Top international honors for CityU

City University has been recognized as the "most international university" globally, according to the latest Times Higher Education world university rankings.

This marks the sixth consecutive year that a Hong Kong university has achieved this distinction.

CityU, ranked fourth last year, surpassed University of Hong Kong to claim the top spot in the world's most international universities 2024 rankings. The rankings evaluated 203 universities from 36 countries and territories.

University of Hong Kong, which previously was first, dropped to sixth.

University of Science and Technology and Polytechnic University both made it to the top 10, but their rankings declined to unspecified positions.

HKUST was previously fifth and Polytechnic used to be sixth.

Chinese University showed improvement, climbing four spots to reach 13th.

Second and third places were secured by Abu Dhabi University in the United Arab Emirates and University of Oxford in Britain, respectively.

The rankings take various factors into account, such as the proportion of international staff and students, co-authorship at the institutions and international reputation.

"Hong Kong is home to the world's most international university for the sixth year in a row, but the territory's flagship research institution has lost the crown to its cross-town rival in a shaken-up table this year," said Times Higher Education rankings editor Ellie Bothwell.

"This year, for the first time, the population of the country has been taken into account when evaluating these measures to avoid penalizing universities in large nations.

"This has slightly hindered Hong Kong but had a greater negative impact on Singapore."

A spokesman of CityU said the rankings further enhanced its position as "a global frontrunner in higher education."

CityU currently has students from more than 80 countries or regions.

It has also partnered with 44 countries or regions in providing over 400 exchange programs and about 65 percent of its undergraduate students studied in those programs.

"CityU is celebrating its 30th anniversary of achieving university status this year and this recognition confirms that we are on the right track," CityU president Freddy Boey said.

"The university remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering an inspirational, interactive and innovative educational environment."

sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com