香港大學 | |||||||||||||||
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| Motto | Sapientia et Virtus (Latin) 明德格物 (Classical Chinese) | ||||||||||||||
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Motto in English | Wisdom and Virtue | ||||||||||||||
| Type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1 October 1887; 138 years ago (1887-10-01) (as Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese) 30 March 1911; 114 years ago (1911-03-30) (as the University of Hong Kong) | ||||||||||||||
Academic affiliation | |||||||||||||||
| Chancellor | John Lee Ka-chiu[1] | ||||||||||||||
| President | Xiang Zhang | ||||||||||||||
| Vice-president | Gong Peng[2] Ian Holliday[2] Max Shen[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Provost | Richard Wong[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Pro-chancellor | David Li | ||||||||||||||
Academic staff | 9,288 (2023)[3] | ||||||||||||||
Administrative staff | 4,427 (2023)[3] | ||||||||||||||
| Students | 39,166 (2023)[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Undergraduates | 18,491 (47.2%) (2023)[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Postgraduates | 20,675 (52.8%) (2023)[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Location | , Hong Kong 22°17′03″N114°08′16″E / 22.28417°N 114.13778°E /22.28417; 114.13778 | ||||||||||||||
| Campus | Urban, 17.7 hectares (0.177 km2) (Main campus) 70.1 hectares (0.701 km2) (Total)[5] | ||||||||||||||
| Newspaper | Undergrad HKUSU (Chinese) | ||||||||||||||
| Colours | Dark green[6] | ||||||||||||||
| Affiliations | |||||||||||||||
| Mascot | Lion | ||||||||||||||
| Website | hku | ||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 香港大学 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 香港大學 | ||||||||||||||
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TheUniversity of Hong Kong (HKU) is apublic university inPok Fu Lam,Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as theHong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by theLondon Missionary Society and formally established as the University of Hong Kong in 1911. It is the oldesttertiary institution in Hong Kong.[7]
The university was established and proposed by GovernorSir Frederick Lugard in an effort to compete with the otherGreat Powers opening universities in China. The university's governance consists of three bodies: the Court, the Council, and the Senate. These three bodies all have their own separate roles. The Court acts as the overseeing and legislative body of the university, the Council acts as governing body of the University, and the Senate as the principal academic authority of the university.
The university currently has ten academic faculties and 20 residential halls and colleges for its students, with English being its mainmedium of instruction and assessment.
The university has educated many notable alumni in many fields. Among them isSun Yat-sen, the founder of theRepublic of China, a graduate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, the predecessor of HKU. Notable alumni in the field of politics includeAnson Chan,Carrie Lam,Jasper Tsang andRegina Ip.
The university is ranked 1st in Asia[8] and 11th in the world according to QS University Rankings.
The origins of the University of Hong Kong can be traced back to theHong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, founded in 1887 byHo Kai (later known as Sir Kai Ho Kai). It was renamed the Hong Kong College of Medicine in 1907.[9] The college was later incorporated asHKU's medical school in 1911.
The University of Hong Kong was founded in 1911. Thecolony's governor,Sir Frederick Lugard (1858-1945), first proposed in January 1908 during a graduation ceremony atSt Stephen's College to establish a university in Hong Kong to compete with the other Great Powers opening universities in China, most notablyPrussia, which had just opened theTongji German Medical School in Shanghai.[10] Sir Lugard saw the establishment of the university as an opportunity to promote British culture to China and the Chinese people through education, in turn enhancing Britain's influence in theFar East. He quoted saying, "We must either now take those opportunities or leave them for others to take...".[7][11]Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody, an IndianParsi businessman in Hong Kong, learned of Lugard's plan and pledged to donateHK$150,000 towards the construction andHK$30,000 towards other costs.[12] TheHong Kong Government and the business sector in southern China, which were both equally eager to learn "secrets of the West's success" (referring to technological advances made since theIndustrial Revolution), also gave their support. The Government contributed a site at West Point.Swire Group contributed £40,000 to endow a chair in Engineering, in addition to thousands of dollars in equipment (its aim was partly to bolster its corporate image following the death of a passenger on board one of its ships,SS Fatshan, and the subsequent unrest stirred by the Self-Government Society).[13] Along with donations from other donors including theBritish government and companies such asHSBC, Lugard finally had enough to fund the building of the university.
