The Greater Bay Area Policy Innovation Forum 粵港澳大灣區政策創新論壇

November 19, 2025

2:00PM – 5:45PM

Event report:

二零二五年十一月十九日下午，「粵港澳大灣區政策創新論壇：跨境高等教育合作、國際教育樞紐建設和大灣區『一校兩園』模式發展」假香港中文大學康本國際學術園二號演講廳舉行。論壇匯聚來自海內外多所院校與研究機構的學者與專家，圍繞跨境高等教育合作、創新網絡與產學研合作，以及大灣區「一校兩園」模式發展三個主題展開深入對話，回應粵港澳大灣區建設國際創新、教育與人才樞紐的政策目標。

是次論壇由香港中文大學與內地及海外多個合作夥伴合辦，協辦單位包括香港中文大學大學通識教育部、中山大學香港高等研究院全球與區域治理研究中心、大灣區教育政策及發展研究聯盟（ReCEPD）、以及新加坡南洋理工大學南洋公共管理研究生院等。與會者就如何透過區域合作，推動大灣區高等教育高質量發展與國際化建設，展開跨地區與跨學科的交流。

香港中文大學教育行政與政策學系歐冬舒教授以大灣區教育政策與發展研究聯盟代表身分出席論壇，並參與第一場研討會「跨境高等教育合作與國際教育樞紐建設」的討論。在主題演講中，歐教授以「香港高等教育的轉型與挑戰」為題，從香港高等教育快速擴張的歷程切入，梳理近年制度變革與區域環境對本地高教體系帶來的深遠影響。

歐教授指出，香港高等教育在文憑國際認可度高、背靠內地龐大市場、兼具多元與包容校園文化等優勢下，國際化已逐漸成為核心發展戰略。隨著學額擴張與「三三四」學制改革推進，本地高等教育在規模與參與率方面均取得顯著進展。然而，快速擴張亦促使社會從「公平」與「效益」兩個面向作出反思。

在教育公平方面，她特別關注擴招政策實際惠及哪些家庭背景的學生，以及父母受教育程度如何影響子女升讀大學的機會。她提出，近年非本地生，包括內地及其他亞洲國家學生比例持續上升，本地學生選擇北上入讀內地高校的趨勢亦日益明顯，這些結構性變化正在重塑香港高校的生源結構與角色定位。

在效益與質量方面，歐教授根據「三三四」改革後的相關統計數據，分析擴張對教學資源與勞動力市場的影響。她指出，改革後本地高校師生比例有所上升，引發社會對教師教學負荷與教學質素的關注；副學士畢業生與學士畢業生在就業表現與回報方面仍存在差距，相關社會成本與資源配置成效值得持續檢視。

語言生態的變化亦是她關注的重點之一。隨著「三語兩文」在教與學中的具體使用情況出現新變化，教師在課堂語言選擇、學生在不同語言之間切換的負擔，以及評核機制的公平性，都面對新的要求與壓力。歐教授認為，現行教師評估與考核機制需要因應語言環境與學生組成的變化作出調整，以確保教學質量與學習成效。

在隨後的交流環節中，與談學者與現場嘉賓就香港高教的未來路向展開熱烈討論。黎晨教授聚焦副學士學位的定位，指出副學位原本被視為推動高等教育普及與擴容的重要工具，並請教歐教授在當前大專畢業生勞動市場承壓的情況下，副學位的未來角色與發展空間。

歐教授回應時表示，目前香港勞動力市場在吸納副學士畢業生方面確實面對瓶頸，關鍵在於課程設計與培養目標是否清晰。她建議，未來可參考其他地區經驗，加強副學士課程與四年制學士課程之間的銜接功能，為學生提供更具彈性與多元的升學及就業路徑，使副學位在體系中發揮更明確的階梯作用。

周憶粟教授則從學歷「訊號理論」角度補充分析。他指出，在高等教育大規模擴張的背景下，副學位作為勞動市場訊號的相對吸引力難免有所下降。然而，如果能把副學位更有機地與職業教育和專業技能培訓結合，並強化與產業需求的對接，其在技能培育、職涯過渡及提升社會流動性方面，仍然具備很大的發展潛力。

總結發言中，與會學者普遍認為，粵港澳大灣區的制度創新與區域協同，為香港高等教育的國際化及可持續發展提供了新的想像空間。如何在堅持教育公平與質量的前提下，善用大灣區政策與資源，推動跨境高等教育合作與「一校兩園」模式優化，將是未來研究與政策實踐的重要議題。大灣區教育政策及發展研究聯盟亦將繼續透過跨院校合作與實證研究，回應區內教育發展和人才培育的長遠需要。

 

On the afternoon of 19 November 2025, the Greater Bay Area Policy Innovation Forum, titled “Cross-Boundary Higher Education Collaboration, International Education Hub Development and the One University, Two Campuses Model in the Greater Bay Area”, was held at Lecture Theatre 2 of Yasumoto International Academic Park at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The forum brought together distinguished scholars and experts from Hong Kong, mainland China, and overseas institutions to discuss how higher education can support the development of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area as an international hub for innovation, education, and talent.

