The Hong Kong government rolled out new educational initiatives under the Five-Year Plan and the 2026 Policy Address, introducing a digital education platform powered by artificial intelligence and opening land for a major university town in Hung Shui Kiu. According to the Hong Kong Government News Bulletin, Education Bureau Chief Cai Ruolian detailed the measures during a press conference on September 17, 2026.
AI-Powered Learning Platform and Administrative Digitization
The Education Bureau will launch a free digital education learning platform featuring an artificial intelligence large language model to support classroom instruction. According to official announcements, the initiative also aims to digitize administrative workflows in kindergartens across the city. To strengthen civic education, the government is expanding the Constitution and Basic Law Student Campus Ambassador Training Programme to cover all publicly funded primary and secondary schools. Additionally, authorities will introduce a new online national security education platform.
Publicly funded schools will encounter structural adjustments through a newly introduced “Confluence Upgrade Scheme,” designed to encourage and facilitate the voluntary merger of suitable institutions. These reforms coincide with broader efforts by Chief Executive Li Jia-chao to align local educational frameworks with national development goals.
According to the Hong Kong Government News Bulletin, the plots span a total area of approximately 26.2 hectares with a maximum floor area ratio of five.
Higher education institutions can submit proposals for the sites. Priority will be granted to institutions that do not require government loans or that present more competitive financing solutions. This expansion aligns with parallel initiatives to scale up the Northern Metropolis university area to cover more than 1,000 hectares, supporting the objective to build an international hub for high-end talent and cement the “Study in Hong Kong” brand.
Scholarship and Research Quota Expansions
Financial support and research placements are scaling up significantly under the newly announced framework. According to government briefing materials, University Grants Committee-funded research postgraduate student places will increase by roughly 30 percent, reaching 9,600 slots by the 2030/31 academic year.
Additional increases target international and regional academic exchange:
- The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme quota will rise incrementally to 550 places by the 2029/30 academic year.
- The Belt and Road Scholarship quota will expand to 200 annual awards.
Related reading