CityU Developments Timeline (2020–2026)

In the six years from 2020 to 2026, CityU has produced almost one headline worthy of the university's official history every year: one year a ranking pinnacle, the next a new campus opening, the next a president's sudden resignation. This article lays out the major public developments at City University of Hong Kong from 2020 to 2026 in timeline form: the peak of internationalisation, institutional restructuring, expansion of the academic map, ranking surges and leadership transitions. Where current or former leadership is mentioned, designations are used by default; in neutral factual sections (00–12), neutral facts about the leadership may be attributed by name. Any controversy-leaning content (if present) is framed and pointed to dedicated wild-history articles; this archive makes no adjudication. For a more granular year-by-year chronicle, see leadership-timeline.md; for the full list of governance structures and past presidents, see governance-structure-and-presidents.md; for analysis of student numbers and key figures, see enrollment-and-figures.md; for ranking-related "firsts" and records, see superlatives-and-milestones.md.

# 1. 2020–2022 · Pandemic, ranking climb and symbolic construction

• 2020–2022: During the COVID-19 pandemic, CityU adopted online and hybrid teaching (as did all universities in Hong Kong).
• 2021: CityU established its university anthem (2021 version, lyrics by Way Kuo, music by Li Junyi, in two movements: "學研出塵" and "科創入世"), further refining its symbolic system (see motto-emblem-and-symbols.md).
• During this period CityU continuously entered or held its place in the world's top 100 across QS, THE, U.S. News and other rankings (see 03-rankings/).

# 2. 2023 · Presidential changeover

• 13 May 2023: President Way Kuo completed his term and stepped down, ending a fifteen-year tenure (per Sina Finance^※). For the full list of past presidents, see governance-structure-and-presidents.md.
• 14 May 2023: The new president took office (per Traditional Chinese Wikipedia^※). The new president is a scholar of materials science/bioengineering who previously served as Deputy President and Provost at the National University of Singapore.
• The same year, CityU began preparatory work for several academic restructuring initiatives (see the 2024 entries).
• October 2023: The Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences' first cohort of 11 Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) graduates registered to practise — the first locally trained and registered veterinarians in Hong Kong's history. This thread continued to bear fruit two years later; see the 2025 entries below and the "Deep Dive" section of leadership-timeline.md.

# 3. 2024 · Internationalisation peak + a big year for restructuring and expansion

# Rankings: No. 1 most international university in the world

• January 2024: CityU was named No. 1 in the Times Higher Education (THE) "Most International Universities in the World" for the first time (per CityU news^※). The ranking is based on four indicators: international students, international staff, international co-authorship and international reputation.

# Restructuring: College of Computing and School of Biomedical Sciences

• 2024: The College of Computing was established, consolidating the former School of Data Science and the Department of Computer Science (per CityU GEO^※); new units including the School of Biomedical Sciences were also created around the same time, bringing the total number of colleges/schools to 11^※.

The "split/consolidation of the College of Computing" is a significant structural adjustment in CityU's recent academic history: concentrating data science, computer science and related disciplines into a single college, in step with the broader disciplinary reorganisation driven by AI and the data age. For the longer lineage of college/school splits and mergers, see governance-structure-and-presidents.md.

# Campus: Lee Shau Kee Student Residence Village opens

• 2024: The Lee Shau Kee Student Residence Village at Pak Shek Kok, Ma On Shan, opened, providing over 2,000^※ residential places and built using Modular Integrated Construction (MiC), involving more than 1,300 modules; the naming honours the long-term donations of Lee Shau Kee, founder of Henderson Land Development (per Henderson Land news^※).

# Academic reach: Dongguan campus approved and opened

• April 2024: The Ministry of Education approved the official establishment of City University of Hong Kong (Dongguan) (per CityU news^※).
• 2 September 2024: CityUHK (Dongguan) opened with a grand opening ceremony; the first cohort comprised over 500^※ undergraduate and postgraduate students, with four undergraduate programmes launched initially: Computer Science and Technology, Intelligent Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Energy and Power Engineering (per CityU press release^※).

