African university students in China’s Hong Kong: Motivations and aspirations

This paper explores the motivations and aspirations of African students who choose Hong Kong as their destination for university studies. Based on the findings of in-depth interviews with ten African students in Hong Kong, this research postulates that academic reputation and financial incentives are the two main motivations for attending university in Hong Kong. Other factors such as good teaching, research supervision, and treating Hong Kong as a stepping-stone to China also motivate some students. However, this paper identifies a general pattern that indicates most of the African students do not intend to stay behind in Hong Kong after graduation. While internationalization is a major strategic development of Hong Kong universities, there remain an insignificant number of African students on Hong Kong campuses. We suggest that recruiting more African university students can enhance the international profile of Hong Kong universities and strengthen academic internationalization at large. Copyright © 2015 Journal of Pan African Studies.