UOW expanding its Offerings to GBA

INVESTHK in 2015 assisted the offshore development arm of the University of Wollongong (UOW Global Enterprises) into Hong Kong, where it purchased a university college and is now building its second campus. UOW courses are also being delivered into mainland China through UOW twinning arrangements in Beijing, Tianjin and Zhengzhou, with UOW considering expansion of its physical presence into the GBA Mainland . . .

A YEAR after it acquired a college from Hong Kong's City University, UOW Global Enterprises, the offshore arm of the University of Wollongong, was granted land by the Hong Kong SAR Government to build a campus in Hong Kong's New Territories.

Marisa Mastroianni, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive of UOW Global Enterprises, says: "We did something in 2015 that no other Australian university has done before. We successfully completed acquisition of an offshore college in Hong Kong, our first acquisition in Asia."

UOW Global Enterprises bought Community College of City University (CCCU) from Hong Kong's City University, renaming it UOW College Hong Kong.

Today, it is part of the UOW global network of higher education institutions. That network covers Dubai, Malaysia and Hong Kong, delivering a spread of 260 programmes to 16,000 students. Courses range from higher education to vocational and English testing and professional development.

Mastroianni says UOW's City University transaction was unique in many ways, as no public university in Hong Kong had ever previously divested itself of an associate college. CCCU was recognised as one of Hong Kong's leading academic institutions. 

The Hong Kong Government in 2016 granted 15,000 sq m of prime real estate in Tai Wai -- part of a large mixed-use project in Hong Kong's New Territories -- to UOW, paving the way for UOW to establish a new flagship campus away from its current home at Kowloon Tong.

Mastroianni says: "we were aware that the Hong Kong SAR had identified education as one of its six pillar industries, and that the Government was seeking to offer a more diversified higher education sector. The CCCU acquisition provided a good entry into the market, allowing us to play a role in providing foreign tertiary education."

UOW College Hong Kong today has 4,000 students undertaking associate degrees and degree programmes. "We employ 350 people and our annual turnover is A$50 million," Mastroianni says.

The University has secured accreditation for all 33 of its associate degree programmes, and has introduced new programmes and full degree courses to its offerings. In a significant move, the Hong Kong Council of Accreditation for Academic and Vocational Qualifications in 2019 upgraded UOW College HK to CAP 320 status, allowing it to offer full degree courses.

Mastroianni says UOW College Hong Kong has now started to deliver into mainland China. Its parent, UOW, has a number of twinning partners, including Zhengzhou University, Tianjin University and Beijing Jiao Tong University.

It also has credit exemption arrangements with more than 50 Chinese institutions, and formal articulation agreements with seven universities. UOW works with several Chinese universities to deliver joint teaching programmes approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education.

Over the past five years, since acquiring the college, Mastroianni says it has been "a process of transformation and transition" as UOW invested heavily into Hong Kong with new systems for payroll, human resources, finance, student management and learning.

UOW has also invested in what Mastroianni calls "associated hardware". "The (original) college was very much embedded in City University," she says. "It was our role to extract it, and to bring it outside as a stand-alone college. As part of that transition, we also had to find new campus accommodation. That was a major project for us."

The new Tai Wai College is coming out of the ground now, and is due to become operational in the first quarter of 2023, with design work incorporating both Australian and Asian themes. UOW College Hong Kong last year purchased a second campus building in Kowloon City.

By 2023, UOW College Hong Kong will have invested  HK$1.2 billion on new campus infrastructure. Mastroianni sees this a way to cement UOW's future role in Hong Kong with "security, great identity and branding".

"The college has delivered strong financial results each year, and we have maintained our market share," she says. "Most importantly, we have continued to maintain a 95% student retention rate, which is among the highest in the world for a public university."

A further mark of UOW's acceptance by Hong Kong educational authorities is a recent research grant for HK$1.6 million.

To succeed in Asia, Mastroianni says, there is firstly the need to respect and to value cultural differences. To this end, she sees cross-cultural training as helpful, and credits Hong Kong agencies such as InvestHK and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) with providing "invaluable assistance to help us in our journey".

"The Hong Kong and China markets demand quality," she says. "We provide high-quality programmes, and we ensure that there is local content relevant to what local industry is looking for."

Of the Greater Bay Area, Mastroianni says: "We have commenced exploring the great opportunity it offers.  We are encouraged by the fact we have resources in Hong Kong -- our staff and our expertise -- which can be utilised. For us, and for my Board, there is confidence that we have been able to work effectively in Hong Kong."

Hong Kong's location, she says, is in the heart of the Asia-Pacific region, an ideal launch pad for UOW's global expansion strategy.