Three of Asia’s top five university places went to Hong Kong in a ranking released on Tuesday, with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) securing the top spot.
The City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) was in the top five for the first time, advancing three places to fourth, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) moved up two places to fifth, according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings 2027.
This marked Hong Kong’s strongest showing in the rankings since the 2011 edition. Peking University and Tsinghua University, both in Beijing, took second and third place respectively.
Fudan University in Shanghai and the National University of Singapore tied for sixth, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore ranked eighth.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) tied for ninth place.
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) climbed three places to 50th, marking its best performance since 2015. The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) rose 30 spots to 122nd, while Lingnan University climbed 36 spots to 145th, which put it among the region’s top 10 percent.
QS Senior Vice-President Ben Sowter said Hong Kong maintained Asia’s benchmark for university performance. He credited the institutes’ greater international engagement and rising recognition among academics and employers with strengthening the city’s edge as a global education hub.
Hong Kong aims to draw more nonlocal students and top global innovators through its high-quality higher education system, as outlined in its first local five-year plan.
The plan sets a target of 100,000 nonlocal students in tertiary education by the 2029-30 school year.
A total of 1,722 institutions from 26 Asian countries and regions were assessed using 11 indicators, including academic and employer reputation, citation-related criteria, faculty-student ratio, and the proportions of international faculty and students.
QS said Hong Kong institutions performed well in internationalization, scoring an average of 98.5 for the proportion of international students and 96.2 for international faculty, both substantially above Asian averages.
In a social media post, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin called the results “encouraging”, saying they cement Hong Kong’s position as an international post-secondary education hub.
She said the government will continue to support local universities in reaching new heights through policy measures, including advancing the development of the Northern Metropolis University Town, attracting world-class researchers and students, and deepening cross-border and international academic collaboration.
HKU President and Vice-Chancellor Zhang Xiang said proactive changes in recent years had helped the university hold Asia’s top spot for a second year running.
He said the institute will continue to attract world-class global talent and encourage academic exploration to help Hong Kong develop as an international education and innovation center and contribute to solutions to global challenges.
Lee Chun-sing, acting president of CityUHK, said the university’s encouraging performance showed that its strategy to recruit leading academics from around the world and nurture outstanding talent was bearing fruit.
CUHK said the ranking reflected its continued excellence in teaching quality, research capability and global outlook. “Moving forward, CUHK will continue to pursue excellence, deepen global collaboration and contribute to knowledge advancement and societal progress locally, nationally and globally,” it said.
HKUST, PolyU, HKBU and EdUHK all welcomed the results, while reaffirming their ongoing commitment to quality education, frontier research and innovation as contributions to Hong Kong’s progress as an international postsecondary education hub.
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