Charles Eliot was appointed the university's first vice-chancellor.[12] As Governor of Hong Kong, Lugard laid thefoundation stone of the Main Building on 16 March 1910.[7] The university was incorporated in Hong Kong as a self-governing body of scholars on 30 March 1911 and had its official opening ceremony on 11 March 1912. It was founded as an all-male institution; women were admitted for the first time ten years later.[7]
The school opened with three founding faculties: Arts, Engineering, and Medicine.[7][14] The Faculty of Medicine was previously founded as theHong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by theLondon Missionary Society in 1887.[15] Of the College's early alumni, the most renowned wasSun Yat-sen,[7] who led the1911 Revolution, which transformed China from an empire (Qing dynasty) to a republic (Republic of China). In December 1916, the university held its first convocation, with 23 graduates and five honorary graduates.
After theCanton–Hong Kong strikes of 1925 and 1926, the government moved towards greater integration of Eastern culture, increasing the number of Chinese courses.[16] In 1927, a degree in Chinese was created. Donations from wealthy businessmen Tang Chi Ngong and Fung Ping Shan – after whom two campus buildings are named – triggered an emphasis on Chinese cultural education.[17] In 1937, theQueen Mary Hospital opened. It has served as the university's teaching hospital ever since.[18] In 1941, theJapanese invasion of Hong Kong caused damage to university buildings, and the university closed until 1945; during this period, the university's medical school moved toChengdu.[19]
After the end of theSecond World War, the university reopened and investment in law and thesocial sciences increased as post-war reconstruction efforts began in earnest. The Faculty of Social Sciences was established in 1967 and theDepartment of Law in 1969. The student population in 1961 was 2,000, quadrupled from 1941, and in 1980 the number of students exceeded 5,500.[9]
In 1958, the librarian of University of Hong Kong, Mrs. Dorothea Scott, organized a meeting of over 40 library practitioners at theFung Ping Shan Library on 3 April to determine and establish a library association for Hong Kong, theHong Kong Library Association.[20]
In 1982, theFaculty of Dentistry, based at thePrince Philip Dental Hospital, was established. To this day, it remains Hong Kong's only faculty training dental professionals. In 1984, both the School of Architecture and School of Education became fully-fledged faculties and in the same year theFaculty of Law was created. The Faculty of Business and Economics was established in 2001 as the university's tenth and youngest faculty.
After 1989, the Hong Kong government began to emphasise local tertiary education in order to retain local students who would otherwise have studied abroad in the United Kingdom. Student places and course variety were greatly increased in preparation for thehandover of Hong Kong. By 2001, the number of students had grown to 14,300 and the number of degree courses to over a hundred.
In 2002,Growing with Hong Kong: The University and Its Graduates — The First 90 Years was published by theHong Kong University Press as a study of the impact of HKU's graduates on Hong Kong.[21]
In January 2006, despite protest from a portion of students and alumni, the Faculty of Medicine was renamed as theLi Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine"to recognize the generosity of MrLi and his Foundation as well as the wish of the donors to support, in addition to the general development of the University, research and academic activities in medicine."[22]
On 16 August 2011,Li Keqiang,Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China, began a three-day visit to promote development between Hong Kong andmainland China.[23][24] The university was locked down. The mishandling by the police force caused theHong Kong 818 incident.[23] In a statement to the HKU community, the university vice-chancellorLap-Chee Tsui admitted that the security arrangements could have been better planned and organised, and apologised to students and alumni for not having been able to prevent the incident. He assured them that "the University campus belongs to students and teachers, and that it will always remain a place forfreedom of expression".[25] On 30 August 2011, the university council resolved to set up a panel to review issues arising from the vice premier's visit, to improve arrangements and to set up policies for future university events that are consistent with its commitment to freedom of expression.
