Nurturing the Best

In 1998, HKUST admitted the first batch of 19 mainland undergraduates as scholarship students under an agreement between the HKSAR Government and the Ministry of Education. At the end of this academic year 17 of them completed their studies, with 14 graduating with First Class Honors. Five received the Academic Achievement Award, and 12 of the graduates have been admitted to postgraduate programs at Yale, Columbia, Cornell, University of California at Berkeley, Illinois and HKUST.

HKUST launched its Early Admission Program in March 2002 to provide gifted Form Six students with the opportunity of accelerated entry into a local university, thereby keeping the best young talent in Hong Kong. Over 200 students applied and 56 were accepted. These students have now started the University's three-year undergraduate program. A six-week intensive summer course helped them make the transition from secondary to tertiary education.