President of the City University of Hong Kong Professor Freddy Boey is on Straight Talk this week.

Professor Boey talks about how Hong Kong can become an international hub by bringing in the right talents and by sending our students overseas while retaining them here at the same time. He also shares his experience with us on how to do it successfully.

Check out the full transcript of TVB’s Straight Talk host Dr Eugene Chan’s interview with Professor Freddy Boey:

Chan: Good evening and welcome to Straight Talk. I'm Eugene Chan and our guest this evening is President of the City University of Hong Kong Professor Freddy Boey. Professor Boey is a professor of materials engineering. His prior roles include deputy president of Innovation and Enterprise at the National University of Singapore and provost of the Nanyang Technological University. He is a previous recipient of Singapore's prestigious President Science and Technology Medal and a fellow at the Imperial College London's Faculty of Medicine. Other achievements include helping found Singapore's second undergraduate medical school, for which he received the 2016 Singapore National Day Public Administration Gold Medal. Welcome, Freddie!

Boey: Thank you, thank you, Eugene!

Chan: One crucial policy initiative by the chief executive in his latest Policy Address is to project … it's a project to establish the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to be an international tertiary education hub, I'm sure something that you feel is very close to your heart.

Boey: Of course.

Chan: Before we go into details, I want to pose a question in the title of the show to you, how will this benefit Hong Kong?

Boey: Hong Kong is already a very international city, and the key role in Hong Kong, in this whole region, is the international scenario inside the city. So, it's crucial for us to continue, if not increase, the internationality for the city.

Chan: How does this influx of, say, international students and faculty enrich our community and contribute to our economy? This is something that Hong Kong should be doing.

Boey: Yes.

Chan: A real sort of business city. How does that help?

Boey: I think that the output of Hong Kong is disproportionate to the population, and it is so important for us to bring in talented people that not just have a job, but create jobs, create high value, and in that process, lifts up everybody's well-being. And I think that's the reason why the government is so aggressive when it comes to attracting international talent, rather than taking jobs away from locals. Indeed, it creates even more jobs and better jobs.

Chan: Would it happen?

Boey: I'm sorry.

Chan: Would that actually happen by creating more jobs?

Boey: I think so. I think if you look at other international cities, it is not just good to have, it's really something that you must have as a city of such international standing as in Hong Kong, it will happen. It will happen.

Chan: So, Professor, I know that you've been in Hong Kong for a short time, one and a half years, but you've done a lot for the City University. But how would you describe Hong Kong, the current standing and appeal, in terms of the global education landscape? How attractive is Hong Kong?

Boey: Well, CityU is a good example. We have been ranked as the number one in the whole world by Times Higher Education as the most international university. You don't get to be that ranked if you don't have the ability to attract the best students internationally and the best faculty. The fact that we have been able to do that really proves that Hong Kong continues to be a good attraction for young people to come for their education and for very talented world class professors to come to Hong Kong as professors.

Chan: When you ... I know that you have invited many professors from abroad. What will be your first reaction when you say, I would like to offer you this opportunity?

Boey: I usually will not describe merely the city of Hong Kong, though it is an attraction by itself. Talents are attracted not just by a small locality. They are attracted by a region, for example, the West Coast. When we talk about the West Coast, we include San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco. And in the first instance, Hong Kong is in the center of the Greater Bay Area. It's one of the most exciting regions in the whole world, and over a longer period of time, this region is going to be really at the forefront of the world's future. From that point of view, Hong Kong stands very strongly as an attractive city for people to come to have a western lifestyle, but yet have complete access to this exciting region.

Chan: Right professor, some of the viewers have shared with me that they've heard that when they go overseas, a lot of people will ask him, is Hong Kong still very safe?

Boey: Yes.

Chan: There's a lot of sort of, I will say, misinformation about Hong Kong.

Boey: That's right, that's right.

Chan: Do you encounter that as well?

