Culture and Life, a mainland magazine, recently published interviews with a number of Hong Kong professors. They said that with its free flow of information, well-equipped labs and wide-ranging library collections, Hong Kong was a perfect place for young, talented mainlanders as they prepare for the challenges from an increasingly globalised world.
The interviews echo a concerted effort to promote Hong Kong as a regional hub for higher education, by both the government and universities, in recent years.
But, in addition to well-equipped labs and libraries, Hong Kong universities' most important strength lies in the multicultural and bilingual learning setting that provides the necessary conditions for critical and innovative thinking. However, this strength is less appreciated than it should be.
Hong Kong is home to academics from all over the world. As a result, courses at Hong Kong universities are offered in Cantonese, Putonghua and English, although some establishments have opted to forgo mother-tongue education in recent years.
Such a learning environment facilitates a dynamic interchange among students from different social backgrounds.
For example, mainland students, in general, tend to be more philosophical than Hong Kong students. In contrast, Hong Kong students tend to be more practical. They are concerned more with the application of theories in real life.
By accommodating students from diverse cultures, universities here can offer an opportunity for students to learn, and reflect, on the positive and negative consequences of their respective learning habits.