University of Hong Kong
香港大學 | |||||||||||||||
| Motto | Sapientia et Virtus (Latin) 明德格物 (Classical Chinese) | ||||||||||||||
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Motto in English | Wisdom and Virtue | ||||||||||||||
| Type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1 October 1887 (as Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese) 30 March 1911 (as the University of Hong Kong) | ||||||||||||||
| Chancellor | John Lee Ka-chiu | ||||||||||||||
| President | Xiang Zhang | ||||||||||||||
| Vice-president | Gong Peng Ian Holliday Max Shen | ||||||||||||||
| Provost | Y.C. Richard Wong | ||||||||||||||
| Pro-chancellor | David Li | ||||||||||||||
Academic staff | 9,288 (2023) | ||||||||||||||
Administrative staff | 4,427 (2023) | ||||||||||||||
| Students | 39,166 (2023) | ||||||||||||||
| Undergraduates | 18,491 (47.2%) (2023) | ||||||||||||||
| Postgraduates | 20,675 (52.8%) (2023) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | , Hong Kong 22°17′03″N 114°08′16″E / 22.28417°N 114.13778°E | ||||||||||||||
| Campus | Urban 17.7 hectares (0.177 km2) (Main campus) 70.1 hectares (0.701 km2) (Total) | ||||||||||||||
| Newspaper | Undergrad HKUSU (Chinese) | ||||||||||||||
| Colours | Dark green | ||||||||||||||
| Affiliations | |||||||||||||||
| Mascot | Lion | ||||||||||||||
| Website | hku | ||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 香港大学 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 香港大學 | ||||||||||||||
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The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of Hong Kong in 1911. It is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong.
The university was established and proposed by Governor Sir Frederick Lugard in an effort to compete with the other Great Powers opening universities in China. The university's governance consists of three bodies: the Court, the Council, and the Senate. These three bodies all have their own separate roles. The Court acts as the overseeing and legislative body of the university, the Council acts as governing body of the University, and the Senate as the principal academic authority of the university.
The university currently has ten academic faculties and 20 residential halls and colleges for its students, with English being its main medium of instruction and assessment.
The university has educated many notable alumni in many fields. Among them is Dr Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Republic of China, a graduate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, the predecessor of HKU. Notable alumni in the field of politics include Anson Chan, Carrie Lam, Jasper Tsang and Regina Ip.
The university is currently ranked 35th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.