Boey: I do, and I will always let them know that I feel completely safe in Hong Kong, and not only that, running a university in Hong Kong is very effective. As far as I'm concerned, I have the ability to do many things for the young people in Hong Kong. So, I don't think that that is an issue.

Chan: You know, the Hong Kong government also says they set up what we call the "study in Hong Kong" initiative to promote Hong Kong. Can you talk about actually building this brand? How difficult is it? Or is it quite straightforward?

Boey: Recently, I led CityU Hong Kong to a country called Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has about 20-30 million people and their government has signed an agreement with the CityU Hong Kong to send over 100 students for two years, so that every year we will have more than 40 or 50 Kazakhstan students coming to Hong Kong, fully paid for by the government. We have also been discussing with the Indonesian government about having their sponsored students come to Hong Kong. So, you can see that the city of Hong Kong, and the CityU in particular, has a very good attraction for people to send their talent to us to train.

Chan: When you mentioned that the talents that are coming to Hong Kong, I'm sure they need a place to stay.

Boey: Aiya.

Chan: Hong Kong has always known that we don't have …

Boey: It is.

Chan: … a lot of living environments, which is just barely acceptable for many people. Is there anything sort of coming as a package to support these international students?

Boey: My first reaction when I was told by the government that we can go up to about 40 percent for the overseas student cap was this very question: where do I put them to stay? If they don't live comfortably, they cannot study comfortably. It is a problem, but it's a problem that can be solved. Fortunately for CityU, we recently had the immediate addition of more than 2,000 beds in Ma On Shan that will help us tremendously. In two, three years’ time, I will have another 1,000 beds in Kowloon Tong. So, I think that we are resolving this matter on an urgent basis. I am looking for more accommodation to help our students. (It’s) difficult but not impossible.

Chan: President, you mentioned earlier that CityU is recognized as the most international university. It is an important recognition actually it is among the whole world. Can you share some stories with us? Any person you have met through those international students is worthwhile. Let us know.

Boey: I have, in fact, on the point of joining CityU, I quietly went round to just meet up with students, and they weren't aware that I was the president at the time, asking them how they fit in. Students from Indonesia, students from Kazakhstan, students from India and so on. I think that as far as I can see, they are happily assimilated in Kowloon Tong. The fact that there are so many overseas students makes them more comfortable than less. Of course, they wish they could learn better Cantonese, but that's not a big issue. I think English is the franca lingua, and they all are very comfortable where they are. Food-wise, also, I think Hong Kong has an ability to cater to different nationalities. So, on top of that, I took the initiative to start a home hosting program and invited many families around Kowloon to host our overseas students. It has been an outstanding success. More than 1,000 of our students apply for this program, and I'm receiving hundreds of families willing to take more, one or even more students, including my own staff as well.

Chan: Well, that is a wonderful initiative by you. So, what other programs are you sort of getting more international collaboration between City University and the rest of the world?

Boey: There are two ways of being international. I'm also mindful that our local students, young Hong Kong people and those young people from the mainland coming to CityU have international exposure. Of course, we say that “come to CityU and you come to the world”, but nothing like actually going out to the world. For example, about a few days ago, we signed a really big agreement with Cambridge University. This year is amazing. We signed no less than seven different agreements with the Lucy Cavendish College, one of the biggest in Cambridge, and five other departments in Cambridge. This agreement allows us to send our students over to Cambridge University. I envisage about 30 to 40 students a year, every year. This is one example. Another example would be our flagship programs. I have about five flagship programs, and by next year, there will be nine. These flagship programs allow our local students to spend at least six months, maybe even a year, in overseas institutions, to be well-exposed to the culture, as far as CityU is concerned this is education. Being exposed to something unfamiliar and being able to survive, is an education itself.

Chan: Right. Let's take a short break now and viewers stay with us. We will be right back.

Chan: Thank you for staying with us. Professor Freddy Boey is our guest this evening, and we have been talking about how Hong Kong can benefit as an international education hub. Professor …

Boey: Yes.

