City University of Hong Kong

Yeung Kin Man Academic Building, formerly known as Academic 1,[16] was also called "Academic Building"[17][18][19][20] before the completion of Academic 2. It was completed in stages from 1989 to 1994. The floor area is 63,000 m² (680,000 sq ft), and includes 116 laboratories, 18 lecture halls, classrooms and canteens. The building is divided by colour, in order of purple zone (P), green zone (G), blue zone (B), yellow zone (Y) and red zone (R). Except for the lecture halls, all classrooms and laboratories are numbered by their colour divisions.

• Yeung Kin Man Academic Building, CityU
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  Entrance to YKM Academic Building
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  YKM Academic Building, 2019
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  YKM Academic Building, 2019
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  YKM Academic Building, 2019
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  YKM Academic Building, 2019

Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building, previously called Academic 2,[21] was designed by architecture firm Aedas. With a total area of 20,900 m² (225,000 sq ft), it is located on the slope behind the sports complex on the campus, and is equipped with a resource centre, design room, computer room, language practice room, and student dining hall, classrooms, lecture halls, audio-visual rooms, multi-purpose activity rooms and sky gardens.

• Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building, CityU
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  AC2 Void 1, 2011
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  Multi-functional room, 2019
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  Main Entrance, AC2, 2011
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  AC2, 2019

Lau Ming Wai Academic Building was called Academic 3.[22] The academic building project is divided into two phases. The first phase is a 20-storey high-rise building, and the second phase is a five-storey low-rise building with a total usable area of 20,500 m² (221,000 sq ft). It is the tallest building in CityU. Facilities include a 600-seat auditorium, classrooms, information technology laboratories, millimetre wave state key laboratories, restaurants, learning shared spaces, and administrative offices.[23] The building was designed by the Hong Kong architectural firm Ronald Lu & Partners. The third and sixth floors are connected to the Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building, while the fifth to seventh floors are connected to the student dormitory and Shaw Creative Media Centre. There are also terrace gardens on the 6th, 7th and 8th floors.

• Lau Ming Wai Academic Building, CityU
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Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre was completed in 2011.[24] It was designed by Daniel Libeskind cooperating with Leigh and Orange Ltd., and received several awards for its design.[25] The building houses the university's School of Creative Media, the Centre for Applied Computing and Interactive Media and the computer science, media and communication, and English departments.[26]

• Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre
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  Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre
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  Entrance
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  Entrance
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  Level 5
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Hu Fa Kuang Sports Centre was a five-storey sports centre which houses a multi-purpose hall and four practice gymnasiums for badminton, basketball, volleyball, martial arts and dance, and other activities. In May 2016, the sports hall roof collapsed due to the weight imposed by a new green roof placed on top.[27]

Construction work commenced in November 2017 on the Jockey Club One Health Tower at the site of the former sports hall. The work is expected to be completed in 2025.[28]

CityU International Centre

A ground-breaking ceremony was held for the CityU International Centre on 29 November, 2021. Scheduled to open at the end of 2023, this unique building demonstrates CityU's vision to develop as a modern campus where students from around the world can meet in a convenient and comfortable environment.

The council is the supreme governing body of the university. The chief executive of Hong Kong has the power to appoint 15 of the 23 council members, seven of which are named directly and eight appointed upon recommendation of the council. The chief executive can also appoint the chairman, deputy and treasurer; the vice-chancellor is in turn appointed by the council.[30]

The senate serves as the supreme academic body of the university and is responsible for deciding and reforming the university's academic policies. It is mainly composed of academic staff members but also includes the two representatives of the Students' Union and a representative of CityU Postgraduate Association.[31]

CityU was ranked #70 worldwide in the QS World University Rankings 2024, #82 worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, #120 worldwide in the USNEWS 2022-2023 Global Rankings, and #101–150 worldwide in ARWU 2023.

CityU was #83 in 2022 in terms of aggregate performance across THE, QS, and ARWU.[42]

It was previously ranked 49th and 48th worldwide in QS WUR 2018 and 2021, respectively.

CityU is #4 worldwide in the QS "Top 50 Under 50" 2021 and #10 worldwide in THE Young Universities Rankings 2022.

In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023:

In the QS World University Rankings by Broad Subject Area 2023:

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subjects (2023):

In the 2022 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS):

CityU graduates were ranked 89th worldwide in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022.[43]

Student residences are located on Cornwall Street, near Lau Ming Wai academic building. They provide housing and recreational space for undergraduates and postgraduates. Among them, halls 1 to 9 were designed by the British firm RMJM, while halls 10 and 11 were designed by P&T Group. Most halls are named after donors:[44]

Construction work for the 5th phase of the Student Hostel project at Whitehead, Ma On Shan commenced in March 2022. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, and tentatively in use by 2024, providing more than 2,000 bed-spaces for CityU undergraduates and postgraduates.

