This paper examines contested meanings of international student mobility in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The study tries to understand why policy makers and university managers find it difficult to diversify student bodies in these jurisdictions. In particular, problems with the conceptualisation of international student mobility are discussed. In practical terms, the paper delineates key boosters and barriers for inbound flows which received little attention in the previous literature that primarily focused on the outbound mobility. Finally, the researchers discuss important policy leverages that could enhance the value of engagement of international students in transcultural learning. Copyright © 2019 James Nicholas Publishers.

Regional innovation is increasingly dependent on learning from modernization-driven jurisdictions (Caniëls and van den Bosch, Pap Reg Sci 90:271–285, 2011; Schulte, Nordic J Stud Educ Policy:1–13, 2018), and the Province of Guangdong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Macau Special Administrative Region of China in various ways succeeded to employ experiences and links from advanced economic and education agencies across the globe (Fu, Oxf Dev Stud 36:89–110, 2008; Henning and Ulrike, Asian J Technol Innov 17:101–128, 2009; Cai and Liu, Sci Public Policy 42:1–15, 2014). In this chapter, we are examining how policy alignments oriented at globally-competitive performers have been contributing to innovation and how alignment of economic and education agendas has been driving the emergence of a Greater Bay Area of China (GBAC). In particular, we analyse cross-jurisdictional dynamics seeking to reinforce cumulative advantages for universities in the region. Concurrently, we outline a range of challenges faced by political, economic and education stakeholders in various jurisdictions at times when they are forced for harmonization of policies and agendas. Copyright © 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

A major cluster of economic engines that have changed Asian higher education, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan have all developed high-income societies as well as world-class universities which linked local “knowledge economies” to global science and created hubs for international collaborations and mobility. However, there has been limited analysis of interdependencies between the rise of world-class universities and changes in the flows of international talent. This paper elaborates on the concept of higher education internationalization that aims at enhancing geopolitical equity in global mobility and re-positioning local students for improved access to the world-class excellence. The paper compares key themes and patterns that define the Tiger societies’ unique positions in the field of global higher education. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s).