Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Higher Education Industry in Hong Kong and Singapore: Reflections on a Decade of Expansion

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Managing International Connectivity, Diversity of Learning and Changing Labour Markets

Abstract

Aspiring to become a global city asserting for regional leadership, Hong Kong and Singapore identify themselves as regional education hubs. This chapter focuses on the development of the higher education industry in Hong Kong and Singapore over the last decade. The education hub notion was introduced during the concession period; thus, sustaining economic growth was considered the key reason for the education hub policy. However, this instrumentalist approach has stimulated tension between the global agenda and local needs. This chapter selects these issues to examine the significance of the concept of education hub in the future development of higher education in Hong Kong and Singapore. The chapter begins with a review of the globalization agenda in higher education. It subsequently analyses the development of education industry in the two city-states, which illustrates the connection between competitiveness and higher education development in the policy agenda. The chapter then critically examines the effects of the hub strategies adopted by the two city-states. The analysis focuses on the tension between the global agenda and local needs. Finally, this chapter discusses the prospect of the education hub vision, which explores the common trends and challenges facing higher education development at the post-massification stage in Hong Kong and Singapore.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Cheng, Y. C., Cheung, A. C. K., & Yuen, T. W. W. (2011). Development of a regional education hub: The case of Hong Kong. International Journal of Educational Management in Education, 25(5), 474–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Committee on University Education Pathways Beyond 2015 (CUEP). (2012). Greater diversity, more opportunities. Singapore: Ministry of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davie, S. (2012, 10 October). Foreign student numbers drop sharply after climbing steadily. The Straits Times.

    Google Scholar 

  • Education Bureau. (2013). HKSAR Government scholarship fund. http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/postsecondary/local-higher-edu/publicly-funded-programmmes/scholarship.html. Accessed 3 Nov, 2014.

  • Education Bureau. (2015). Recurrent funding for university grants committee-funded institutions in the 2015/16 roll-over year. http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr14-15/english/panels/ed/papers/ed20150112-edbhecr2204114-e.pdf. Accessed 5 Jan, 2015.

  • Gopinathan, S. (2007). Globalisation, the Singapore developmental state and education policy: A thesis revisited. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 5(1), 53–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopinathan, S., & Lee, M. H. (2011). Challenging and co-opting globalisation: Singapore’s strategies in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 33(3), 287–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, J. (2011). Education hubs, a fad, a brand, and innovation? Journal of Studies in International Education, 15(3), 221–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, J. (2013). Education hubs: International, regional and local dimensions of scale and scope. Comparative Education, 49(3), 374–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, A., & Maclean, R. (2011). Managing human capital in world cities: The development of Hong Kong into an education hub. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 31(3), 249–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H. L. (2011). Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong National Day Rally 2011 Speech. www.pmo.gov.sg/content/pmosite/mediacentre/speechesninterviews/primeminister/2011/August/Prime_Minister_Lee_Hsien_Loongs_National_Day_Rally_2011_Speech_in_English.html. Accessed 6 Nov, 2014.

  • Lee, H. L. (2012). Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong National Day Rally 2012 Speech. www.pmo.gov.sg/content/pmosite/mediacentre/speechesninterviews/primeminister/2012/August/prime_minister_leehsienloongsnationaldayrally2012speechinenglish.html. Accessed 6 Nov, 2014.

  • Lee, J. T. (2014). Education hubs and talent development: Policymaking and implementation challenges. Higher Education, 68(6), 807–823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, C. Y. (2014). The 2014 policy address: Support the Needy, let youth flouish, unleashing Hong Kong’s potential. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leung, C. Y. (2015). The 2015 policy address: Uphold the rule of law, seize the opportunities, make the right choices. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leung, M. W. H., & Waters, J. (2013). Transnational higher education for capacity development? An analysis of British degree programmes in Hong Kong. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 11(4), 479–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lim, H. K. (2012). Minister Lim Hng Kiang’s written reply to parliament questions on EDB’s global schoolhouse initiative. http://www.mti.gov.sg/NewsRoom/Pages/Minister-Lim-Hng-Kiang’s-written-reply-to-Parliament-Questions-on-EDB’s-Global-Schoolhouse-initiative.aspx. Accessed 10 Nov, 2014.

