HK to hold THE Asia Universities Summit

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announced on Tuesday that it will hold the first-ever Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Universities Summit on June 20 to 21, when over 30 university heads from all over the world will discuss creativity and innovation.

Speaking earlier at a press briefing about the summit, Tony Chan, President of HKUST, told the media that innovation is a global trend, especially when Asia's economy rises and the world's economy shifting to the east, governments in the region are investing more on higher education to enhance universities' competitiveness and to boost the economy.

Creativity and innovation can hardly be taught in lectures, Chan said, therefore, not only do universities offer students with basic knowledge, but they also provide an environment that encourages students to unleash their potential. HKUST has been helping students through its entrepreneurship center and by holding competitions.

Innovation is about bringing new ideas out of the university, hoping that it could make contribution to or have impacts on the society, Chan said, noting that there is, however, no rush "to push on innovation in commercializing ideas from the university labs and forget about the mission of a university," which is to create basic knowledge and to educate future leaders of the society.

Chan said the biggest challenge for Hong Kong to work on innovation and creativity is the culture and mindset of people in the society, and it takes time to change as many stakeholders, including employers, parents and the government are involved.

Students in Hong Kong, like those in other places in Asia, perform well in exams, but are not being as good as western people when talking about creativity, Chan said, adding that Asian students are usually less willing to take risk due to their fear of failure.

Chan expected sharing given by university heads from different countries and regions at the summit can inspire each others.

The impact of higher education in Asia is expanding in recent years. Eighteen institutions from the continent have made the top 100 in THE's World Reputation Rankings this year, climbing from 10 in 2015.

When Japan's University of Tokyo performed the best in Asia, taking 12th place, Chinese mainland's Tsinghua University and Peking University has jumped to 18th and 21st place respectively.

The 25-year-old HKUST is in the third place in the 150 universities under 50 rankings of THE in 2016.

Phil Baty, Editor of THE's World University Rankings, said shifting in balance of power from West to East has been apparent, noting in the last few decades, there has been an extraordinary commitment and passion in Asia institutions, particularly in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

Talking about the next challenge for universities in Asia to compete at the level of Harvard or Standford, Baty agreed that "it's about creativity" and they have to aim at producing new technologies and Nobel Prize winners.

This year's THE Asia Universities Rankings will be released at the summit, Baty said, adding that six Hong Kong institutes are to be ranked among the top 50. Endit