From 2010 to 2012, the university celebrated its 100th anniversary and the opening of the Centennial Campus at the western end of the university site inPokfulam.[26]The University of Hong Kong–Shenzhen Hospital, one of the twoteaching hospitals of the university, also opened in 2011.[27][28]
On 10 April 2015, HKU declared itself as the first university in the world to joinHeForShe, a UN Women initiative urging men to achieve more female rights.[29] The university promised that it would triple the number of female dean-level members by 2020, so that more than 1 out of every 5 deans would be women.[30]
On 15 December 2017, the university's governing council appointedUniversity of California, Berkeley nanoscience professorXiang Zhang to the posts of President and Vice-Chancellor with effect from January 2018. Zhang was the first vice-chancellor of the university born in mainland China and educated to undergraduate degree level there.[31][32]
On 4 September 2023, the university announced the appointment ofFraser Stoddart, achemist andNobelLaureate, as a Chair Professor.[33] Stoddart has been a Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry atNorthwestern University, IL, USA for the past 16 years.[33] Stoddart's ground-breaking research has garnered numerous accolades and awards, including the prestigious 2007King Faisal International Prize in Science. In 2016, he shared theNobel Prize in Chemistry withBernard L. Feringa andJean-Pierre Sauvage for their work on the design and synthesis ofmolecular machines.[33] HKU was "deeply saddened" to report the passing of Stoddart on 31 December 2024,[34] at the age of 82.[35]
The HKU Council made headlines in 2015 for alleged political interference behind the selection process for a new pro-vice chancellor. A selection committee unanimously recommended the council appointJohannes Chan to the post, which involved the responsibility for staffing and resources, and which had been left vacant for five years.[36] Chan, the former dean of the Faculty of Law, was a distinguished scholar in constitutional law and human rights and "a vocal critic on Hong Kong's political reform issues".[37][38] Owing to his liberal political stance, Chan was roundly criticised by Communist Party-controlled media includingWen Wei Po,Ta Kung Pao, andGlobal Times, which together published at least 350 articles attacking him.[36][39][40][41]
Customarily the HKU Council accepts the recommendations of search committees for senior posts, with no prior recommendation having been rejected by the council.[37][42][43] The council was criticised when it delayed the decision to appoint Chan, stating that it should wait until a new provost was in place. Finally, in September 2015, the council rejected Chan's appointment (12 votes to eight) through an anonymous vote in a closed meeting, providing no reason for the decision.[36] Political interference was widely suspected and the opacity of the council criticised.[42]
The decision is seen widely viewed as a pro-government act of retaliation against "pro-democracy leaders and participants" and a blow to academic freedom.[37][42] Six members of the council are directly appointed by theChief Executive of Hong Kong, who acts as chancellor of all publicly funded tertiary institutions in the territory.[44] Five members are delegates to theNational People's Congress in Beijing and, as such, are obliged to toe the Communist Party line or risk expulsion.[45] In overall Council makeup, university students and staff are outnumbered by members from outside the university.[45]
The decision was decried by student groups including theHong Kong University Students' Union andHong Kong Federation of Students, faculty members, leading international law scholars, and legislators.[36][45][46][47] They noted that the decision would serve as a warning to other academics not to engage in pro-democratic politics and would severely tarnish Hong Kong's reputation for academic freedom and education excellence.[43][47] The law faculty also refuted the allegations against Chan.[48][49] Billy Fung, student union president, revealed details of the discussion to the public and was subsequently expelled from the council.[50]
The university's main campus covers 177,000 square metres (1,910,000 sq ft) of land onPok Fu Lam Road andBonham Road inPok Fu Lam[5] and onLung Fu Shan ofCentral and Western District,[51]Hong Kong Island. The university also has a few buildings inSandy Bay Gap in Southern District. Buildings of the university are some of the few remaining examples of British Colonial architecture in Hong Kong. The university lends its name toHKU MTR station, the main public transport access to the campus which had opened on 28 December 2014.
