Building on the enthusiasm from last month’s session, the Asia Education Leader Course (AELC) held Session 2 of the Summer 2025 Pre-Study Series with an illuminating lecture by Dr. Weiyan Xiong of the Education University of Hong Kong. The lecture, titled Financial Trends in Hong Kong Higher Education, was attended by over 30 student participants from four AELC partner institutions.

The lecture, positioned within larger debates on quality, equity and marketization in higher education, used an “iron triangle” framework to show how higher education finance is a 3-way tradeoff between accessibility, affordability and accountability. The framework was then applied to two case studies self-financed Master-level programs at research-intensive UGC universities in Hong Kong (funded by the quasi-governmental University Grants Committee). The cases vividly demonstrated the relevance of the iron triangle framework to the current realities in Hong Kong higher education finance, illustrating the complexities of the tradeoffs involved.

Participants were then asked to assume the role of a university leader to design a self-financed program that would at once ensure profitability and protect the public good. The task itself highlighted the inherent tensions in the iron triangle model, and students engaged in meaningful discussions to generate innovative program ideas. Some ideas included an academia-industry partnership utilizing the iron triangle model to find a sustainable balance between the three trade-offs, and a social-business-style self-financed program that is both financially sustainable and answers to societal needs.

The AELC Secretariat would like to thank Dr. Xiong and all participants for an active and productive session providing food for further thought and discussion.