Lucy Cavendish College has announced a scholarship programme in partnership with the scandal hit City University of Hong Kong.

An announcement on 18 September revealed that the programme, funded by a “generous donation from CityUHK,” will enable 20 Master’s students to study at Lucy Cavendish each year, starting from Autumn 2025.

CityUHK has been at the centre of numerous scandals, including allegations that the University fabricated student numbers to boost its position in the QS World University Rankings.

Between 2014 and 2017, the University’s ranking rose from 57 to 49. Teacher-to-student ratio forms 20% of the overall ranking calculation, with fewer students thereby boosting this score.

In the 2016-17 academic year, CityUHK told QS they had a total of 9,240 students, including all self-funded and government-funded undergraduate and postgraduate students. However, according to the University Grants Committee, which only accounts for government-funded students, CityUHK had 13,422 students in 2016-17.

The University, which faced criticism by members of its own governing Council, denied the allegations. They claimed “gross inaccuracies,” stating: “City U’s data submissions were confirmed to be accurate by QS based on QS’s own audit.”

“Due to the use of different definitions and operating modes, data on student numbers submitted by all Hong Kong universities have always varied and are inevitably different from those submitted to the UGC,” they continued.

Nevertheless, they said they would commission an independent audit of their data submissions.

More recently, CityUHK faced controversy after national security police launched an investigation into a “parting ceremony” organised by the student’s union ahead of their eviction in February 2022. They were evicted from their premises on the Kowloon Tong campus after failing to submit 16 years’ worth of audited financial records to the University within a two-week deadline.

The ceremony was called an “unnecessary gathering on campus,” with attendees potentially breaching social distancing rules.

At least 30 students received emails from CityUHK demanding a response to allegations of committing criminal damage, breaching section nine of the colonial-era Crimes Ordinance, being abusive towards University staff, being involved in a conspiracy to traffic outsiders onto campus, and staying on campus beyond opening hours without permission.

The national security police also cited reports claiming that some words and sentences written during the ceremony, such as “Hong Kong independence,” were deemed inciting.

CityUHK stated that its departments dealt with matters in accordance with “well-established mechanisms and procedures,” and that “external parties should not interfere with the administration of the University.”

A joint report by the Human Rights Watch and the Hong Kong Democracy Council published on 24 September has revealed concerns about threats to academic freedom in Hong Kong following the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020.

The report recommended that foreign universities in partnerships with Hong Kong universities should “regularly review these partnerships to avoid being complicit in human rights violations.”

They should also “actively track instances of censorship and threats to academic freedom,” and “speak up for affiliated academics and students who suffer intimidation”.

Announcing their partnership with CityUHK, Lucy Cavendish said: “The scholarships will attract and support the brightest and best students from around the world, regardless of their background or financial circumstances.”

The partnership comes as China’s ambassador to the UK visited Cambridge, holding talks with vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice about “mutually beneficial co-operation”. The University has reiterated that it is “not dependent” on China.

Lucy Cavendish College was contacted for comment.