　　The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, led representatives of the University Grants Committee (UGC) and UGC-funded universities to attend the European Association for International Education (EAIE) Conference and Exhibition in Toulouse, France, on September 18 (France time) to promote Hong Kong's advantages as an international post-secondary education hub.
　　In her speech on Study in Hong Kong in a seminar at the event, Dr Choi said that Hong Kong is a vibrant, highly livable and diverse cosmopolitan city. With five publicly funded universities within the world's top 100, Hong Kong gathers talented students and exceptional academics from across the world, and is a cradle for future talent. Leveraging the strengths of a highly internationalised higher education sector, the Government is striving to develop Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub.
　　Dr Choi said that with the support of national policies, Hong Kong's higher education sector is committed to bolstering development of the "eight centres". Coupled with substantial government investment and collaborative efforts from industries, Hong Kong provides local and overseas students with diverse development prospects. Enjoying the dual advantage of being in close proximity to the motherland and strongly connected to the world, Hong Kong offers a multitude of opportunities to academics and students from abroad. She welcomed overseas counterparts to explore collaboration with Hong Kong's higher education sector.
The Secretary-General of the UGC, Professor James Tang, also addressed the seminar, highlighting how Hong Kong has leveraged the confluence of Chinese and foreign cultures to raise its reputation as an international hub for higher education, with four UGC-funded universities among the world's top 10 most-international universities. He shared the latest developments of the UGC-funded universities in teaching and learning as well as research. These include devoting resources to encourage universities to apply breakthrough technologies in transforming pedagogies and enriching students' learning experiences. In the latest round of the Research Assessment Exercise, around 80 per cent of impact case studies were rated as "outstanding" or "considerable", the two highest levels. These examples attest to the determination of Hong Kong's higher education sector to strive for excellence.
　　In addition, Dr Choi visited the Hong Kong Pavilion set up by the Heads of Universities Committee Standing Committee on Internationalisation (HUCOMSCI) and funded by the UGC to support the work of the publicly funded universities in expanding their global network and recruiting overseas students to study in Hong Kong. She also attended a seminar on higher education co-operation and exchanges between Hong Kong and France. Together with representatives of the UGC, the eight publicly funded universities and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, Dr Choi met representatives from universities in France and shared Hong Kong's latest developments in post-secondary education in the seminar. She welcomed students in France to pursue studies or conduct exchanges in Hong Kong.
　　Dr Choi also attended the Study in Hong Kong dinner organised by the HUCOMSCI. She introduced to overseas education experts Hong Kong's unique competitive edges in developing into a global post-secondary education hub, and encouraged more exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and the rest of the world on higher education development.
　　She said that Hong Kong's higher education sector is internationally renowned for its excellence in teaching quality and research capability. The Government has continued to support capacity expansion and quality enhancement of higher education institutions, and to strengthen co-operation with overseas institutions to attract more Mainland and overseas students to study in Hong Kong. Measures include doubling the admission quota of non-local students at government-funded post-secondary institutions to 40 per cent; increasing the quota of the Belt and Road Scholarship by 50 per cent; and providing an additional $100 million to encourage universities to offer students more exchange and learning opportunities outside Hong Kong, promoting internationalisation of local post-secondary education.
　　On September 19 (France time), Dr Choi met leaders of the EAIE. She said that the EAIE Conference and Exhibition is the largest university recruitment and networking event in Europe. A valuable platform for engagement with European partners, it has attracted some 6 700 higher education professionals from all over the world. She believed that the eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong would strengthen their co-operation and build partnerships with various European universities through participation in the event, bringing a range of exchange and learning opportunities for students.
On September 16 (France time), Dr Choi visited Lycée Professionnel L'Odyssée, a vocational and professional education and training (VPET) school in Lyon. She chatted with the teachers and students to understand the various VPET programmes and internships offered by the school, and VPET development pathways for local students. She also visited the Institut Universitaire de Technologie Lyon 1, a technical university in Lyon, toured its VPET facilities and met its leadership to learn about how the university strengthened co-operation with enterprises to provide VPET opportunities that blend theory and practice for students. Later, she paid a courtesy call on the acting Chinese Consul General in Lyon, Mr Li Zhenping, to introduce Hong Kong's latest education policies and initiatives.
　　On September 17 (France time), Dr Choi and Professor Tang met members of the HUCOMSCI attending the EAIE Conference and Exhibition in Toulouse. They discussed how to deepen institutional collaboration for further promotion of the Study in Hong Kong brand around the world and how to accelerate the development of Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education.
　　Dr Choi will conclude her visit and return to Hong Kong tomorrow (September 20).
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