The internationalization of higher education has become a key policy within the global higher education sector. Yet a large body of literature suggests that simply having a diverse group of students does not guarantee meaningful intercultural engagement. This paper presents a qualitative study intended to gain a richer understanding of Hong Kong's higher education environment. In-depth interview data were collected from students of different cultural backgrounds and from academic, non-academic, and managerial staff at three Hong Kong universities. The data collection period covered local political turmoil in Hong Kong as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that, due to language barriers and potentially opposing political ideologies, all students faced challenges engaging with others who were culturally different from themselves. These findings can facilitate the development of an adaptable cross-institutional framework for meaningful intercultural learning. Copyright © 2023 Comparative and International Education Society.

香港高等教育從上世紀八十年代的精英型，走到九十年代的大眾化，踏入廿一世紀成為普及型的高等教育社會。與此同時，為了支持香港這個亞洲國際都會的發展，香港高等教育培育具國際視野的人才，教資會和各院校一向重視推動國際化。為了剖析香港高等教育的發展歷程及國際化現況，這篇文章將回顧香港高等教育從精英化、大眾化到普及化的各發展階段，並就香港高等教育國際化、境外生來港升讀、高等教育學生交流等方面作出分析，並就香港高等教育挑戰作出討論。Hong Kong's higher education in 1980s of last century is elite-type. Then it has changed to mass-type higher education in 1990s. Into the twenty-first century Hong Kong become universal-type of higher education society. At the same time, in order to support the development of international metropolis, Hong Kong's higher education has cultivated an international vision, and the University Grants Committee (UGC) and institutions have always emphasis to promote internationalization. In order to analyze the development and the internationalization of Hong Kong's higher education. This article aims to review Hong Kong's higher education from elite, mass to the universal-type, and the internationalization of Hong Kong's higher education, oversea students studying in Hong Kong, student exchange in tertiary institutions, and to discuss the challenges of higher education in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2017 香港教師中心.

The language-related challenges affecting international university students' adaptation to a new host environment have been extensively explored in English-speaking countries. However, few studies have been performed in non English-speaking countries or regions, and even fewer have investigated these challenges from the perspective of learner autonomy. Adopting a process-oriented approach, the present qualitative, multiple case study examines how nine first-year mainland Chinese university students developed their autonomy in adapting to English-medium-instruction (EMI) in a university in Hong Kong, a multilingual context. The findings reveal that, via a three-stage process, the participants developed autonomy by changing their strategies for both learning and using English during their first year of study. The participants' development of autonomy for learning and using English was also mediated by the local multilingual context. These findings help to deepen our understanding of the dynamics and complexity of students' long-term autonomy development in an era of increasing internationalization in higher education.
[Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.]