TheLi Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine is situated 4.5 km southwest of the main campus, in theSouthern District nearSandy Bay andPok Fu Lam.[52] The medical campus includesQueen Mary Hospital, the William M.W. Mong Building and research facilities. TheFaculty of Dentistry is situated in thePrince Philip Dental Hospital,Sai Ying Pun.[53]
The university also operates the Kadoorie Agricultural Research Centre, which occupies 95,000 square metres (1,020,000 sq ft) of land in theNew Territories, and theSwire Institute of Marine Science at the southern tip ofCape D'Aguilar on Hong Kong Island.
Constructed between 1910 and 1912, theMain Building is the university's oldest structure and was sponsored by SirHormusjee Naorojee Mody and designed by Architect MessrsLeigh & Orange.[54] It is built in the post-renaissanceEdwardian Baroque style with red brick and granite and has two courtyards. The main elevation is articulated by four turrets with a central clock tower (a gift from SirPaul Chater in 1930). The two courtyards were added in the south in 1952 and one floor in the end block in 1958. The building was originally used as classrooms and laboratories for the Faculty of Medicine and Engineering and was later the home of departments within the Faculty of Arts. The central Great Hall (Loke Yew Hall) is named afterLoke Yew, a Malayan benefactor of the university in its early years. It became adeclared monument in 1984.[55]
Around 1980, the Swire Group sponsored the building of a new residential hall in the eastern end of the campus. The new student residence was named Swire Building in honour of this sponsorship. The building was officially opened by MrJohn Anthony SwireCBE on 11 November 1980.[56] In 1983, the colour orange was chosen to be the hall colour in the second Annual General Meeting since the colour was used as the background colour during the first open day of Swire Hall and no other halls were using orange as their hall colour.
In 1983, Mrs J. Lau (Director of Centre Media Resources) provided a design for the hall logo. The Swire Hall Students' Association, HKUSU, then made some amendments to that design. The logo shows the words 'S' and 'H'. The design of the word 'S' looks like two hands holding each other, signifying that all hall-mates should co-operate with each other, and promoting the hall motto 'Unity and Sincerity'.
Financed by SirPaul Chater, Professor G. P. Jordan and others, it was opened in 1919 by the Governor of Hong Kong Sir ReginaldEdward Stubbs and housed thestudents' union. After World War II, the building was used temporarily for administrative purposes. The East Wing was added in 1960. The building was converted into theSenior Common Room in 1974. It was named in honour of Mr Hung Hing-Ying in 1986 for his family's donations to the university. The building was subsequently used again for administrative purposes, and housed Department of Music and the Music Library until early 2013. It is currently used by the Development & Alumni Affairs Office. The two-storeyEdwardian style structure is characterised by a central dome and the use of red brick to emulate the Main Building opposite. The building became a declared monument in 1995.[57][58]
The idea to establish a school of Chinese was proposed in the inter-war period. Construction of the premises began in 1929 following a donation from Tang Chi-ngong, father of the philanthropist SirTang Shiu-kin, after whom the building was named. It was opened by SirWilliam Peel, Governor of Hong Kong, in 1931 and since then further donations have been received for the endowment of teaching Chinese language and literature. The building has been used for other purposes since the 1970s but the name remained unchanged. It housed the Centre of Asian Studies until 2012 and now houses the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole. This three-storey flat-roofed structure is surfaced with Shanghai plaster and became adeclared monument in 1995.[59][57]
To provide additional space for students under the new four-year undergraduate curriculum the Centennial Campus was built at the western end of the main campus, which was previously occupied by the Water Supplies Department.[60] The construction of the campus started in late 2009, and was completed in 2012, the first year of the introduction of the new academic structure in Hong Kong. In 2012, the Faculty of Arts, theFaculty of Law and the Faculty of Social Sciences moved to the Centennial Campus.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2025) |
Admission to HKU is highly competitive. In 2016, the university received around 40,000 applications for undergraduate studies, over 16,000 of which were from outside the Hong Kong schools' system.[61] For Mainland China applicants, the enrollment rate was 1 student for every 21 applications.[61][62]
Undergraduate candidates are selected according to their relative merit in the local public examination (HKDSE) and apply online viaJUPAS. Other applicants, including overseas students or ones taking other examinations, are classified as non-JUPAS applicants who are required to apply via the official website,[63] where postgraduate applications may also be made.[63]
Most undergraduate courses are 4-year degrees while the medical and nursing programmes require two and one more year(s) of studies respectively. English is the main medium of instruction, and the University's Senate has endorsed English as the campuslingua franca. Starting from 2012, local students are required to take Academic English courses and Chinese language enhancement courses; however, students who are native-speakers of languages other than Chinese, and students who have not studied Chinese language in their secondary curriculum can be exempted from the Chinese course requirement.[64] Cantonese credit-courses for Mainland Chinese and Taiwan students, andab initio Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese credit-courses for international and exchange students are offered by the Chinese Language Centre, School of Chinese.
The university is a founding member ofUniversitas 21, an international consortium of research-led universities, and a member of the Association for Pacific Rim Universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities,Washington University in St. Louis's McDonnell International Scholars Academy,[65] and many others. HKU benefits from a large operating budget supplied by high levels of government funding compared to many Western countries. In 2018/19, theResearch Grants Council (RGC) granted HKU a total research funding of HK$12,127 million (41.3% of overall RGC funding), which was the highest among all universities in Hong Kong.[66] HKU professors were among the highest paid in the world as well, having salaries far exceeding those of their US counterparts inprivate universities.
HKU research output, researchers, projects, patents and theses are profiled and made publicly available in the HKU Scholars Hub.[67] 100 members of academic staff (>10% of professoriate staff) from HKU are ranked among the world's top 1% of scientists by theThomson Reuters' Essential Science Indicators, by means of the citations recorded on their publications.[68] The university has the largest number of research postgraduate students in Hong Kong, making up approximately 10% of the total student population. All ten faculties and departments provide teaching and supervision for research (MPhil and PhD) students with administration undertaken by the Graduate School. In 2025, about 434 HKU scholars are listed in Stanford University’s latest 2025 Top 2% Scientists for the “Single recent year” category, while another 376 made it to the “Career Long” category.[69] Among these scholars,Xiang Zhang (HKU President) and Guochun Zhao are both ranked the top 10 globally in their respective areas.
TheUniversity Grants Committee delivered the idea of “knowledge transfer” among the community and universities. From the academic year 2009/10, a yearly recurrent funding for universities to invest in knowledge transfer has been approved by theLegislative Council.[70] Therefore, HKU has established the Knowledge Exchange Office in 2010.[71]
HKU Libraries (HKUL) was established in 1912, being the oldest academic library in Hong Kong with over 2.3 million current holdings. It comprises the Main Library and six specialist branch libraries: the Dental, Education, Fung Ping Shan (East Asian Language), Yu Chun Keung Medical, Lui Che Woo Law, and Music libraries. They are located in buildings around the campus with varying opening hours. A web-based library catalogue, DRAGON, allows one to search HKUL's books, journals and other resources.[72]
The HKUL Digital Initiatives, through its digitisation projects, has opened up online access to local collections originally in print format. The first HKUL Digital Initiative, ExamBase, was launched in 1996 and other projects of scholarly interests were introduced. More digital projects are being developed to provide continuous access to digital content and services. It providesopen access to Chinese and English academic and medical periodicals published in Hong Kong.
