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The Permanent Secretary for Education, Mr Raymond Wong, continued yesterday (May 3, Washington DC time) his week-long tour of the United States by proceeding to Washington DC where he participated at a roundtable discussion hosted by the prestigious Institute of International Education (IIE).
Delivering a presentation at the roundtable on "The New Academic Structure in Hong Kong - A Learning Journey for All Students to Succeed in the Globalised World", Mr Wong said: "As an international city blending Eastern and Western cultures, Hong Kong is well placed to enhance its status as a regional education hub."
He said that Hong Kong had a complete and diverse higher education system including a number of world-class universities with achievements going beyond Hong Kong's geographical boundaries. Hong Kong aims to further enhance its status as an education hub by stepping up efforts to further internationalise and diversify the higher education sector, he said.
"In the process, quality assurance remains our top priority," he added.
The IIE, founded in 1919, promotes international education opportunities with a vision of "opening minds to the world". Mr Wong also took the opportunity to exchange views on educational issues with academics and local personnel in the education field.
In the afternoon, Mr Wong led the Hong Kong delegation to visit George Washington University. They called on the Associate Vice President for International Programmes, Ms Donna Scarboro, and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Mr Donald R Lehman. Mr Wong briefed them on the Hong Kong Government's latest education initiatives including the new academic structure for senior secondary education and higher education services.
"There have been ample opportunities for two-way student exchanges including exchange and internship programmes as well as academic exchanges between the two places," Mr Wong said. "We hope to see more of these opportunities coming up with smoother articulation of the education systems of the two places since the New Academic Structure has been implemented."
George Washington University is the largest institution of higher education in the District of Columbia with more than 20,000 students from all 50 US states.
The delegation will be meeting the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Education of the US Department of Education, Mr Andre Lewis, and attending a lunch with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers today (May 4, Washington DC time) before leaving on the last leg of the visit, San Francisco.
Ends/Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:10
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