Hong Kong universities climb in global rankings despite funding cuts
Six public universities in Hong Kong have improved their positions in a global ranking.
The city's oldest institution, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has risen to 11th place, surpassing two prestigious universities in mainland China.
According to the education information firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the new 'Study in Hong Kong' initiative is expected to help attract global talent and strengthen the city's reputation as a leading academic destination, even amid recent government funding cuts.
In the latest edition of QS's world rankings, released on Thursday, HKU climbed to 11th place, up from 17th last year and 26th in 2023. This marks the university's best ranking since the league table was established in 2004.
It was just one spot behind the California Institute of Technology in the United States. The mainland's Peking University maintained its 14th place, while Tsinghua University rose three spots to 17th.
HKU also ranked second in Asia, after the National University of Singapore, which maintained its eighth position globally.
QS said HKU was the local leader across four indicators, performing particularly well in academic reputation and graduate employability.
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Other universities in Hong Kong also climbed in the rankings, with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) rising four spots to 32nd for its best placing since 2010.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) jumped three places from 47th to 44th, a performance mirrored by Polytechnic University (PolyU), which went from 57th to 54th.
City University (CityU) was the only Hong Kong institution to fall in the rankings, slipping from 62nd to 63rd.
The latest results mean Hong Kong still boasts five universities in the top 70 globally.
Baptist University also jumped from 252nd to 244th, the biggest rise among its local peers.
Lingnan University improved from the 711th to 720th range to the 701st to 710th range.
The Education University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Metropolitan University joined the rankings for the first time, placing 530th and in the 781st to 790th range, respectively.
QS said the ranking exercise was its largest to date, featuring more than 1,500 universities across 106 jurisdictions.
The United States had the most universities in the league table, with 192, followed by the UK with 90 and the mainland with 72.
QS senior vice-president Ben Sowter said Hong Kong had reinforced its position as a stand-out force in global higher education, making some of the most significant gains in the latest rankings and having more than half of its institutions in Asia's top 100.
HKUST jumped three places in its global ranking, from 47th to 44th. Photo: Yik Yeung-man
'Its rise is driven by growing academic influence, world-class research and international engagement,' he said. 'Yet, financial pressures loom, prompting institutions to draw on reserves as public funding tightens.'
But he added initiatives such as the 'Study in Hong Kong' brand should help lure global talent and ensure the city kept its reputation for 'academic and research excellence'.
HKU president and vice-chancellor Xiang Zhang said: 'This historic achievement affirms HKU's emergence as a global elite institution and exemplifies the relentless pursuit of excellence by the entire University community.
'As a leader in higher education, HKU actively promotes Hong Kong as a premier hub for global talent to study, innovate and conduct research.'
CUHK president Dennis Lo Yuk-ming said this year's results fully demonstrated the university's solid academic achievements and fruitful research results, as well as its leading position among world-class universities.
A spokesman for HKUST said the rise of three places to 44th demonstrated its commitment to academic excellence and groundbreaking research.
A spokesman for the PolyU said its result was the best so far and reflected that the university's academic and research excellence was internationally recognised, attesting to its influence and achievements in global higher education
CityU's spokesman noted the university ranked first in Asia in the 'citations per faculty' indicator.
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A spokesman for Baptist University said it was delighted to be recognised as one of the top 250 universities in the world and viewed the ranking as an important demonstration of its ongoing commitment to excellence in teaching, learning and research standards.
A spokesman for Hong Kong Metropolitan University said its debut in the rankings further cemented its status as the city's first self-financing tertiary institution. It was also the first local university of applied sciences to achieve such a recognition, he added.
In February, the government decided to slash the funding for public universities by HK$2.8 billion (US$356,690) in the coming three academic years, resulting in a 4 per cent average reduction rate.
In an unprecedented move, the government also said it would claw back HK$4 billion from the reserves of the city's eight public universities.
This year's world rankings were based on nine indicators: academic reputation; reputation among employers; academic staff to student ratio; citations per faculty; international faculty ratio; international student ratio; sustainability; employment figures; and international research network.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology retained the crown with first place globally for the 14th consecutive year.
It was followed by Imperial College London, which held onto second place. In third was Stanford University, which climbed three positions.
The University of Oxford and Harvard University both dropped one place to rank fourth and fifth. respectively. The University of Cambridge fell from fifth to sixth.
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List TWO measures that have been proposed to improve the working conditions of gig workers in Hong Kong. 3. How do experts and lawmakers differ in their views on balancing worker protections and job flexibility in the gig economy? Explain using Issue and your own knowledge. Glossary labour protections: legal and human rights relating to labour relations between workers and employers. In Hong Kong, this could include benefits such as sick pay and compensation for work-related injuries. gig economy: a labour market commonly characterised by temporary or freelance work, usually through digital platforms such as Uber and Foodpanda minimum wage: the lowest hourly or daily pay that employers are legally required to offer workers. The statutory minimum wage in Hong Kong is HK$42.10 per hour, effective May 1, 2025. aggressive algorithms: automated systems used by platforms to monitor and manage gig workers, often penalising them for minor delays or pushing them to complete more orders in a short amount of time Sample answers News 1. C 2. Striking delivery workers have demanded better protections, including employee status, annual leave, sick leave, and a pension. (accept any two answers) 3. Food delivery workers like Lam want the government to regulate the gig economy so they can gain access to basic employment protections such as annual leave, sick leave, and pension benefits. Currently, most gig workers are classified as self-employed, which means they are not entitled to protections under laws like the Employment Ordinance or the Employees' Compensation Ordinance. This leaves them vulnerable, especially in the case of work-related accidents, despite often working long hours and earning relatively high incomes. Photo 1. Delivery workers need to take extreme care because they lack basic labour protections and are usually not covered by employee benefits. As mentioned in the text, if Lam has a work-related accident, he will receive little compensation and no paid sick leave, since gig workers are typically classified as self-employed. From a practical standpoint, they also face physical risks, such as road accidents, due to long working hours, fatigue, or adverse weather conditions, yet they have no safety net to rely on if they are injured. 2. People might choose gig jobs because of the possibility of high pay, the flexibility of the working hours, the ease of signing up for and leaving such positions, or because it is difficult to find a full-time white-collar job. (accept all reasonable answers) Illustration 1. Delivery workers hope the government will require companies to offer full-time contracts with clear terms on pay and injury compensation and create a legal framework that deters illegal workers and provides basic labour protections, such as a minimum wage and holiday pay. 2. The roadblocks symbolise the major challenges and uncertainties faced by gig workers, such as food delivery riders. 'Labour Protections' refers to the lack of basic rights such as sick leave, injury compensation, and paid holidays, while 'Pay rates' represents declining earnings and the unstable income structure after events like Deliveroo's exit from Hong Kong. These obstacles make it difficult for gig workers to move forward securely in their careers. Issue 1. A 2. Introduce a legal definition for gig workers and create a platform for industry stakeholders to communicate / Establish a third employment category that offers some protections, such as minimum wage and holiday pay, without full employee status. 3. Professor Heiwai Tang and lawmakers such as Lam Chun-sing both acknowledge the importance of protecting gig workers, but they emphasise different aspects of the balance. Tang stressed the need for safeguards, such as protection against injury and pressure from aggressive algorithms, while warning that overregulation could reduce the flexibility that attracts people to gig work in the first place. He believes gig workers shouldn't be treated like traditional nine-to-five employees. Similarly, Lam supports the idea of preserving flexibility and warns against fully classifying gig workers as full-time employees, which could increase costs for platforms and limit workers' freedom. Instead, he proposed adopting a third employment category, like the UK model, to offer partial protections without removing flexibility.
