CUHK: Becoming an International University?
Doraemon According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE), Hong Kong has become the base of the most international universities, including the City University of Hong Kong (1st), the University of Hong Kong (2nd) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (5th). In 2021, CUHK's ranking even went up to 3rd. Our university seems very proud of the result and posted it on the “CUHK Rankings” website to tell all visitors: “We are one of the most international universities in the world.” However, does the honour of “the most international university” mean that CUHK is becoming an international university? THE introduced CUHK as an international university like this, “Students from over 50 countries study at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The university has exchange partnerships with more than 282 institutions in 36 countries and regions. Some 6,000 students study abroad or participate in an apprenticeship abroad program or internship.” The dazzling numbers have painted a picture of a campus similar to that of the "United Nations" in the reader's mind. However, is this the case? Could living in CUHK be portrayed as “life in the United Nations”? The answer is uncertain. Different cultures coexist in the era of globalization. students could form their social circle. People tend to speak with those with similar cultural backgrounds: local students speak Cantonese; Mainland students speak Mandarin (some of them speak their dialects); Russians speak Russian; Arabs speak Arabic; other internationals speak English. The various communities in CUHK give rise to a very interesting situation, that is we can all speak English but we rarely speak to each other. It's like a hotel for tourists to stay, but not a campus, which is a place full of the legacy of student activities. Students come to CUHK as a tourist for four years and sometimes some may complain: “This is not what I expected…” The question here is: what is an “international” university? Maybe it is time to ask ourselves, "Is it possible for a university to be 'international? Is there an international culture?"
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