Jointly organised by CUHK and a number of partner institutions, the forum was supported by the Office of University General Education at CUHK, the Research Centre for Global and Regional Governance of Sun Yat sen University Institute of Advanced Studies Hong Kong, the Research Consortium on Education Policy and Development in Greater Bay Area (ReCEPD), and the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration at Nanyang Technological University. Participants engaged in in-depth exchanges on three interconnected themes, namely cross-boundary higher education collaboration and international education hub development, innovation networks and academia-industry research collaboration, and the evolution of the One University, Two Campuses model in the Greater Bay Area.

Prof. Dongshu Ou from the Department of Educational Administration and Policy at CUHK attended the forum as a representative of ReCEPD. She joined the first panel on “Cross-Boundary Higher Education Collaboration and International Education Hub Development” and delivered a keynote address entitled “Transformation and Challenges of Hong Kong Higher Education”, offering a comprehensive overview of recent policy changes and structural shifts in Hong Kong’s higher education system.

Prof. Ou began by revisiting the rapid expansion of higher education in Hong Kong. Building on the strengths of internationally recognised qualifications, proximity to the mainland market, and a diverse and inclusive campus environment, internationalisation has gradually become a core strategic direction for Hong Kong universities. The expansion of student places and the implementation of the 334 curriculum reform have led to significant gains in participation and attainment. At the same time, however, this process has prompted renewed debate about both equity and efficiency in the system.

From an equity perspective, she drew attention to which groups of students have actually benefited from expansion, and how parental education and family background continue to shape access to university opportunities. She highlighted recent structural changes in student composition, including the rising share of non-local students from the mainland and other Asian economies, as well as the growing number of local students choosing to pursue undergraduate studies at mainland universities. These trends are gradually reshaping the student mix and strategic positioning of Hong Kong institutions.

Turning to questions of effectiveness and quality, Prof. Ou used post-reform statistics to examine how expansion has affected teaching resources and labour market outcomes. She noted that the student-to-staff ratio in local universities has increased, raising concerns about teaching load and educational quality. At the same time, employment outcomes for associate degree graduates still lag behind those of bachelor’s degree graduates, which calls for careful assessment of the social costs and returns associated with different programmes and pathways.

Prof. Ou also underscored the evolving language ecology in Hong Kong’s higher education sector. Changes in the use of the “trilingual and biliterate” regime in teaching and learning have created new demands and pressures for both teachers and students. Classroom language choices, students’ need to switch between languages in academic and professional contexts, and the fairness of assessment mechanisms are all under scrutiny. She argued that current evaluation and appraisal systems for teaching staff may need to be adjusted to reflect these changes in the learning environment and student composition, in order to safeguard teaching quality and learning outcomes.

The ensuing discussion session further deepened the debate on the future of Hong Kong’s higher education landscape. Prof. Li Chen focused on the role of associate degree programmes, recalling that they were originally introduced as an important instrument for the massification of higher education. He invited Prof. Ou to comment on the future role and positioning of associate degrees in a context where the labour market absorption of sub-degree graduates has become more challenging.

In her response, Prof. Ou acknowledged that associate degree graduates currently face clear bottlenecks in the labour market. She stressed that the key issue lies in whether programme design and training objectives are sufficiently well defined. Drawing on international experience, she suggested strengthening the articulation between associate degree programmes and four-year bachelor’s degrees, so as to provide students with more flexible and diversified academic and career pathways and to clarify the stepping stone function of sub-degree qualifications within the system.

Prof. Zhou Yisu then added further insights from the perspective of educational signalling theory. He pointed out that in an environment of large-scale expansion of higher education, the relative signalling value of associate degrees in the labour market is likely to decline. Nevertheless, he argued that if associate degrees can be more closely integrated with vocational education and skills training, and if their links with industry needs are reinforced, they can still play an important role in skills development, school-to-work transitions, and the promotion of social mobility.

In conclusion, participants generally agreed that institutional innovation and regional coordination in the Greater Bay Area are opening up new opportunities for the internationalisation and sustainable development of Hong Kong’s higher education. How to leverage GBA policies and resources, while upholding equity and quality, to deepen cross-boundary higher education collaboration and refine emerging “One University, Two Campuses” arrangements will remain a key agenda for future research and policy practice. ReCEPD will continue to advance evidence-based research and inter-university collaboration, with the aim of informing long-term planning for education and talent development in the Greater Bay Area.