• Undergraduates: Jockey Club Humanity Hall (Hall 1), HSBC Prosperity Hall (Hall 2), Alumni Civility Hall (Hall 3), Jockey Club Academy Hall (Hall 4), Chan Sui Kau Hall (Hall 5), Lee Shau Kee Hall (Hall 6), Jockey Club Harmony Hall (Hall 7), Sir Gordon and Lady Ivy Wu Hall (Hall 9), Hall 10, Hall 11
• Research postgraduates: Yip Yuen Yuk Hing Hall (Hall 8), Jockey Club House

The university also provides off-campus accommodation and short term accommodation for non-local students.

Student clubs in CityU are diverse. There are more than 80 clubs from interest groups, residents’ associations and departmental Societies, along with cultural groups including orchestra, choir and debate teams.[45]

Sport teams are mentored by Student Development Services. In April 2017, they have extended their dominance in sports competitions by winning a record-breaking ninth Grand Slam in the 2016-2017 annual sports competitions.[46]

There are 18 sports teams in total. The university has over 400 athletes in 16 sports events.[47]

The City University of Hong Kong Press was founded in 1996 as the publishing arm of the university.[48] It mainly publishes three types of publications: academic works, professional books, and books of general interest and social concern. The press focuses on China studies, Hong Kong studies, Asian studies, politics and public policy.

In April 2015, CityU abruptly shut down its MFA programme in creative writing. Students and alumni launched a petition against the decision, while the faculty and noted international writers issued an open letter questioning the reasoning behind the closure.[61] Acclaimed Canadian novelist and faculty member Madeleine Thien, writing in The Guardian, was among those who attributed the decision to censorship and diminishing freedom of expression in Hong Kong.[62]

On 20 May 2016, the roof structure of the Chan Tai Ho Multi-purpose Hall (the Sports Hall) in the Hu Fa Kuang Sports Centre (the Sports Centre) collapsed. Two staff members of CityU sustained minor injuries and a third individual was in shock. The venue was originally scheduled to hold an annual celebration banquet on that night for 700–800 CityU student athletes.[63] The investigation report released by the Buildings Department said three factors contributed to the collapse: (1) a leveled layer of material applied to the surface of the roof structure being thicker than the original design, (2) the laying of greenery on the roof, and (3) large puddles of water.[64] CityU did not seek separate advice from an independent surveyor to conduct feasibility studies and designs before tendering out the project to consultants or contractors. A report by CityU's investigation committee concluded that the surveyor of the green roof project was to be held liable for the collapse despite his repeated denial of involvement in the works.[65] It was reported that CityU vice-president Sunny Lee Wai-kwong, who oversaw the Campus Development and Facilities Office, escaped liability while technical staff would face disciplinary action.[65]

In 2017, CityU was accused of providing misleading information to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) to boost its university rankings.[66][67] The QS review, however, confirmed that the data submitted by CityU was accurate. CityU would submit the case to an external audit firm to verify the data.[67] In January 2018, CityU issued a statement stating that it had commissioned an accounting firm to complete an independent review of the student data declared by CityU and confirmed that it found no declarations that did not meet the scope of QS requirements.[68]

On 20 October 2018, National Judges College under the Supreme People's Court of China uploaded an article to its website about a meeting held by "provisional branches of the Chinese Communist Party" at CityU. According to the article, 39 party members, including Huang Wenjun, president and party secretary of the National Judges College and 11 non-party members, attended the meeting and gave a lecture. Huang told attendees that judges must take a "clear-cut stance" on politics, increase their political sensitivity, learn socialism with Chinese characteristics in Communist Party leader Xi Jinping's new era, and should fight against "incorrect words and deeds."[69][70] Despite the fact that the party branches were formed by Chinese judges who studied at CityU, Professor Lin Feng (associate dean of CityU's law school) who liaised with the college in organizing the courses, said the lecture "had caught the faculty by surprise". Pro-Beijing legislator Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, an associate law professor at CityU, refused to comment, claiming that she was not aware of the arrangement.[70] Spokesperson for CityU said it maintains political neutrality and that no activities involving politics should be held on campus.[69]

In October 2019, Professor Tan who was teaching a digital marketing course sent an email to the students, which warned the students not to deliver any political messages in class presentations or they will be given zero marks. The e-mail caused dissatisfaction among the students.[71] Pro-democracy group Frontline Technology Workers pointed out that the presentations were relevant to the course although it was touching the social taboo.[72] They also highlighted academic journal articles which discussed the relationship between politics and marketing.[73][74][75] Students' Union questioned university's promise on academic autonomy.[76]

In November 2019, CityU barred all students from entering the campus and the student hostel area as some of the facilities had been damaged by the protestors during the Siege of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. On 30 November, CityU reopened the campus but staff and students were required to present their identity cards to gain entry.[77] By December, hoarding panels had been built around the whole campus and turnstiles had been installed at all entrances. CityU issued a press release, stating that the vast majority of members of the Senate and the Court of CityU supported the security measures and the installation of an electronic access system.[78] The Student Union stressed that it opposed and had voted in the Court's meeting against the installation of turnstiles. The Student Union quoted an earlier questionnaire survey conducted by CityU Staff Association, stating that most of the respondents agreed that "university campuses should be opened to the public." The Student Union has repeatedly expressed objections to the university's policy of prohibiting public access to the campus and urged the university to consult teachers and students on the issue.[78]