14 JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION 10 (2018) Social Capital – A “Super Connector” for Internationalization and Integration: The Role of Hong Kong Universities in the Development of the Greater Bay Area Wai-wan (Vivien) Chana,* aSouthern University of Science and Technology, China *Corresponding author: Email: [email protected] Address: Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China Introduction newspaper reports, other reports, university websites and policy papers. At the beginning of 2018, the Beijing government This paper analyses and discusses the role of Hong announced the state plan concerning The Greater Bay Kong universities in the development of the Greater Area (GBA) integration of Guangdong Province, Hong Bay Area from the perspective of educational Kong and Macau’ (“Dawan district”). Since then, there sociology. It proposes that the social capital of Hong have been numerous discussions among local Kong universities for internationalization and governments, government departments, businesses and integration should be the main driver behind the academics about this plan. With this call for “greater development of the innovative knowledge economy in political and national assimilation”, it is time for Hong the Greater Bay Area. Kong to review its position in the Greater Bay Area. The concept of social capital highlights the What role can Hong Kong play? What are the pros and importance of using social connections and social cons of this regional economic and social integration? relations in achieving goals. Social capital theory has Deloitte (2018) recently published, “From ‘World been widely applied to the field of business studies, but Factory’ to ‘World-class Metropolitan Area’”(The not in the research of higher education in China. The Whitepaper for Developing Guangdong-Hong Kong- concept of “institutional social capital” has been used to Macau Greater Bay Area).This report points out that the examine British degree programs offered in Hong Kong Greater Bay Area has the potential to become a world- and their implications for young people locally (Waters class bay area based on five major benchmarking and Leung 2013), but there is no research about why, criteria: land size, resident population, economic how and to what extent the institutional social capital of growth, port volume, and air traffic. The report suggests Hong Kong universities can contribute to the that it has the potential to outcompete the New York development and internationalization of the new Bay Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Tokyo Greater Bay Area development plan in Bay Area. On top of this, the Greater Bay Area can China.Universities as institutional actors are indeed further upgrade the innovation and technology of motivated by their own instrumental needs to engage Chinese manufacturing; and, under the Belt and Road other actors to access their resources for the purpose of Initiative, it can facilitate international trade, gaining better outcomes. Applying the concept of social technology, and manufacturing. capital will help us to deepen our understanding of the The GBA development plan is a released recently dynamic interaction between social capital embedded in guiding policy for the on-going implementation of the Hong Kong’s higher education institutions and the integration of Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and internationalization and development of higher Macau. Presently, the availability of data is very education in the Greater Bay Area in mainland China. limited. Therefore, the methodology of this paper only This paper is the first paper to apply the “social capital” reviews secondary data from existing academic articles, theory to identify the possible structural opportunities JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION 10 (2018) 15 under the new political, economic and social agenda of government needs to address is: How can they develop developing and integrating the Greater Bay Area. a dynamic and sustainable talent hub in the Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area? The experiences The Bay Area: Hub for Global Talents of other successful bay areas provide insights and, in particular, they identify internationally recognized There is one thing in common for world’s most higher education institutions as indispensable to important bay economic zones: they are also hubs for educate, coach, and partner with local and global elites global talents. Talent is their key to and the foundation of to facilitate talent pooling and nurturing. Thus, the next their knowledge economy. Higher education both plays question is: to what extent do the current GBA-based an irreplaceable role and provides a unique platform to universities receive international recognition in order to cultivate such talent. Take the San Francisco Bay Area as attract talent domestically and internationally? an example, there are more than twenty internationally In China, apart from a handful of leading renowned universities (including, Stanford University; institutions, most institutions are still far from being the University of California University, Berkeley; and the able to communicate effectively with the international California Institute of Technology) and a long list of top academic community (Cheng 2004). Facing the scientific research institutions (including NASA and the pressure of globalization, the Chinese government is Solar Energy Research Centre) which nurture numerous urging key universities in China to become world-class American talents, and elites from all over the world, for by launching macro plans – “Project 211” and “Project the development of the high-tech and innovation-led 985” –which encourage internationalization (Hayhoe knowledge economy in that area (Liu 2014). Many of and Zha 2004), restructuring and merging (Mok 2005). these elites have become entrepreneurs whose innovation However, the majority of adjustments are administrative and vitality attract, nurture, and retain further human reform, changing higher education governance. There is resources. This kickstarts a ripple effect involving a lack of initiative in increasing the connectivity of multinational corporations and local and overseas Chinese higher education institutions with foreign students who stay close to the San Francisco delta. counterparts (Mok 2005). Furthermore, research on the Edward Glaeser, a professor of economics at Chinese higher education system suggests that it Harvard, suggests that, as a hub of high-tech talents, focuses too much on the mastery of knowledge, but universities are the key to the prosperity of Silicon neglects developing students’ ability to raise and answer Valley and the development of “entrepreneurial and questions – that is, critical thinking (Anderson 2016). interactive” culture [“Technology and City”, Transcript The cognitive orientation of the Chinese cultural from CitiesX (a MOOC course by Professor Edward tradition has formed barriers to Chinese educators both ED GLAESER, Harvard University)]. Face-to-face practicing and teaching critical thinking. In fact, interaction facilitates the research and development of research has found that the barriers to critical thinking innovation in the area, as social activities like chilling in education in China do not reside with the students, but bars and cafes facilitates brainstorming to inspire with the teachers, who are reluctant to teach it (Chen creative ideas and projects. In terms of economic 2013). This is especially obvious in the field of efficiency, he further points out that a cluster of start- humanities and social sciences in which China’s ups would outperform a few monopolistic companies. scholars have limited freedom to conduct research and To develop a world-class bay area, China can learn have achieved far less international visibility, compared from other developed bay areas. The experiences of to the fields of engineering and the natural sciences. successful bay area economies clearly show that one of The above-mentioned challenges and barriers are rooted the key elements for successful development is the in the structural educational system in mainland China. existence of a talent pool. Therefore, at this stage, the Deeper cross-border collaboration with higher first and most fundamental question the Chinese education institutions with different educational systems 16 JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION 10 (2018) will create new paths to facilitate diverse research and Jung 2017). It is an important part of the global “supply knowledge transfer beyond the exiting structural chain” which trains Mainland Chinese students in Hong constraints. Under the one-country-two-system Kong who then pursue further study in overseas framework, Hong Kong has a different educational countries (Shive 2010). system and governance model. Also, the geographical Furthermore, among the ‘two regions and nine cities’ closeness to other GBA-based cities makes it more in the developmental plan of the Greater Bay Area, most convenient for Hong Kong to engage in intercity of the internationally recognized universities are located cooperation within the GBA. Hong Kong undoubtedly in Hong Kong. According to the QS World University has a role in helping the GBA to develop into a regional Rankings (2018), there are five universities in Hong hub for global talent. Kong (the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Chinese Hong Kong: The Global City