The city’s education chief, Choi Yuk-lin, on Tuesday said the bureau is considering seeking support from the nation for the city’s endeavor to establish the "Study in Hong Kong" brand in a bid to make the city an international hub for post-secondary education.

Revealing the move at a media luncheon, Choi said Hong Kong is well-positioned to become a global education hub, citing its exceptional education quality, robust basic research capabilities and effective knowledge transfer mechanisms.

The city’s high-quality education has propped up its positioning of eight centers, as manifested in the nation’s 14th Five-Year Plan, which will conclude this year, Choi said.

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Establishing the "Study in Hong Kong" brand was first proposed by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his Policy Address in October to buttress the city’s appeal to talent. In particular, Lee proposed encouraging overseas talent — especially from ASEAN and Belt and Road countries — to study in the city by offering scholarships and other incentives.  

With the completion of infrastructures in Belt and Road countries and regions, exchanges between Hong Kong and those regions are bound to pick up quickly, Choi said.

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Those overseas students can then help anchor the ever-increasing people-to-people exchanges and facilitate trade using their first-hand study experience in the city, she added.

According to the government, since the 2016-17 academic year, over 680 students from 49 Belt and Road countries and regions have been awarded scholarships to study in Hong Kong. The quota for Belt and Road scholarships has been expanded from 100 annually to 150 in the 2024-25 academic year.

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There were 23,100 non-local students studying in the city in the 2023-24 academic year, marking a new record. The figure has increased by about 20 percent over the past five years.

Choi said the government aims to host international education conferences and exhibitions in 2026, and to attend education fairs hosted this year in places like Europe to actively promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand.

She also said that the brand will be extended to high schools when the time is ripe.

In December, the city’s eight publicly funded universities co-organized the Hong Kong Partners Week, inviting 58 overseas university partners, to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand and strengthen bonds with overseas universities.