“[It will] enrich our pool of talents with international perspectives”

Finalised in late October, the MoU will provide a framework under which the countries can collaborate further and sees the introduction of the Myanmar Belt and Road Scholarship, which will provide up to 10 scholarships per year for students to come to Hong Kong.

“Signing the MoU with Myanmar and launching a new Belt and Road Scholarship can further internationalise the Hong Kong’s higher education sector,” said undersecretary for education, Choi Yuk-lin.

“[It will] enrich our pool of talents with international perspectives, with a view to contributing to the future development of Hong Kong.”

Under the MoU, academic exchanges will also be promoted between Hong Kong and Myanmar, while considerations will be made to collaborate at a schools, vocational and professional education level.

Education internationalisation has become a focus for Hong Kong, as it seeks to attract more students to live and work in the country, and the Myanmar agreement joins similar schemes established with Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

The University Grants Committee, which advises the government on higher education funding and strategy, also laid out plans to encourage providers to explore new internationalisation opportunities, through $17.5 million in matched financing with universities over 2016-19.

A further $12 million was set aside to increase Hong Kong’s presence at international education conferences.

The new set of scholarships will commence from the 2019/20 academic year.