Address by Professor Paul LAM Kwan-sing, President
8 December 2025
Pro-Chancellor Dr Eddy Fong, Council Chairman Ir Dr Conrad Wong, Honorary doctorate recipients, Distinguished guests, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, Hong Kong Metropolitan University is conferring honorary doctorates on four distinguished individuals:
At HKMU, we confer honorary degrees on individuals who have performed distinguished service for the community, emphasising significant, sustained contributions to economic, social and cultural or scientific development.
This reflects the University’s values and our commitment to promoting progress in society through education.
Allow me to share a brief overview of our university – what we stand for and what our aspirations are.
When I joined the University in 2021, I set the University three goals.
First, we aim to provide first-rate education to our students.
Second, to help our students secure good jobs or start their own business, ultimately leading to successful careers after graduation.
Third, to nurture our students to become upstanding members of our community.
We are working hard (and we will continue to work hard) to achieve these goals.
Not many people might be aware of some of the characteristics of our University:
When considered separately, these four characteristics do not seem that special.
Together, however, these characteristics make our University unique. These uniqueness makes our HKMU the most flexible university in Hong Kong. We are able to respond to market trends and industry needs, paving the way for our being designated as the Hong Kong first university of applied sciences in March 2024.
Our programmes are very popular among secondary school leavers.
As you know, when secondary school students apply to universities through a joint admission scheme, what we call JUPAS, they can put a maximum of 20 choices, but what matters would be the first three choices, what we call Band A choices. The Band A applications to HKMU programmes have been increasing for the past four years.
This year, we saw a 21% increase in Band A applications to our university compared to previous years. In fact, the application data for 2026 admission just arrived last week, and we observed that there was a 31% increase.
In 2025, the number of full-time students at our university reached over 17,000, making us the fifth-largest university in Hong Kong in terms of full-time undergraduate enrolment.
Regarding research, our University achieved excellent results in the 2025/26 Research Grants Council Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector.
Our university ranked first in both the total number of funded projects, and in total funding received.
This allocation accounts for 37 % of the total funding available to the entire sector, which has 15 member institutions.
In 2025, our university has acquired 10 patents and licensed an HKMU intellectual property, which is concerned with the “Non-invasive prostate cancer screening technology”, to a British company.
This year, the HKMU Angel Fund supported the first batch of five startups established by HKMU staff, students and alumni. Each startup is eligible for funding support of a maximum of HKD 1 million.
Regarding “going global”, on 19th June this year, QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) announced that HKMU had made its debut in the QS World University Rankings, placing us at 781 to 790.
To provide some perspective, there are 9 universities in Hong Kong that are on the list. Apart from MU, the other 8 universities are all government-funded. Their rankings range from 11 to 710.
Additionally, among the nine ranked Hong Kong universities, our university stands 6th in employment outcomes and 7th in academic reputation.
On 19th September, we reached another milestone by securing an interest-free loan from the Hong Kong Government.
This loan is a key component of our financing plan for the construction of the HKMU Hub for Community Health and Wellness.
In addition, our newly acquired MU Tower in Hung Hom will provide inspiring spaces for learning, teamwork and community engagement.
Following one year of operation, MU88, our University Student Hostel, is undergoing a complete transformation this academic year.
When it reopens in September 2026, MU88, our only student hostel, will provide 439 beds, together with brand new facilities and enhanced services.
Our University will continue to develop its physical campus, strive for academic excellence, and further improve its facilities for learning and teaching.
I apologise for the longer than usual speech, because I hope that all four honorary doctorate recipients will be proud of being associated with HKMU.
They are excellent role models for our students and other members of the HKMU.
I look forward to their valued advice, guidance and support in many many many years to come.
Thank you.
