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It is the Government's aspiration to further enhance Hong Kong's position as a regional education hub and to bring about greater internationalisation and diversification of the higher education sector, the Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, said today (April 13).
Speaking at a ceremony to honour the 2009/2010 recipients of the HKSAR Government Scholarships, Mr Suen said, "Internationalisation is not just about attracting non-local students to come to study in Hong Kong.
"It is about creating a diversified cultural and learning environment, and broadening the horizons of our students. It is about enabling non-local students to immerse in our society and enjoy the Hong Kong experience."
Mr Suen added that non-local students would act as a bridge between Hong Kong and the places they came from through their deep understanding of Hong Kong and the lifelong friendship they built around them within the local community.
Congratulating the local and non-local scholarship recipients, Mr Suen said the scholarship was fitting testimony to their academic performance, contribution to community service, leadership and communication skills.
This was the second year in which the HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund had awarded scholarships to outstanding students, with close to $24 million being allocated to 441 students of nine publicly funded tertiary institutions.
The $1 billion HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund was established in 2008 to recognise outstanding local and non-local students, with a view to attracting more outstanding local students to advance their studies at home, and meritorious non-local students to pursue higher education opportunities in Hong Kong.
The scholarships are $40,000 a year for each local student and $80,000 for each non-local student.
The nine participating institutions are the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Ends/Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:43
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