The Higher Education Review

Hong Kong has been developing into a modern-day international higher education destination for the last couple of decades and the effort and money put in by the government to take the higher education stratum of Hong Kong to greater heights has been a primary catalyst behind this growth. One pioneering educational institution that has been scaling unprecedented heights in Hong Kong owing to the quality and efficiency of their services is Lingnan University. The University is funded by the government and through constant innovation and consistent improvement, Lingnan University has been able to attract a large foray of international students into their campus.

Offering Education as a Service
Adding more about the University and its uniqueness, Shalendra Sharma, who is a Chair Professor at the institute says, "In Hong Kong, there are eight universities under the UGC and Lingnan is the smallest among them. We have around 2,600 undergraduate students and over 1,000 postgraduate students. What makes us unique is the fact that we are a liberal arts university in an Asian context combining western and Asian (Chinese) traditions in the education we provide. Our mission is education for service which means lifelong learning and contribution to society. Lingnan University is also a very old educational institution, founded in the Mainland China before being re-established in Hong Kong in the mid-1960s.

Lingnan (like all HK universities) has set very high academic standards and the government has invested a lot in the higher education sector of Hong Kong. Investing in people is key to its economy and the government acknowledges that fact. We emphasize on offering top-notch education and our classes are small and that allows us to offer personalized student-oriented education. We also offer an extensive student exchange program where our students go abroad and we strive to offer our students real-life learning experience through internships. We also have global partnerships that allow us to offer world-class education to our students".

To cater to a wider audience, Lingnan University has created a diversified program portfolio and the University has three disciplines including arts, social sciences and business and apart from that, they also have a very small Science Unit. The business school at Lingnan is very extensive that offers courses on international business, accounting, finance and marketing to name a few.

When it comes to the quality of their faculty members, Lingnan University has a team of world-class academicians. 70 percent of the faculty at the University are from overseas and the institute makes sure that their faculty are not only good researchers but they are also good teachers. Lingnan University also makes sure that needy and meritorious students are offered scholarship support. This coupled with the affordable higher education fees in Hong Kong makes the option of choosing Lingnan University to pursue their higher education an even more appealing option for students.

“We emphasize on offering top-notch education and our classes are small and that allows us to offer personalized student-oriented education.”

Offering the Complete Package
"I have over 20 years of experience teaching in the US before moving to Hong Kong. So, one thing that I can say is that students who want to pursue their higher education in Hong Kong will get their money's worth. Students and parents should look outside the conventional higher education options and Hong Kong is one option that will be a perfect fit for many. When it comes to the internship opportunities at our University, apart from just the internship opportunities that we provide, students can also find their own internship preferences and we support them.

For international students, every one of them will have access to our hostels which have all the modern facilities. We also help our international students to transition themselves into the campus life here starting from the moment they arrive in Hong Kong. We also have regular programs and activities to make the international students interact with the local students and the culture here in Hong Kong", says, Shalendra Sharma when asked about what makes Hong Kong an appealing higher education destination for international students and the internship, as well as, international student orientation programs offered at Lingnan University.

Apart from this, the socio-cultural scenario of Hong Kong that allows anyone with the right skill sets to be successful in their respective industries also makes it the perfect higher education destination for students that are aiming to build a successful professional career. As far as the future plans of Lingnan University are concerned, the educational institution is aiming to continue improving the quality of their education and develop into a pioneering international higher education hub that educates students from all across the globe.

“Modern day university for all the people who wish to pursue the unique higher education. At LIngnan University it will be done”

Shalendra Sharma, Chair Professor
Shalendra Sharma is the Associate Vice President of Academic Quality Assurance and Internationalisation and Chair Professor of Political Science at Lee Shau Kee Foundation. A political-economist by training, Sharma is the author of Prosperity with Inequality: A Comparative Political Economy of the United States, China and India (New York: Cambridge University Press 2018); Global Financial Contagion: The Great Recession and the World Economy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013); China and India in the Age of Globalization (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009), which was the winner of the 2010 Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award;

Achieving Economic Development in the Era of Globalization (Routledge, 2007); The Asian Financial Crisis: Meltdown, Reform and Recovery (Manchester University Press, 2003); Democracy and Development in India (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999), which won the Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 1999; and editor of Asia in the New Millennium: Geopolitics, Security and Foreign Policy (Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley, 2000).

Prof. Sharma was the recipient of USF's University-wide Distinguished Teaching Award for 1996-97 and the University-wide Distinguished Research Award for 2002-03. During 2006-07, he was a Visiting Professor at Universiteit Leiden, the Netherlands. He has also consulted for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.