Chan: … you have given us a very good example how our Hong Kong universities can reach out internationally, and thereby making our Chief Executive’s aim of making Hong Kong as an international education hub a real high chance of a probability. Having said that, we know that many parents in Hong Kong, we do send our children abroad to study.

Boey: Yes.

Chan: And when we are having like 40 percent of the students are from overseas. So, should we encourage them to consider Hong Kong as the choice rather than overseas? Because five of our universities, out of eight universities, are in the top 100, which is a very good achievement.

Boey: Yes.

Chan: What would you say for someone from Singapore?

Boey: I will most certainly say that parents should have the cake and eat it. You know, today's education is global, and coming to CityU or coming to one of the eight universities in Hong Kong, you will get a global education. But on top of that, many universities are also having programs that allow your students, allow their children to go overseas for an extended period. So, I think that it might be a good situation of having your children stay in Hong Kong, have a program that allows them to travel overseas and spend a period of time there, that would be a good compromise. Certainly, it would not be for lack of quality because our universities, five of them at least, are in the top 100 in the world.

Chan: Since we are on the topic of talents, I am sure attracting them is the first step. But being able to retain them …

Boey: Yes, yes.

Chan: … is another big challenge. How confident are you that these students come to Hong Kong, we have trained them, they will serve Hong Kong and make Hong Kong even a greater place?

Boey: I think first of all, you really don't need every single one of them to stay. The reason is because for those who go back, they become your very good ambassador, and you do need that when you internationalize. I am confident though that many of them will stay back. I think Hong Kong has a very attractive immigration policy that allows students, when they finish, to continue, and then to have a job, and then naturally over a period of time, to be a permanent resident. And this, as I said, is a very attractive region to work in. So, I am confident that many of them will not only finish their studies, but continue working in Hong Kong.

Chan: Right. Since you are now a Hong Kong person because you are now based in Hong Kong, a few weeks ago, we had Professor Gilberto Leung here. We talked about a possible third medical school and we have to attract talents. Hong Kong and Singapore are like, we have been like, I would say, a friendly competition or can be hostile at times. What do you see as Hong Kong's niche compared to Singapore? And how do we … do we have the competitiveness to attract talents to come to Hong Kong? We have got you for sure.

Boey: Yeah, I think Hong Kong needs to be more confident of herself. The one big thing about Hong Kong is its proximity to this very exciting area that we call the Greater Bay Area. And for very talented people, opportunities are very important, and a lifestyle combined with great opportunity is perfect. And I think this is where Hong Kong is on her own elements. The lifestyle here is wonderful, it is very, very livable. That is why I am here. And the opportunity, I must say that the very big thing that attracted me to Hong Kong was not just Hong Kong, but this access to the mainland, in particular the southern part, the Greater Bay Area. I am very sure that others will think in a similar way.

Chan: So, Professor, I think I want to move onto the area of technology.

Boey: Sure.

Chan: We know that Hong Kong has been given a task by our central government to be developing more of our I&T, and I am sure university will be taking part of that role as well.

Boey: Yes.

Chan: And AI development is something that we talk about a lot recently.

Boey: Yes, yes.

Chan: So, I will use the word ‘pivotal topic’ for tertiary education. So, how is your university driving AI teachings among students?

Boey: AI is a very good topic to discuss. There are other areas like biomedical and so on. The key thing is that when we educate our students, it is for the future. And when you look into the future, what jobs are there? Not just jobs, but good jobs, and the answer is that there are jobs that are going to have a need for AI knowledge, how to apply it in a very integral way. So, for the same reason, I think CityU is transforming itself, embedding AI and its usage across our disciplines. I recently started the AI for Science Institution to attract the very best people in AI to come, to inspire our students about AI. AI is not just to be used. AI itself is a discipline, a science by itself. Time will come when it is every bit, a discipline as in chemistry or physics. So, that is where we are going.