The Dongguan campus represents CityU's extension under the Greater Bay Area/national strategy; the details of its synergy and positioning vis-à-vis the main campus are covered in 09-international/.

# 4. 2025 · Second internationalisation title, new Council chairman, rankings continue to climb

• 1 January 2025: A new Chairman of the Council took office (three-year term), succeeding the previous chairman; the new chairman is a veteran of the financial sector (per Orange News^※).
• March 2025: CityU was named THE's "Most International University in the World" No. 1 for the second consecutive year (per CityU news^※).
• 15 August 2025: In the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2025 by ShanghaiRanking, CityU entered the global top 100 for the first time, placing 99th worldwide and 2nd in Hong Kong — one of only two Hong Kong universities in the ARWU global top 100 (per CityU news^※). ARWU is primarily based on research output and impact (numbers of Nobel/Fields laureate alumni and staff, highly cited researchers, Nature/Science papers, etc.), a different methodology from QS and THE with their emphasis on internationalisation/reputation — and for the first time all three major rankings rose simultaneously for CityU.
• October 2025: CityU rose to around 75th^※ in the THE World University Rankings, while maintaining No. 1 globally in the "Industry" indicator (per CityU news^※).
• 4 November 2025: In the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, CityU jumped to 7th in Asia (up three places from 10th the previous year), third in Hong Kong, leading Hong Kong in eight indicators and ranking first in Asia in three (per CityU news^※).
• 10 November 2025: The BVM veterinary programme's international student ratio reached an all-time high, with students hailing from Germany, Italy, South Africa, Jordan, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia and multiple cities in mainland China; the programme itself also entered the QS global top 100 in veterinary science by subject for the first time (per CityU news^※). This came exactly two years after the first cohort graduated and registered to practise in 2023 — see the 2023 entries above and the "Deep Dive" section of leadership-timeline.md.
• 17 November 2025: In the THE World University Rankings 2026, CityU rose further to a record 73rd place (per CityU news^※); the "around 75th" figure released in October and this figure are successive releases within the same ranking cycle, and the latter final figure takes precedence.
• 18 November 2025: A total of 27 disciplines at CityU were included in the global top 100 of the ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2025, spanning engineering, computer science, business, social sciences and more (per CityU news^※). Subject rankings and overall rankings complement each other; the specific subject list is in superlatives-and-milestones.md.
• December 2025: CityU purchased an office building at Festival Walk, mainly to expand research wet-lab capacity (see leadership-timeline.md).

2025 was the most concentrated year of CityU's recent "three-front ranking surge": ARWU first entry into the top 100, QS Asia rising to 7th, THE rising to a record 73rd — three different methodologies all heading upward within the same year. In addition, CityU has held first place in Hong Kong for US patent output for many consecutive years, and is the only university in Hong Kong in the global top 100 for this metric (see 04-research/ and superlatives-and-milestones.md) — the research output base underlying the ranking surge.

# 5. 2026 · Third internationalisation title + ranking surge + presidential resignation

# Internationalisation: three in a row

• 2026: CityU was named THE's "Most International University in the World" No. 1 for the third consecutive year (per The Standard^※).

# Rankings: QS leap to 52nd worldwide, No. 2 globally in citations per faculty

• 18 June 2026: In the QS World University Rankings 2027, CityU leapt from 63rd to 52nd globally, one of the biggest risers among Hong Kong's eight UGC-funded universities and now within the global top 3% (per CityU press release^※). According to the same release, CityU's Citations per Faculty ranked 2nd globally and 1st in Hong Kong, behind only Harvard University, making it the only university in Hong Kong in the global top three for this indicator; international student ratio ranked 1st in Hong Kong and 11th globally; international faculty ratio ranked 1st in Hong Kong and 16th globally; faculty-student ratio ranked 1st in Hong Kong and 84th globally; a total of three indicators in the global top 20.
• The acting president said in the release that this leap underscored CityU's core strengths in teaching, research and innovation; QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter commented that Hong Kong's higher education sector is cementing its position as "one of the most globally competitive and research-intensive systems in Asia" (per CityU press release^※).
• This ranking leap came at a time when the presidency was vacant and the acting president was steering the university. Rankings and internationalisation indicators did not stall during the personnel turbulence — indirect evidence of the design principle in CityU's governance structure that "the President is the administrative head, while academic affairs and day-to-day operations have an institutionalised continuity mechanism". For a table of QS/THE ranking trajectories over the past three years, see leadership-timeline.md.

