President of Education University of Hong Kong says he will step down when term ends next year

The president of the Education University of Hong Kong (EdU) will not seek reappointment when his term ends next year, making him the third head of the city’s tertiary institutions to make such an announcement in as many months.

Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, who has been with the institution for nine years, had notified EdU’s council about his planned departure in August 2023, the university said on Monday, adding it would conduct an international search for its next president.

City University in November said its president, Professor Way Kuo, would not renew his contract when it expired next year. Just days earlier, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology announced its president, Professor Wei Shyy, would step down before his term ended.

Under Cheung’s leadership, EdU, founded in 1994 as the Hong Kong Institute of Education, became one of the city’s eight publicly subsidised universities in 2016. According to the latest global rankings by subject from Quacquarelli Symonds last year, EdU was third in Asia and 16th worldwide in the field of education.

A statement from EdU on Monday quoted Cheung as saying: “Since retitling, we have expanded our academic disciplines and strengthened our research capacity in line with our ‘education-plus’ approach, while fulfilling our unique role as the bastion of teacher education.

“All these achievements and breakthroughs could not have been possible without your participation and support.”

EdU council chairman David Wong Yau-kar praised Cheung’s efforts in leading the institution to make a greater impact on the education sector and the community at large.

“Under Professor Cheung’s stewardship, the university has made great strides on many fronts, including academic development, research and knowledge transfer, university management, and campus infrastructure,” he said in the same statement.