Raising the Bar in Hong Kong, an enlightening pub crawl

Scholars will be coming down from their ivory towers this month to give 30-minute lectures in watering holes across Hong Kong.

Aiming to spark intellectual debate in Lan Kwai Fong and other locations, Raising the Bar will see 10 academics from local universities tackle topics such as Hong Kong's food culture; gentrification; consumption of illegal drugs in the city; and the state of internet freedom.

The lectures cost HK$50 to attend and scholars will join patrons afterwards for a tipple in bars such as Orange Peel and Kee Club to carry on the debate.

"We hope participants can be inspired by discussions with academics, by talking and responding as equals instead of just listening in a lecture," says Eppie Lau Tin-yan, organiser of Raising the Bar in Hong Kong. "Many people see Hong Kong's bar culture as being just drinking and partying. We want to break this stereotype by showing that education can happen anywhere - even in a bar over beers."

Raising the Bar started in the United States last April, when more than 6,000 New Yorkers attended a selection of lectures by 50 academics at venues ranging from posh cafes to dive bars. New York University professor Adam Brandenburger enlightened drinkers on game theory (the study of strategic decision making) while Columbia University economics professor Joseph Stiglitz ruminated on the price of inequality.