  • Lo, W. Y. W. (2014). Think global, think local: The changing landscape of higher education and the role of quality assurance in Singapore. Policy and Society, 33(3), 263–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, W. Y. W. (in press-a). A great leap forward: Changes and challenges for private higher education in Hong Kong. In M. Shah & S. Nair (Eds.), Global trends and changes in private higher education. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo, W. Y. W. (in press-b). Revisiting the notion of Hong Kong as a regional education hub. Higher education policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marginson, S. (2013). The impossibility of capitalist markets in higher education. Journal of Education Policy, 28(3), 353–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marginson, S., & van der Wende, M. (2007). Globalisation and higher education, OECD Education Working Paper No. 8. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mok, K. H. (2008). Varieties of regulatory regimes in Asia: The liberalization of the higher education market and changing governance in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. The Pacific Review, 21(2), 147–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mok, K. H. (2010). When state centralism meets neo-liberalism: Managing university governance change in Singapore and Malaysia. Higher Education, 60(4), 419–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mok, K. H., & Cheung, A. B. L. (2011). Global aspirations and strategising for world-class status: New form of politics in higher education governance in Hong Kong. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 33(3), 231–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Münch, R. (2014). Academic capitalism: Universities in the global struggle for excellence. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ng, P. T. (2013). The global war for talent: Responses and challenges in the Singapore higher education system. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 35(3), 280–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ng, P. T., & Tan, C. (2010). The Singapore global schoolhouse: An analysis of the development of the tertiary education landscape in Singapore. International Journal of Educational Management, 24(3), 178–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olds, K. (2007). Global assemblage: Singapore, foreign universities, and the construction of a “global education hub”. World Development, 35(6), 959–975.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oleksiyenkoa, A., Cheng, K.-M., & Yip, H.-K. (2013). International student mobility in Hong Kong: Private good, public good, or trade in services? Studies in Higher Education, 38(7), 1079–1101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2004). Internationalization and trade in higher education: Opportunities and challenges. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sidhu, R., Ho, K. C., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2014). Singapore: Building a knowledge and education hub. In J. Knight (Ed.), International education hubs: Student, talent, knowledge-innovation models (pp. 121–143). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Task Force on Economic Challenge (TFEC). (2009a). Recommendations from the task force on economic challenges for promoting the development of the six economic areas. Hong Kong: Task Force on Economic Challenge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Task Force on Economic Challenge (TFEC). (2009b). Summary of the focus group discussions on the six economic areas identified by the task force on economic challenges. Hong Kong: Task Force on Economic Challenge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teo, C. H. (2000). “Education towards the 21st century”—Singapore’s universities of tomorrow. Address by Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence at the Alumni International Singapore Lecture. www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp10012000.htm. Accessed 10 Oct, 2014.

  • Tsang, Y. K. (2009). The 2009 policy address: Breaking new ground together. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsang, Y. K. (2011). The 2011 policy address: from strength to strength. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tung, C. H. (2004). The 2004 policy address: Seizing opportunities for development promoting people-based governance. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

    Google Scholar 

  • University Grants Committee (UGC). (2004). Hong Kong higher education: To make a difference, to move with the times. Hong Kong: University Grants Committee.

    Google Scholar 

  • University Grants Committee (UGC). (2010). Aspirations for the higher education system in Hong Kong—Report of the University Grants Committee. Hong Kong: Universities Grants Committee.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verger, A. (2009). The merchants of education: Global politics and the uneven education liberalization process within the WTO. Comparative Education Review, 53(3), 379–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verger, A. (2010). WTO/GATS and the global politics of higher education. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waring, P. (2013). Singapore’s global schoolhouse strategy: Retreat or recalibration? Studies in Higher Education, 39(5), 874–884.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2003). Lifelong learning in the global knowledge economy. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Yeo, G. (2003). Singapore: The Global Schoolhouse. Speech by George Yeo, Minister for Trade and Industry. www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/speeches/view-html?filename=2003081602.htm. Accessed 15 Oct, 2014.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of International Education and Lifelong Learning, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong

    William Yat Wai Lo

Authors
  1. William Yat Wai Lo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William Yat Wai Lo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lingnan University , Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Ka Ho Mok

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lo, W.Y.W. (2017). Higher Education Industry in Hong Kong and Singapore: Reflections on a Decade of Expansion. In: Mok, K. (eds) Managing International Connectivity, Diversity of Learning and Changing Labour Markets. Higher Education in Asia: Quality, Excellence and Governance. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1736-0_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1736-0_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-1734-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-1736-0

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation