The University of Hong Kong

The University of Hong Kong is Hong Kong's first and foremost tertiary institution. It was founded in 1911 to provide a modern university education for Chinese students, and incorporated the Hong Kong College of Medicine, which had been teaching western medical science since 1887.

One of the University's proudest connections in its early days was with Dr Sun Yat-sen, the founder of modern China. Dr Sun, who studied at the Hong Kong College of Medicine between 1887 and 1892 and graduated with a Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery, revisited Hong Kong in February 1923. Addressing a large audience of staff and students in the University's Great Hall on 20 February, he declared: "I feel as though I have returned home, because Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong are the birthplace of my knowledge."

The University began life with three faculties (Arts, Engineering, and Medicine). In 1939 a fourth faculty (Science) was established. The rapid economic development of Hong Kong in the postwar years created a huge demand for qualified professionals in a range of disciplines, and the University multiplied its intake and increased its staff to cope with this challenge. Student numbers increased sharply, and six more faculties (Social Sciences, Dentistry, Architecture, Education, Law, and Business and Economics) were established between 1967 and 2001. The University has also provided extra-mural studies since 1956 and its extension arm, the HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE), is the leading local provider of continuing adult education.

The University now has a student population of just under 21,000 and an academic staff population of over 800. Although the great majority of its undergraduate students are from Hong Kong, many of its postgraduate students are from overseas. The University's academic staff are drawn both from Hong Kong and many other parts of the world, including the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, and several Asian countries. The University enjoys an international reputation, and is committed to the delivery of world-class teaching and research. It seeks to capitalise on its strengths as an English-medium, comprehensive, and research-led university.

The University owns around 50 hectares of land in various parts of Hong Kong. Its main campus is on Hong Kong Island, occupying a 16-hectare site in the western Mid-Levels. The buildings in the main campus, some of which date back to the University's earliest years, feature a mix of colonial and modern architectural styles. The main campus houses eight of the University's ten faculties. The Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry work from specialised facilities at the nearby Queen Mary Hospital and the Prince Philip Dental Hospital in Sai Ying Poon. Student residential accommodation is provided in and around the main campus, and there are also University-owned sports facilities and staff quarters nearby. Other parts of the University's estate include the Kadoorie Agricultural Research Centre, which occupies 9.5 hectares of land in the New Territories, and the Swire Institute of Marine Science on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island.

The University is incorporated under a local Ordinance, which empowers it to make Statutes dealing with important constitutional and procedural matters, and regulations ordering in detail its day-to-day affairs. The main instruments of University governance are the Court, the Council, the Senate and the Boards of the Faculties. The University follows international best practice in regularly reviewing its governance and management structures, and the findings of a major review in 2002-3 by an independent panel of international experts are now being actively implemented.