The quest for regional education hub status and transnational higher education: challenges for managing human capital in Asia

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Acknowledgement

The authors want to thank the Research Grant Council of the Government of the HKSAR for offering grant support to conduct the public policy research project entitled “A Comparative Study of Transnational Higher Education Policy and Governance in Hong Kong, Shenzhen China and Singapore” (HKIEd7005-PPR-6).

Notes

 1. Wawasan 2020 as an ambitious national goal of development was introduced by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, during the tabling of the Sixth Malaysia Plan in 1991. The vision envisages the achievement of a self-sufficient, industrialized and well-developed Malaysia by the year of 2020. In terms of economy, it set the target of eight-fold stronger by 2020 than the economy in the early 1990s.

 2. The amendment has come into effect from 1 February 2009.

 3. Before 1996, private higher education institutions in Malaysia had no degree-awarding power. Even right after the enactment of the Private Higher Education Act 1996, the undergraduate degree programme could only be offered by private institutions with their degree-awarding foreign partners, with students being required to transfer between Malaysia and another country to complete their studies (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 1999). It was only since 1998 that the Ministry of Education allowed private institutions to deliver degree programmes through the so-called “3+0” arrangement with their foreign partners.

 4. Since the issue of the Higher Education Review 2002, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and Mainland China was signed on 29 June 2003 and been brought into force. Hong Kong political leaders, thereafter, has worked towards the policy direction of broadening and deepening its collaboration with Mainland China – particularly with Pearl River Delta – across all fronts, including education.

 5. For instance, there were 7,293 non-local students enrolled in the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions in the academic year 2007/08, while 2,811 others attended various programmes at different higher education institutions on a self-financed basis. For the former, only 542 of them (7%) were students who came from countries other than the Mainland China; while for the later, only 619 of them (22%) were non-Mainland Chinese (Cheng, Ng, & Cheung, 2009, pp. 41, 45).

 6. These six areas are educational services, medical services, testing and certification, environmental industry, innovation and technology, and finally cultural and creative industries (Task Force on Economic Challenges, HKSAR Government, 2009).

 7. The budget cuts on government funding in higher education from 1999 to 2004, in particular, had driven the higher education sector in Hong Kong to look to the market for additional funding.

 8. HKU SPACE refers to the School of Professional and Continuing Education, the University of Hong Kong.

 9. For instance, in its preamble, the code of practice clearly states that it has “no mandatory effect and institutions should be able to put in place policies and guidelines to reflect their own mission and philosophy” (HKCAAVQ, 2007, p. 1).

10. EDB was previously the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB). Its manpower portfolio was transferred to the new Labour and Welfare Bureau in July 2007, thus streamlined to become the Education Bureau.

11. HKCAAVQ is a rather new statutory body established under the HKCAAVQ Ordinance (Chapter 1150) which came into effect on 1 October 2007. It was previously the “Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation” (HKCAA). The new HKCAAVQ is appointed by the Secretary for Education as the Accreditation Authority and Qualifications Register (QR) Authority under the current Qualifications Framework (QF).

12. The Economic Development Board of Singapore is a statutory body overseen by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Its involvement in the Global Schoolhouse initiative is a clear indication that the Singapore government has redefined higher education as industry and business.

13. The transnational programmes offered by the S.P. Jain Center of Management in Singapore are particularly worth mentioning. The Center offers a truly Global MBA programme conducted jointly from both its campuses in Dubai (2004) and Singapore. Students choosing Finance or IT streams would first complete their core curriculum in Dubai, and then transfer to Singapore campus for their specialized curriculum; while those from the streams of Marketing, Global Logistics, and Human Resources Management will do the reverse. In addition to study in Dubai and Singapore, students enrolling in either category would also be given the option to study core curriculum in Toronto. This one-year three-city programme thus exposes students to varied business cultures, multinational companies, cross-national networking, and international market challenges.

14. This task is entrusted to its Education Services Division.

15. Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business is in fact headquartered in Beijing ever since its establishment in November 2002. Currently it has campuses in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and has decided to build a brand new main campus in a suburban area of Beijing. The specific location has since been picked in June 2010.