The University of Cambridge has signed a research partnership with City University of Hong Kong (CityU), despite the latter facing several controversies.

CityU announced that 18 top post-doctoral researchers from across the world will be based in Cambridge for three years on Monday (31/03), under supervision from academics at both universities.

Six undisclosed colleges and departments from each university will collaborate together on “key research areas,” from “3D medical data” to “creativity in an age of intelligent machines”.

At the signing ceremony, Cambridge vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice said: “This partnership will enable these outstanding scholars to have the freedom to continue to push the frontiers of research in addressing global challenges”.

This comes months after CityU made a “generous donation” to Lucy Cavendish College to enable 20 master’s students to study at the College each year from 2025 onwards.

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

Between 2014 to 2017, CityU’s ranking improved from 57th to 49th. A key factor in the rankings – teacher-to-student ratio, which accounts for 20% of the score – improves with fewer reported students. In the 2016–17 academic year, CityU reported just 9,240 students to QS, including both self-funded and government-funded students.

However, official figures from the University Grants Committee show CityU had 13,422 government-funded students alone, suggesting they misreported student numbers to boost their place in the ranking.

The University, which faced criticism by members of its own governing Council, denied the allegations. They claimed “gross inaccuracies,” stating: “CityU’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. Despite this, they said they would commission an independent audit of their data submissions.

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said: “As a global university, close academic cooperation with international partners is essential to creating new knowledge and solving global challenges. Researchers are the lifeblood of a university’s research and innovation work.

“This partnership will help ensure that postdocs get the resources and support they need to stay in academia,” they continued.

More recently, CityU faced controversy after national security police launched an investigation into a “parting ceremony” organised by the students’ 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 CityU 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 investigated claims that certain phrases, notably “Hong Kong independence,” were written during the ceremony.

CityU 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.” 

In September, a joint report by the Human Rights Watch and the Hong Kong Democracy Council 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.”

City University of Hong Kong was contacted for comment.