The three-storeyFung Ping Shan Building was erected in 1932 originally as a library for Chinese books. Named after its donor, the building consists of masonry on the ground level surmounted by a two-storey red-brick structure with ornamental columns topped by a pediment over its entrance. Since 1962, the Chinese books collection, now known as the Fung Ping Shan Library, was transferred to the university's Main Library and the whole building was converted into a museum for Chinese art and archaeology. Among its collections are ceramics, pottery and bronze sculptures. In 1996, the lowest three floors of the new Tsui Building were added to the old building to form the University Museum and Art Gallery.[73][74]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[75] | 69 (2024) |
| QS World[76] | 11 (2026) |
| THE World[77] | 35 (2025) |
| THE Reputation[78] | 49 (2025) |
| USNWR Global[79] | 44 (2025) |
| Regional – Overall | |
| QS Asia[80] | 1 (2026) |
| THE Asia[81] | 6 (2025) |
| USNWR Asia[79] | 6 (2025) |
HKU was ranked #11 worldwide and #1 in Asia inQS 2026,[82] #35 worldwide inTHE 2025, #69 worldwide inARWU 2024, and #44 worldwide inU.S. News 2025-2026.
The Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities (ARTU), which sorts universities based on their aggregate performance acrossTHE,QS, andARWU, found that HKU was the 42nd best-ranked university worldwide in 2023.[83]
HKU was ranked 49th in theTHE World Reputation Rankings 2025.[84]
HKU is ranked as the most international university in the world in 2023 byTimes Higher Education.[85]
In theQS World University Rankings by broad subject area 2023:
| Broad subject area | HKU's world rank |
|---|---|
| Social Sciences & Management | 29 |
| Arts and Humanities | 34 |
| Engineering & Technology | 79 |
| Life Sciences & Medicine | 29 |
| Natural Sciences | 81 |
In theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings by subject 2024:[86]
| Subject | HKU's world rank |
|---|---|
| Arts & Humanities | 54 |
| Business and Economics | 39 |
| Clinical & Health | 19 |
| Computer Science | 53 |
| Education | 6 |
| Engineering | 43 |
| Law | 20 |
| Life Sciences | 43 |
| Physical Sciences | 47 |
| Psychology | 62 |
| Social Sciences | 35 |
HKU graduates ranked 47th worldwide in theTimes Higher Education's Global University Employability Ranking 2022,[87] and 10th worldwide in theQS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022.[88]
Student welfare is served by several units, including the Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS), which provides guidance for most areas of student life including career counselling, students activities, financial support and more,[89] and the University Health Service, which provides health care, referrals, and preventive services.[90]
The student population of the university was 39,166 in the 2023-2024 academic year, comprising 18,491 undergraduates, 16,541 taught postgraduates and 4,134 research postgraduates. The university has become a popular choice for mainland and international students, with 19,145 non-local students (excluding exchange students) on campus in 2023, comprising 47.2% of the total students.[4]
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There are 20 residential halls and colleges for undergraduates, postgraduates and visitors.
The residential halls include:
Moreover, there are three non-residential halls:
Two officially recognised student body, formerly three, provides opportunities for postgraduate students to participate in extracurricular activities. The two being the Postgraduate Student Association (PGSA) and the HKU Business School Postgraduate Student Association (HKUBSPA).[91] Undergraduate students participate in student societies registered with the university's Co-Curricular Support Office (CCSO).[92]
TheHong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU) existed as an officially recognised student body, which represented both undergraduate and postgraduate students, with a majority of its members being undergraduate students. It was established in 1912. The union ceased to be officially recognised by the university after passing a motion in memorial to a deceased assailant who attacked and severely stabbed a police officer on the street during the heights of the protests in 2021, and was later dissolved.[93][94] Prior to its dissolution, the HKUSU offered more than a hundred student societies for students. Student societies are now registered with the university's CCSO.