# Leadership: presidential resignation, acting president takes over (stated by designation)

• 24 April 2026: The University announced that the President had resigned for personal reasons, with immediate effect; this came less than three years after he took office in 2023, roughly two years ahead of his contract term (per CityU press release^※; SCMP^※).
• The same day, the Executive Committee of the Council immediately appointed the Provost and Deputy President as acting president, pledging "full support to ensure stability during the transition" and saying a global search for a successor would be launched "in the near future" (per CityU press release^※).
• Government response: The UGC Chairman and the Education Bureau responded to media enquiries on the president's departure, saying they respected his decision (per government press release^※; Education Bureau response^※).

# Dongguan campus: open day draws over 50,000, first master's cohort graduates

• 1 May 2026: CityUHK (Dongguan) held its "2026 Campus Open Day", attracting over 50,000 participants^※ online and offline, with a main venue and satellite venues covering university introduction, programme briefings, admissions consultation, student sharing, public lectures and immersive experience activities. The Dongguan Executive President highlighted the destinations of the first master's graduates; the Dongguan Vice-President (Academic) noted that CityUHK (Dongguan) inherits the academic strength of the main campus, which ranked 63rd globally and 7th in Asia in the 2026 QS World University Rankings (per PR Newswire^※). The campus is located in Songshan Lake Science City, Dongguan, with the phase-two campus expected to be completed in 2028^※.
• 22 June 2026: CityUHK (Dongguan) held its "2026 Inaugural Commencement" at the main campus in Kowloon Tong, with over 420 master's graduates^※ travelling from Dongguan to Hong Kong to attend — the first graduating cohort since the Dongguan campus opened in 2024. According to the university's press release, some graduates will remain in Hong Kong for employment under the IANG (Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates) scheme, while others will pursue doctoral studies at institutions including Nanyang Technological University, CityUHK's main campus, Fudan University and Harbin Institute of Technology (per PR Newswire^※). From approval in April 2024, opening in September, to the first master's graduates in June 2026, the Dongguan campus completed the full "approval — opening — first student outflow" cycle within two years; for the geography of its academic reach, see 09-international/mainland-and-greater-bay-area.md.