Chan: Right. Where do you find those specialists from AI?

Boey: We work very hard, and my team and I travel around the world and to look for really great talent, not just great talent of the past, but even more great talent of the future. Younger ones, we hunt them around the whole world. I must tell you that I personally go for this talent hunting, and when I find one or two young Hong Kong people that are doing so well, anywhere from London to Boston, I personally want to talk with them to attract them back to Hong Kong, at least for emotional reasons. If I promise them a really outstanding job, they are prepared to come back.

Chan: Right. Professor, by listening to you until this minute, I am sure the chief executive will be very happy …

Boey: I hope so.

Chan: … because this year's Policy Address is the word ‘reform’. We need to find a new way. I think traditionally Hong Kong businesses, I must say tertiary education, is definitely one of sort of business model. We have always relied on what we have…

Boey: Yes.

Chan: … what we have done well. But now you are going out of your comfort zone, and go overseas and get talents. This is a good way forward.

Boey: Yeah, and it is a very necessary way. I mean talent is everything. We can want to go to any areas we want, but without the talent, we will not get there. So, this is absolutely crucial.

Chan: Right. You mentioned quite a number of times in our interview that the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong is right in the center of it. How would your university take advantage of this position?

Boey: Sure. We are already in the Greater Bay Area. We have started the CityU Hong Kong at Dongguan campus, university. We are at Futian, very substantial research done there, and our Shenzhen RI in Nanshan. But beyond that actually we have landed in Qingdao. We have made agreement with the Qingdao government, and we have started research and innovation center there. So, CityU is very ambitious. We like the Greater Bay Area, but we like beyond as well. I think our sphere of influence can be the whole of the mainland.

Chan: Right, so CityU, University of Hong Kong's logo will be seen in different parts of the mainland.

Boey: Absolutely, absolutely. This is necessary because the jobs, the future, our students will have very good jobs, not just in the Greater Bay Area, but beyond within China.

Chan: Right, when you sort of meet with the counterparts in the mainland or overseas, you mentioned you went to Boston, different places, how do they see Hong Kong as a potential partner in terms of developing their work?

Boey: Pragmatically, I think they have all been concerned about the politics of the US-China tension. And they see Hong Kong as a viable alternative, to be in Hong Kong and then to do things within the mainland, so that they avoid going straight into the mainland. This is something, of course it has been overplayed, but at the same time Hong Kong has its great use. The lifestyle we have, the ability to do things that western people are used to, but yet having access to the wonderful market that is in the mainland.

Chan: Right, so let me come back to the title of the show again: “how would Hong Kong benefit from being an international territory education hub?” I think the answer is a lot more obvious after your points in discussion.

Boey: Yes, indeed, indeed. If there is no talent, there is nothing you can talk about. You want to build a biomedical industry, you need the talent for biomedicine. And this is where universities stand on its own to return the investment that society has put on us.

Chan: Right, Professor, I know that you have done a lot of work in Singapore, you have made all the institutions you were at successful, including the National University of Singapore, and also the NTU. How would you see Hong Kong now? I mean I am just going to ask you a very direct question again because Hong Kong has been down in a lot of the … I mean sort of down and sort of depressed market in the economic cycle. What should Hong Kong people do and are you confident in Hong Kong people?

Boey: Well, I am, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I think that Hong Kong society has crossed the bridge in many ways in the last few years. And we should all look ahead. There is a bright future ahead and especially for young people. There is no need to look backwards. There is every reason to look forward. This region is going to be one of the most vibrant in the world, and it holds great promise for young people. They don't need to go anywhere else, they just stay in Hong Kong and their future will be bright.

Chan: Freddy, thank you very much for the encouraging remark.

Boey: Thank you.

Chan: Hong Kong, being an international education hub, will offer countless opportunities. With the dedication with our universities and the support of the government and the community, our city is strongly positioned for success.  Thank you for joining us and have a good evening!