This organisation was renowned amongst student activists, having been the main driving force behind evicting a vice-chancellor in recent years. There were controversies in 2011 when the President of the union, Ayo Chan, remarked that some of the protesters involved in the1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre had acted irrationally. Many students believe his remarks to be offensive and subsequently ousted the President by a vote in under one week.[95]
Through the Exchange Buddy Program, students from abroad can choose to be matched with local students whom they can correspond with before they arrive in Hong Kong. These local students greet the visiting students upon arrival at the airport, help them to settle into student residence and offer advice and support during their stay.[96]
Every year, over 1,000 undergraduates participate in exchange programmes. As part of their HKU degree, they study at universities spanning 40 countries around the world with the support of theUniversity Grants Committee, University of Hong Kong Foundation for Educational Development and Research,Hongkong Bank Foundation, UBC Alumni Association (Hong Kong), Dr. Lee Shiu Scholarships for Hong Kong and South-East Asia Academic Exchange, Shell (Hong Kong) Limited, C. V. Starr Scholarship Fund, and others. The university welcomes a similar number of students from those 340 partner universities onto the HKU campus to study each year.[97] HKU is also a member of theLaidlaw Scholars programme which provides funding for undergraduates to conduct research abroad, either independently or at another university in the network such asUniversity College London andUniversity of Leeds.[98]
Prior to Hong Kong'shandover, the colony's governor was the de jurechancellor of the University. That role was assumed by thechief executive following the handover. The chancellor is officially the chief officer of the university and president of the Court, the duties and functions of the role are however delegated to the pro-chancellor, a person appointed by the chancellor.[99]
The chief executive's role as the university's chancellor is enshrined in theUniversity of Hong Kong Ordinance.[100]
In the absence of the chief executive, the person for the time being assumes the duties of the chief executive is simultaneously appointed as the acting chancellor and has all powers and duties of the chancellor.[101]
For a list of pre and post-handover university chancellors, refer to the articles for thegovernor of Hong Kong and thechief executive of Hong Kong.
The vice-chancellor is the principal academic and administrative officer of the University.[101] The current office holder isXiang Zhang.[102]
The Court is a large overseeing and legislative body comprising University and lay members. The purpose of the Court is to represent the wider interests of the communities served by the University. It has the power to make, repeal and amend statutes.[103]
The Court currently consists of:[104]
* Elected amongst their members
The Senate is the principal academic authority of the University. It is responsible for all academic matters and welfare of students. Its 50 members are mainly academic staff while there are also student representatives.[103] The Senate is chaired by the vice-chancellor.
The Senate currently consists of:[104]
* Elected in accordance with regulations
The Council is the body which governs the university. It is responsible for the management of financial and human resources of the university and for the university's future developments. The council comprises university members (both staff and students) and lay members (i.e. neither staff nor students of the university), with a ratio of lay to university members of 2:1 members are serving on the council as trustees in their personal capacity. The current chairman of the Council is Priscilla P.S. Wong.[105][103]
The current council consists of:[105]
* Elected in accordance with regulations
The current council consists of 24 persons. The chancellor has the power to appoint the chairman of the council and six other members to the council. The vice-chancellor is in turn appointed by the council.[106]
The university has ten faculties, namely the Faculties of Architecture,Arts, Business & Economics,Dentistry, Education, Engineering,Law, Science, Social Sciences, and theLi Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, alongside a graduate school and a number of non-faculty academic units, which provide various study programmes and courses for students.[107] Themedium of instruction in most classes is English.[108]
Additionally, HKU operates two associate institutions:
The design of the university'sshield of arms was proposed to theCollege of Arms by the university in October 1912.[111] On 14 May 1913, the shield, along with two mottoes (one in Latin, one in Chinese) was granted by the College of Arms.[111] Thefield resembles the lions on thecoat of arms of England, whereas the book on the shield is a common reference to university's role in learning and knowledge. The official blazon and all authentic colour copies of the shield of arms were lost during theSino-Japanese War, which the university obtained new ones from the College of Arms in 1958 while preparing for theGolden Jubillee set to happen 3 years later.[112]