# 6. Quick reference table of recent developments

# Sources

• "CityUHK ranked 'Most International University in the World 2024'", CityU news: https://www.cityu.edu.hk/media/news/2024/01/24/cityuhk-ranked-most-international-university-world-2024 (official primary; first THE most-international title)
• "CityUHK named 'Most International University in the World' by THE for 2nd year running", CityU news (2025-03-19): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/media/news/2025/03/19/cityuhk-named-most-international-university-world-2nd-year-running-building-study-hong-kong-brand (official primary; second consecutive title)
• "CityUHK named world's most international university for third straight year", The Standard: https://www.thestandard.com.hk/education/article/326984/CityUHK-named-worlds-most-international-university-for-third-straight-year (news; third consecutive title)
• "CityUHK rises to 75th in THE World University Rankings", CityU news (2025-10-09): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/en/media/news/2025/10/09/the-wur (official primary; 2025 THE rise to around 75th, No. 1 in Industry)
• "College of Computing", CityU GEO: https://www.cityu.edu.hk/international/college-computing (official primary; 2024 establishment of the College of Computing through consolidation)
• "Colleges, Schools and Departments", CityU official website: https://www.cityu.edu.hk/academic/colleges-schools-and-departments (official primary; 11 colleges and schools)
• "城大举行李兆基学生宿舍村开幕及命名仪式", Henderson Land Development: https://www.hld.com/sc/our-news/group-news/城大舉行李兆基學生宿舍村開幕及命名儀式 (official/corporate; 2024 residence village, over 2,000 places, MiC)
• "Ministry of Education approves the official establishment of CityUHK (Dongguan)", CityU news (2024-04-19): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/media/news/2024/04/19/ministry-education-approves-official-establishment-city-university-hong-kong-dongguan (official primary; Dongguan approval)
• "Grand opening of CityUHK (Dongguan)", CityU press release (2024-09-02): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/en/media/press-release/2024/09/02/grand-opening-city-university-hong-kong-dongguan (official primary; Dongguan opening, over 500 students, four programmes)
• "大學高層變動·城大換校董會主席", Orange News: https://www.orangenews.hk/hongkong/1247310/ (news; 2025-01-01 new Council Chairman)
• "Professor Freddy Boey resigns as CityUHK President", CityU press release (2026-04-24): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/en/media/press-release/2026/04/24/professor-freddy-boey-resigns-as-cityuhk-president (official primary; presidential resignation, acting president appointed)
• "Hong Kong CityU chief Freddy Boey quits post 2 years earlier than expected", SCMP: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3351308/hong-kong-cityu-chief-freddy-boey-quits-post-2-years-earlier-expected (news; roughly two years early)
• "UGC Chairman responds to resignation of CityU President", government press release (2026-04-24): https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202604/24/P2026042400623.htm (official primary; UGC Chairman response)
• "教育局就城大校長離任回應傳媒查詢", government press release (2026-04-24): https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202604/24/P2026042400552.htm (official primary; Education Bureau response)
• "郭位今日卸任香港城市大学校长", Sina Finance: https://finance.sina.cn/tech/2023-05-13/detail-imytrcie2647409.d.html (news; stepped down on 2023-05-13)
• "CityUHK is ranked 2nd in Hong Kong in the ShanghaiRanking's ARWU, first entry into global top 100", CityU news (2025-08-15): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/en/media/news/2025/08/15/cityuhkranked2ndhongkongshanghairankingsacademicrankingworlduniversitiesandoneonlytwolocaluniversiti (official primary; ARWU first entry into global top 100, 99th)
• "CityUHK soars to 7th in QS Asia University Rankings 2026", CityU news (2025-11-04): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/en/media/news/2025/11/04/qs-aur-2026 (official primary; QS Asia 7th)
• "城大獸醫學學士課程吸引全球頂尖學子國際生比例創新高", CityU official (2025-11-10): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/zh-cn/media/news/2025/11/10/bvm-programme (official primary; BVM international student intake, QS subject top 100)
• "CityUHK rises to a record 73rd in THE World University Rankings 2026", CityU news (2025-11-17): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/en/media/news/2025/11/17/cityuhk-rises-to-a-record-73rd-in-the-world-university-rankings-2026 (official primary; THE record 73rd)
• "CityUHK's 27 academic subjects ranked in global top 100 of ShanghaiRanking's GRAS 2025", CityU news (2025-11-18): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/media/news/2025/11/18/gras-2025 (official primary; 27 subjects in global top 100)
• "CityUHK leaps to 52nd globally in QS World University Rankings 2027", CityU press release (2026-06-18): https://www.cityu.edu.hk/media/news/2026/06/18/cityuhk-leaps-to-52nd-globally-in-qs-world-university-rankings (official primary; QS leap to 52nd, citations per faculty 2nd globally)
• "CityUHK (Dongguan) 2026 Campus Open Day draws over 50,000 participants", PR Newswire (2026-05-01): https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/cityuhk-dongguan-2026-campus-open-day-draws-over-50-000-participants-302760532.html (news; Dongguan open day 50,000 participants, phase two completed 2028)
• "CityUHK (Dongguan) Hosts Inaugural Commencement 2026 at CityUHK", PR Newswire (2026-06-22): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cityuhk-dongguan-hosts-inaugural-commencement-2026-at-cityuhk-302806465.html (news; Dongguan first cohort of over 420 master's graduates)

# Cross-references

• University history chronicle · Year-by-year chronicle, detailed version · Governance structure and past presidents · Symbols · Firsts and records · Student numbers and key figures · What makes CityU CityU · Rankings · Internationalisation · Greater Bay Area and mainland China operations