HK prepares to receive academic brain drain from United States

Administration's crackdown on Harvard viewed as opportunity to lure top students, research talent to the city

When one door closes, another opens — and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is positioning itself as a destination for academics and students potentially locked out of United States tertiary institutions.

The city's world-class English-instruction universities and deep integration with the Chinese mainland's booming innovation ecosystem offer a compelling alternative for elite researchers barred from top U.S. universities like Harvard, amid the Trump administration's escalating scrutiny.

For the SAR, this is a golden opportunity to bolster its talent pool — but experts warn that lingering challenges could undermine its ambitions.

Chronic shortages in on-campus housing and sky-high living costs, risk pricing out talent from developing countries.

Meanwhile, an outdated focus on publishing journals over research that has real-world impact is squandering Hong Kong's strategic advantage of access to mainland industrial clusters and markets, the experts said.

Unless these gaps are addressed, this opportunity may slip away to study destinations such as Singapore or Sydney, they warned.

Uncertainty in U.S.

Harvard University's international students have endured a roller coaster of turmoil this year, starting with an executive order on Jan 29 calling for tougher enforcement of government efforts against antisemitism.

The administration has intensified its crackdown on U.S. higher education institutions, accusing some of them of failing to address antisemitism during pro-Palestinian campus protests — with Harvard bearing the brunt.

The financial cutbacks to Harvard began in April with suspension of $2.2 billion in federal funding, followed by a $450 million cut to grants in May, and threats to revoke the university's tax-exempt status.

Other measures by the Trump administration targeted international scholars directly.