Advertisement
4 Hong Kong institutions among top 100 in new global rankings of universities, amid concerns over erosion of academic freedom
- HKU and CUHK climb up 2022 Times Higher Education league table, placing 30th and 49th, respectively; PolyU surges to 91st spot while HKUST drops to 66th
- Researchers say they have not seen ‘significant negative changes’ to global reputation of city’s higher education institutions
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
6
Four Hong Kong universities are among the top 100 institutions worldwide on a list compiled by a prominent publication, marking a record for the city since the rankings were introduced 11 years ago.
Advertisement
The results, published by British-based Times Higher Education (THE), came against a backdrop of accusations by critics that academic freedom at universities in the city was being eroded under the Beijing-imposed national security law.
Researchers behind the rankings, however, said they had not seen “significant negative changes” to Hong Kong universities’ global reputation, although they warned the data collection cycle might not have “fully taken into account” the overlapping effects of the sweeping legislation and the coronavirus pandemic.
The 110-year-old University of Hong Kong (HKU) rose nine places in the 2022 THE World University Rankings, released on Thursday, climbing from 39th to 30th, while the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) saw an improvement of seven spots to rank 49th globally.
Advertisement
Polytechnic University (PolyU) in Hung Hom, which was one of the institutions that suffered severe damage during clashes between protesters and police in the 2019 social unrest, also marked a significant rise in the league table, surging 38 places from 129th to 91st, after moving up 42 spots the year before.
Advertisement