Professor Joshua Mok, Provost and Vice-President (Academic and Research) and Dean of the Graduate School at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK), participated in the Higher Education Research Association (HERA) 2026 Conference, successfully co-hosted by Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing on 13–14 June 2026.

The conference, themed "Asian Higher Education in a Changing Global Context," gathered leading scholars to discuss the evolving landscape of higher education amid geopolitical, technological, and economic shifts. Professor Mok was invited to present at the event. He spoke on the panel "Geopolitics and Higher Education: China and the World," chaired by Professor Gerard Postiglione of The University of Hong Kong.

In his paper titled "Questing for Knowledge in Balance: Navigating China-West Relations in Higher Education," Professor Mok examined how geopolitics increasingly influences international student mobility and cross-border research collaboration. Collaborating with Professor Ma Yin, he applied neorealism, securitization theory, soft power theory, and a modified liberal institutionalism framework to analyse the impact on cultural exchange, talent circulation, and academic diplomacy. He emphasised the importance of balancing legitimate security concerns with the pursuit of scientific progress and educational exchange.

Professor Mok also chaired the panel "Higher Education Hubs, Internationalization and Collaboration," which included speakers from The University of Hong Kong, The Education University of Hong Kong, Peking University, and HSUHK. He presented his research paper "Questing for Higher Education Hubs: Challenges and Opportunities for Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia," offering a comparative analysis of policies and practices in these three Asian higher education hubs.

Furthermore, Professor Mok served as a discussant at Tsinghua University's Doctoral Student Forum on the panel "Generative AI, Digital-intelligent Education, and Responsible Governance," where young scholars from the UK, Chinese Mainland, and Macau SAR presented their work.

The visit concluded with productive discussions on strengthening collaborations between HSUHK and leading institutions, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Cheng Chi University, and Ming Chuan University.