Hong Kong to boost STEAM degrees as city targets two-way global education highway

The Hong Kong government will expand science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education and allocate more land for higher education to transform the traditional study-abroad trend from a “one-way street into a two-way global highway”, the education chief has said.

Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin delivered the remarks on Saturday at the inaugural Global Education Summit, co-organised by the South China Morning Post and HSBC Premier.

“We have set a clear goal. By the 2026-27 academic year, 35 per cent of all undergraduate students at our government-funded universities will be enrolled in STEAM disciplines,” Choi said.

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Skills needed to outpace AI among topics discussed at Global Education Summit in Hong Kong

Saturday’s event brought together more than 5,000 policymakers, educators and parents from around the world to discuss regional talent development, artificial intelligence (AI) integration and evolving academic pathways.

Attendees at the two-day summit include principals and admissions officers from more than 40 leading secondary schools and universities, including the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford in the UK.

Elaborating on the targets, Choi noted that the drive to expand relevant degree programmes was matched by a broader effort to build the infrastructure needed to connect education, research and industry.

“To support this, in the 2025-28 triennium, our universities are launching 27 undergraduate programmes related to STEAM, including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, creative industries, sustainable development and data science,” Choi told the summit at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong hotel in Wan Chai.