Self-financing higher education in Hong Kong has a long unique history and distinctive background.   With the Hong Kong Government's plan to develop Hong Kong into an international education hub, and the series of policies and financial initiatives introduced to support the education sector, self-financing higher education institutions' role and contribution are becoming increasingly important.   Practitioners in the Sector may regard this as a promising opportunity to excel the quality for long-term sustainability development and pave way into the big picture of contemporary 21st century international education.   Overseas private universities and higher education institutions have successful records and impressive merits in providing a variety of learning programs to fulfil the social-economical, vocational and professional needs in parallel with government-funded education institutions.   Under the challenges of internationalisation and globalisation together with the rapid demographic, technological, social-economical, and industrial changes, these critical issues not only impacting local self-financing higher education institutions but also generating sector competitions on a global landscape.   Reformation and modernisation, flexibilities and diversifications, education 5.0, quality assurance and enhancement, applied learning and professional qualification, world ranking and recognition, student enrolment, retention and graduate employability are several burning issues that need to be addressed when going global.   In view of the above, FSTE puts together this 2024 Anniversary Summit and invited inspiring thought leaders and influential changemakers in the sector to explore how self-financing higher education, policymakers and industry can work together to share insights and make changes to benefit the local, regional, and international education in a global context.

1. How do educational leaders position their self-financing higher education institutions (SFHEIs) to harness the global challenges?
2. What are the imperatives for SFHEIs to attain better international recognition in order to set foot in the world arena?
3. How do SFHEIs accommodate and address the global trends of education 5.0?
4. How do SFHEIs prepare students, industries, and communities for emerging jobs in today's interconnected world?
5. How do SFHEIs respond to the Government's policies and initiatives to arrive for an international education hub?