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The Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, today (January 8) continued his two-day duty visit to Kuala Lumpur, where he is seeking to deepen higher education co-operation between Hong Kong and Malaysia.
After meeting the Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Education of Malaysia yesterday, Mr Ng today went on to meet and exchange views with the presidents/vice-presidents of 10 major higher education institutions in Malaysia on the development of higher education in the 21st century, including internationalisation as well as global and regional collaborations.
He appealed to the presidents/vice-presidents to support and enhance - through their respective institutions and connections - academic and research collaboration between the two places, including student exchanges. These include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Internship for University Students of Hong Kong Scheme initiated by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore in 2014.
Participants of the Scheme can expose themselves to the work of the relevant industries and operation of host organisations in ASEAN, including government/related agencies, international organisations, arts and cultural groups, academic institutions, think tanks and private companies. They can also experience the economic and socio-cultural environment of the countries.
This year, some 70 organisations/companies in ASEAN have offered a total of 250 internship places for university students of Hong Kong to serve as interns in ASEAN for two months during summer.
Mr Ng also visited the University of Malaya and Monash University Malaysia to meet with their management. At the University of Malaya, Mr Ng delivered a keynote speech to its teaching staff and students to introduce Hong Kong's education system and its role as a regional education hub.
Noting that the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking places Hong Kong as the fifth Best Student City in the world and first in Asia, Mr Ng took the opportunity to encourage Malaysian students to pursue further studies and exchanges in Hong Kong. He also said he looked forward to more exchanges and collaboration in various aspects of education between Hong Kong and Malaysia in future.
Upon the completion of his duty visit Mr Ng will return to Hong Kong tonight.
Ends/Thursday, January 8, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:00
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