The Latin mottoSapientia et Virtus is translated into English as "Wisdom and Virtue". The Chinese motto on the pages of the opened book, written from top to bottom, right to left in accordance withtraditional Chinese writing direction, contains two phrases: 明德 (ming tak) and 格物 (kak mat), meaning "illustrious virtue" and "the investigation of things" respectively. The first phraseming tak makes homage to the opening sentence of classicConfucianClassical Chinese literature theGreat Learning, in which the author discusses the three great duties of a ruler: illustrious virtue, the renewal of the people, and repose in the highest good.[111] The second phrasekak mat is a reference to the writing of Confucian scholarZhu Xi 致知在格物 (lit. exhausting by examination the principles of things and affairs). The phrase occurs in discussion regarding how wise rulers set about cultivating wisdom and virtue. If one desires to rectify their heart, they must first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they must first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.[111]
In 1981, the year of the university's 70th anniversary, an application was made to the College of Arms for a fullachievement of arms, which was granted in 1984, comprising the original shield and mottoes with the addition of acrest,supporters, ahelmet andcompartment. The supporters of the coat of arms are aChinese dragon and a lion representing Britain, indicating the university's aspiration to blendEast and West cultures, from the foundation by British people in Hong Kong and the later development of the university's research and studies in both west and east culture and technology, whereas the compartment is an allusion toHong Kong Island, where the university is located. The university remains to this day the only university in Hong Kong to be granted a full coat of arms by the College of Arms.[112] The other university in Hong Kong to have been granted a coat of arms by the College of Arms wasThe Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1961; it is, however, not a full achievement of arms owing to a missing crest.[113]
The Mace is the symbol of the university's authority. Made of silver gilt, the mace is 40 inches long and weighs about 300 ounces, with the two collars of the mace being set with amber-red and green jade stones. The drum bears the university’s shield of arms, which is enamelled in colour and encircled within a buckled belt displaying the motto. On both sides of the drum are full-length four-toedChinese dragons. The original mace went missing during theSino-Japanese War and was replaced.[114][115]
Amace bearer is appointed by the vice-chancellor to bear the university's mace. The current mace bearer is Gordon Wong Tin Chun.[116] The university's mace is carried inuniversity processions by the mace bearer, symbolising the university's authority. The mace bearer will always precede the presiding officer in the procession for this reason.[117]
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The recording of the reconstructed University Anthem was recorded by theHong Kong Sinfonietta, theDiocesan Choral Society and the formerHKU Students' Union Choir (now known as theHKU University Choir), conducted by the Sinfonietta's musical director,Yip Wing-sie, with new orchestration byChan Hing-yan, Chairperson of the Department of Music.[118][119]
| Words in Latin | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Finis hic operum! Domus Stat potens Academia, Unde ab occiduis recens Ampliore flust plagis Mox doctrina meatu. | Here end our labours! Strong stand the buildings of the University, whence modern learning soon will flow from western land in more ample course. |
| Fons ubi est sapientia? Et, Scientia, qua lates? Pontus has negat in suis Subditas latebris, negat Has se Terra tenere. | Where is the fountain of wisdom? And how, O science, art thou hidden? The Sea denies that these are concealed in his hiding-place and the Earth denies that she contains them. |
| En! Dei reverentia Hac scientia! Qui malis Abstinet, sapit. Hoc diu Munere assidue valentem Exercete iuventam! | Lo! The fear of God–that is science! Whoso abstains from evil, he is wise. Long and earnestly may ye train youth's vigour in this duty! |
| Pandite ostia! Iam Deo gratias agimus. Dei semper auxilio novum Splendeat sapientiae Lumen ex Oriente! Amen. | Fling open the gates! Now we give thanks to God. By God's grace may the new light of wisdom ever shine out from the East! Amen. |
The University of Hong Kong has educated many notable alumni in many varied fields. Among them isSun Yat-sen, the founder ofRepublic of China,who was a graduate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, the predecessor of HKU. Over 40 principal officials, permanent secretaries, Executive Council and Legislative Council members of the Hong Kong SAR Government are HKU graduates. HKU graduates also form the senior management teams of many large organizations in the private sector.
In recent yearsGuan Yi became a notable figure when his research and work onSARS led to the successful identification of theSARS-Coronavirus and its infectious source from live animal markets and helped theChinese Government successfully avert the secondSARS outbreak in early 2004.
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