We’ve seen the rise in their world university rankings. We’ve witnessed the influx of foreign students to their institutions. We have seen how they have progressed. This is no coincidence. This is the collective effort of hard work that Asian institutions have put in to compete with Europe’s elite.
Hong Kong universities in particular have excelled. Hong Kong led the rest of Asia with University of Hong Kong currently at position 22nd in the QS World University Rankings. Chinese University of Hong Kong is ranked 37th and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is ranked 40th.
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Japan meanwhile also has 3 universities in the top 50 rankings namely The University of Tokyo at position 25th, Kyoto University at position 32nd and Osaka University at position 45th respectively.
China has 2 respected universities in the top 50, namely Peking University at position 46th and Tsinghua University at position 47th. Singapore and South Korea each have a representative in National University of Singapore in position 28th and Seoul National University in position 42nd respectively. (Source: Top Universities)
Massive influx of foreign students
What does the growing reputation bring? Massive influx of foreign students! Foreign students who are vying to complete their studies in various disciplines are flooding into Asian institutions instead of going to Europe.
The Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has recently reported that the number of foreign students has almost doubled since 2007. According to the ministry’s statistics, the number of foreign undergraduate students increased from 2,454 in 2007 to 4,847 in the last academic year. (Source: Taipei Times)
Hong Kong is an attraction for many foreign students for various reasons. The government has raised the level of non-local students allowed to enroll at Hong Kong universities from 10 to 20 per cent, while relaxing immigration rules so that they can work here after graduation.
Many international students find Hong Kong attractive because of language affinity, academic freedom and a decent education offered at a low cost. (Source: Classified Post)
Asia is more than competition: Professor Simon Marginson
High profile universities in Asia, particularly small nations like Singapore and Hong Kong will soon rival those universities of North Western Europe.
Professor Marginson, the higher education expert from University of Melbourne said: “We can look at them as competitors and say we’ve got a problem, we’ve got to think about how to lift our game. But we can also look at them as partners, and say there’s plenty of opportunity to work with high quality research people in Asia.
He added: “We should be looking to find the right synergies – points where we’re strong and they’re weaker, and points where both are already advanced and can do better by pooling resources. Either way, it offers opportunities for collaboration. “(Source: The Australian)
Singapore ranked as 12th best city in the world for higher education
Yet another indicator of growing influence of Asian countries in higher education is the survey that came from QS. According to QS intelligence unit, Singapore has been rated as the 12th best city for higher education among the 98 competing cities, ranking better than cities such as Chicago and New York. (Source: The Star)
