Repositioning university internationalisation under the Belt and Road policy

Professor Joshua Mok Ka-ho, Vice-President and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Comparative Policy, and Professor Shalendra Sharma, Associate Vice-President (Academic Quality Assurance and Internationalisation) and Lee Shau Kee Foundation Chair Professor of Political Science, attended the 2017 NAFSA Annual Conference & Expo held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California, USA. Professor Mok represented Hong Kong universities and made a presentation entitled “China’s Belt and Road Initiatives: The Quest for Education Hub and Hong Kong’s Opportunities” as part of the panel “Global Partner Session: China’s ‘Belt and Road Policy’ and Its Impact on University Internationalization” supported by the University Grants Committee. As a whole, the panelists from universities in Hong Kong and “Belt and Road” (B&R) countries discussed how B&R, China’s policy of seeking closer economic and political cooperation with Eurasia and Africa, had altered international exchanges. They shared model practices for helping students to prepare for workplaces that are not just Eurocentric but also B&R-oriented. The Session was well-received by the audience of professional international educators.

To support this initiative to promote student mobility between Hong Kong and the Asian and Eastern Europe countries along the Belt and Road (B&R), the Office of Global Education (OGE) has set a goal of encouraging more Lingnan students to move out of their comfort zones and to explore these countries. We are actively exploring strategic partnerships in the B&R regions. Our delegations visited mainland China, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Romania and Taiwan to connect with existing and new partners in the B&R regions to explore more opportunities for academic and cultural exchange collaborations. We have established new connections that will facilitate students’ mobility in the B&R regions.

In Summer 2017, we will subsidise our students’ participation in the 4-week The East and Central European Studies Summer Program offered by the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. Ten students will spend their summer in Prague, experiencing a new culture and taking liberal arts courses in a range of academic fields including history, politics, language, art and culture, film and literature. Another 10 students will be subsidised to participate in the Doing Business in Russia programme offered by Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics. Another group of 10 students will join the Entrepreneurship: Made in Kazakhstan programme offered by Almaty Management University, which will feature a visit to the World Expo 2017 Astana in Kazakhstan.

These exchange opportunities in the major developing economies in the B&R regions will provide students with unique learning experiences, will raise their cross-cultural awareness and will nurture their international outlook and their ability to thrive in a globalised world.

Group photo of participants in the Summer Programme at Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics in 2016

Participants in the Summer Programme organised by Charles University in Prague in 2017 enjoying river cruise during the orientation week