Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin addresses the ceremony marking the designation of the Hong Kong Metropolitan University as Hong Kong's first university of applied sciences on March 21, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG –The Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) has met all the criteria to become the first university of applied sciences in the territory, the Education Bureau said Thursday.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the university's designation as a UAS, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said this milestone for HKMU also signifies the Hong Kong SAR government's commitment to raising the status of vocational and professional education and training (VPET) at the university degree level, providing youths with an alternative pathway to success.

Choi said the HKMU had demonstrated its vision, commitment, and capabilities in providing high-level VPET programs that blend theory and practice, with the strong support from industries

Choi said the HKMU had demonstrated its vision, commitment, and capabilities in providing high-level VPET programs that blend theory and practice, with the strong support from industries.

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A review by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications showed that the university was qualified based on its based on its governance, management and quality assurance; learning environment and learner support; and industry collaboration and recognition.

Founded by the HKSAR government in 1989 as the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong, the HKMU became the city’s first self-financing university in 1997, focusing on practical and professional programs.

In the 2023/24 academic year, the HKMU operated more than 140 self-financing post-secondary programs, primarily focusing on professional and practical disciplines, ranging from Levels 4 to 7 under the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework, with about 13.800 full-time and 6,200 part-time students in total. It currently operates two applied degree programs.

Deputy Secretary for Education Esmond Lee Chung-sin (center); President of the Hong Kong Metropolitan University Paul Lam Kwan-sing (left); and Executive Director of the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications Albert Chow (right) host a media briefing at the ceremony marking the designation of the HKMU as Hong Kong's first university of applied sciences on March 21, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

The HKSAR government has granted a start-up fund of HK$100 million ($12.79 million) under the 2024-25 Budget to further encourage the development of universities of applied sciences in the city and their collaboration with their counterparts in the Chinese mainland and overseas.

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Self-financing post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong planning to apply to be designated as a university of applied sciences should have a university title and the vision, commitment, capabilities and experience in operating an institution that embodies the key features of a UAS, the government said.