City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) garnered three prestigious awards at the inaugural Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings award presentation ceremony, thanks to its outstanding teaching, research and diverse international academic environment. The accolades included the “Global Engagement Champions”, the “Learning Experience Champions” and the “Research and Discovery Champions” awards. The winning of three awards also made CityUHK the only university to win the most Champion awards in the ceremony.

In the recently announced QS Asia University Rankings 2025, CityUHK achieved a remarkable result by climbing to 10th place in Asia, a significant leap of seven spots from last year, and was ranked third in Hong Kong. CityUHK was among Asia’s Top 1% universities in the rankings. These awards highlight CityUHK’s substantial achievements in fostering international collaboration and promoting innovative teaching and research. 

The award presentation ceremony was held on 7 November in Macao, as one of the highlight events of the QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia Pacific 2024. CityUHK distinguished itself among 984 participating institutions, securing three champions in all three categories and becoming the only university in Asia to win the most Champion awards and sweeping in all three categories.

Professor Freddy Boey, President of CityUHK, said, “CityUHK’s entry into the top 10 of the QS Asia University Rankings 2025 and the achievement of three champions is exhilarating. These accomplishments fully reflect the continuous progress in CityUHK’s teaching and research quality, positioning us at the forefront in Asia. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary since achieving university status this year, CityUHK remains committed to fostering inspiring, interactive and innovative education, actively expanding our global connections, and leading our faculty and students to innovate into the future.” 

The “Global Engagement Champions” award recognises institutions that excel in creating an international academic environment and research network. CityUHK ranked first in Asia in three evaluation metrics: “Proportion of international faculty”, “Proportion of inbound exchange students” and “Proportion of outbound exchange students”, and achieved a perfect score in the “Proportion of international students” sub-category.

CityUHK is dedicated to establishing partnerships with renowned universities and institutions worldwide, including those from the Mainland and Belt and Road countries, to enhance academic and scientific research collaboration. This effort provides opportunities for faculty and students from various countries and regions to explore the world. Notably, CityUHK launched a series of collaborations with the University of Cambridge earlier this year, including a scholarship programme launched by CityUHK and the University of Cambridge’s Lucy Cavendish College, the first of its kind for universities in Hong Kong. Additionally, CityUHK has become the first international partner of the Future Global Leaders Programme launched by Lucy Cavendish College to nurture future global leaders. Currently, CityUHK has more than 400 exchange programme partners across over 44 countries and regions. About 65% of the University’s undergraduate students participate in these programmes. 

The “Learning Experience Champions” award honours institutions with exceptional teaching quality, which is evaluated based on the “Faculty-Student ratio” and “Staff with a PhD”. CityUHK’s significant improvement in the “Faculty-Student ratio”, with a 20-place rise in the ranking, reflects its ongoing efforts to enhance teaching quality and provide ample academic support to students. CityUHK’s commitment to promoting high-quality and innovative education was also recognised by the Quality Assurance Council of the University Grants Committee in the “Report of Quality Audit of City University of Hong Kong”. To honour outstanding teachers and promote best teaching practices, CityUHK introduced the Teaching Excellence Awards in 1993, making it the first university in Hong Kong to offer such awards.

The “Research and Discovery Champions” award acknowledges institutions excelling in academic research, evaluated based on “Academic reputation”, “Citations per paper”, and “Papers per faculty”. CityUHK scholars are committed to pioneering research that benefits society. Nearly 210 CityUHK scholars have been listed among the “World’s Top 2% Most-cited Scientists”, making CityUHK first in Hong Kong in the proportion of top scientists relative to the total number of faculty. Additionally, 28 scholars were named Highly Cited Researchers for 2023 by Clarivate. Again, CityUHK was ranked first in Hong Kong based on the ratio of Highly Cited Researchers to faculty size. Furthermore, 32 outstanding scholars received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China for 2024, and CityUHK topped local institutions for the 8th consecutive year in the prestigious Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted US Utility Patents. 

Media enquiries: Vanessa Cheung, Communications and Institutional Research Office, CityUHK (Tel: 3442 5221 or 6408 7411)