.
Christine Choi, secretary for education of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, said at the summit that in 2023, five of publicly funded universities in Hong Kong are among the top 100 universities in the world according to the THE rankings. This demonstrated the global influence of Hong Kong’s higher education.
Choi said that to tie in with the national 14th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong will strengthen exchanges and cooperation with universities in other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Rocky Tuan, CUHK’s vice-chancellor and president, said universities have a unique convening power to bring together people from different cultures, countries, languages, systems and economies.
“I believe this Summit represents the very best of what we all stand for and who we aspire to be,” Tuan said.
