The University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong

The University of Hong Kong (or HKU, as it is familiarly known to students, staff and alumni) is the oldest tertiary education institution in Hong Kong. On March 16, 1910, Sir Frederick Lugard, the then Governor of Hong Kong, laid the foundation stone for the University, signifying the birth of Hong Kong's first tertiary institution. On March 11, 1912, the University launched its official opening with its founding Faculty of Medicine which had evolved from the Hong Kong College of Medicine, founded in 1887. Of the College's early alumni, the most renowned was Dr Sun Yat-sen, the founder of modern China' Outstanding academic staff of the University are recruited through rigorous selection procedures, comprising internal peer-reviews and external assessments conducted by international and prominent experts in the relevant fields. About 45% of academic staff are drawn from overseas. The University has recruited distinguished academics from all over the world. University teachers are top researchers in many major areas of research including Human Health and Development, Biotechnology and Drug Development, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Build and Natural Environments, Theoretical and Computational Sciences, Public Law and Public Policy, China Studies, and Communications. The University of Hong Kong attracts the best students in Hong Kong. In October 2006, the University had just over 22,200 students (12,300 undergraduates, 9,900 postgraduates), of which more than 2,700 mainland Chinese and international students. Local students admitted to HKU are consistently among the most proficient in English among UGC-funded institutions. From 2003-04, the great majority of the highest achievers at the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (i.e. candidates with 8-10 Grade-As in the Examination) joined HKU under the Early Admissions Scheme for Secondary Six Students.