An online survey of over 2,000 Chinese students has revealed that while 78.1% of respondents had no interest in studying abroad before the pandemic, 21.9% would now consider pursuing further education overseas.
In June, Lingnan University conducted the follow-up survey of last year’s Understanding Hong Kong and Mainland university students’ intentions to study overseas after the COVID-19 crisis to look at Mainland student views on pursuing postgraduate study abroad.
“The top five most popular destinations (more than one may be selected) are the US (50.8%), the UK (45.2%), Japan (19.1%), Canada (16.9%) and Germany (14.4%). Hong Kong was ranked 8th (11%), behind France and Australia,” said the university.
“The top five most popular destinations are the US, the UK, Japan, Canada and Germany”
“The five least-preferred study destinations are Poland (0.5%), Taiwan (1.1%), Malaysia (2.7%), Macau (3.4%), and New Zealand (6.3%).”
The results of the survey were conducted in June, meaning they don’t take into account the spreading of the Delta variant in China.
However, leader of the study Joshua Mok Ka-ho, vice-president of Lingnan University in Hong Kong said that no significant difference was found in students’ plans to study overseas before, during, or after the pandemic.
“East Asian countries and regions including Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong, however, do have more opportunities to recruit international students in these challenging times.
“For example, 16.1% of respondents selected Hong Kong as a destination for further studies while the pandemic continues, and 13.9% said that they plan to pursue postgraduate studies in Hong Kong after the pandemic, which is comparable to Australia and Singapore,” he said.
“Universities’ achievements in research and internationalisation may become a key consideration in recruiting students from the Mainland. The encouraging results and performance of local universities in the latest international rankings and the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2020 will attract more students wishing to pursue their postgraduate programs abroad to Hong Kong.”
