Thought Leadership

Stellar rankings, new research hubs, more cross-departmental collaboration, and innovative programmes all play a part in the HKU Faculty of Social Sciences’ many recent achievements under Dean Wen’s leadership.

After becoming Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (FoSS) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in October 2022, Professor Ming Wen is now crossing over the midpoint of her term with a slew of achievements under her belt – and many more in the pipeline.

She took on the role following a two-decade academic career at the University of Utah, most recently as Chair of the Department of Sociology. At HKU, her priorities included building on the faculty’s strong points and improving areas, including multi-disciplinary work and developing connections with mainland China.

Building Connections and Community Spirit

Professor Wen’s expertise as a sociologist, coupled with her energetic and positive leadership style, enables her to identify boundaries effectively and foster collaboration across diverse groups – whether between individuals, departments, institutions, or even nations.

“I’m very proud of seeing a much stronger sense of community spirit,” she says. “I’m a sociologist. I know the importance of social capital – the bonding, the trust, the collaborative, mutually respectful culture.”

One area where she has focused is on developing connections with institutions in mainland China by creating visiting scholarship opportunities and supporting joint conferences.

Since her arrival in Hong Kong, she has been impressed by other connections that are already in place, including the faculty’s involvement in knowledge exchange projects that benefit the community and the attendance of high-level government officials at some faculty events.

These interactions fit well into the cross-departmental and collaborative academic community that she is continuing to build.

“If we can have direct communication between the faculty members – the researchers who are creating knowledge for teaching – and the government officials who are leading society politically and socially, that is such a good thing to have,” she says.

Global Academic Recognition

“Academic excellence and reputation is perhaps our strongest point,” she says. “The faculty is recognised for its high-quality research and teaching standards.”

It’s a recognition that has reached new heights under her leadership.

In the QS World University Subject Rankings 2025, which values reputation, international exposure and employability, HKU Social Sciences ranks 5th in Asia and 22nd in the world. Geography is ranked 3rd in Asia and 10th in the world, while Social Policy and Administration ranks 5th in Asia and 11th in the world.

The faculty also achieved outstanding results in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Subject Rankings 2025, which emphasise research quality, teaching standards and industry collaborations. HKU Social Sciences and Psychology advanced 6 and 5 positions globally, respectively, with both ranking 4th in Asia and 1st in Hong Kong.

Two faculty researchers are ranked among the top five in China, according to Research.com, and 18 professors – comprising 17% of the faculty members – rank among the world’s top 1% of scholars according to Clarivate Analytics, in what Professor Wen says is “an extraordinary affirmation of their ground-breaking and impactful contributions.”

Research Infrastructure

Her most prominent achievements are in research.

She has introduced three new strategic research themes to encourage cross-departmental collaborations: “Population, Wellbeing and Human Behaviour”; “Urbanisation, Sustainability and Governance” and “Culture, Equity and Community Development”.

“These are serving as good platforms to encourage cross-departmental collaborations as well,” says Professor Wen. “We are now seeing numerous thriving multidisciplinary research projects within the faculty. We plan to continue to allocate resources to support these research clusters as structured platforms to promote high-quality research on these topics. We will do an annual review on how these research themes are running and then adjust, if necessary.”

To raise the faculty’s profile, she established the new HKU Research Hub of Population Studies for major multi-disciplinary research projects. One flagship initiative is her current research project: an ambitious study of early childhood development in Hong Kong, which is the first longitudinal, citywide study of its kind.

She submitted the research proposal soon after she arrived in Hong Kong and was awarded more than HK$8 million to conduct the project.

“I truly love doing research,” says Professor Wen. “The project is very challenging. It’s going to be a comprehensive and informative study. We’ve been very successful in terms of recruitment and data collection so far, and I’m so very proud of my team.

Teaching and Learning

She plans to attract more high-calibre, non-Hong Kong students.

“This is the first year we’re allowed to admit more than 25% non-local students,” she explains. “We plan to substantially enhance our efforts in promoting our faculty to high school students and their parents in areas outside of Hong Kong.”

Students will be able to choose from several new programmes in the coming academic year. For undergraduates, a new joint bachelor’s degree with Peking University’s Yuanpei College will be introduced, as well as new majors in Computational Social Science and Geospatial Data Science.

Students seeking internships will be able to find opportunities in a wider variety of sectors than before, with the notable addition of private businesses.

“Previously we were mainly focused on NGOs and maybe research opportunities, but now we’re reaching out to more private business sectors,” she explains.

For postgraduate students, a new Taught Postgraduate (TPg) programme in Global Governance and Policy will be launched in autumn 2026.  Other TPg programmes already launched are in social data analytics and population studies, with more new offerings in the works.

Alumni Engagement
“I’m very proud of our accomplishments in alumni relationship within even the past year,” says Professor Wen.

This year, the faculty launched an alumni mentorship programme, matching 100 alumni with current students.

“This initiative aims to nurture professional growth and meaningful connections within our social sciences community,” she explains. “We also launched the Young Alumni series where a dynamic group of recent graduates lead industry sharing sessions to offer valuable perspectives and expert guidance to students.”

Alumni can also continue learning through the Lifelong Learning Series, a new FoSS lecture series aimed at sharing informed and thought-provoking insights.

Seasoned graduates have not escaped Professor Wen’s eye, either.

“In June, we welcomed back the 1975 Bachelor of Social Sciences class for their 50^th reunion,” she says. “They are around 72 years old. I personally very much enjoyed this visit.”

Wellbeing Support for Staff and Students

Wellbeing has a special resonance for Professor Wen

“I know how important it is to feel good in order to do well,” she says.

A new Assistant Dean for Student Enrichment was recently appointed to develop training and support initiatives.

“The goal is to enhance our students’ soft skills, like communication and time management skills, and also enhance their resilience, making them better prepared for an enjoyable and fulfilling post-college life,” explains Professor Wen.

She has launched regular events to build a sense of community and offer individual support, including

mindful eating sessions and a popular series of casual TREAT-Chat featuring treats like chocolate fondue, ice cream and coffee, giving staff and students a sweet break and a moment of support, particularly during the busy semester.

“Basically, we’re out there talking to people and inviting people to come in to talk,” she explains.

Looking Ahead

Professor Wen has many more plans for the faculty.

One of the exciting ongoing projects is underway at the HKU Research Hub of Population Studies – a general social survey of Hong Kong, which will be another first for the city to collect comprehensive data on various aspects of Hong Kong residents’ lives, including socioeconomic status, migration intentions, health and wellbeing, social attitudes, background information, etc.

“It can be a repeated cross-sectional survey to periodically monitor what’s going on in Hong Kong,” she explains. “That’s a very important project.”

December will see the launch of a new research centre funded by a US philanthropist, Dr Jim Stone, and dedicated to the study of socio-economic inequality in Asia.  Dr Stone and his foundation have founded nine Stone Centers in the US and several in Europe.

“This centre at HKU will be the very first Stone Center established in Asia, so we are all very excited about this Stone Center,” says Professor Wen.

The rest of the world is not forgotten either, with the launch of a Global South Initiative earlier this year, which includes a seminar series and a visiting fellowship scheme, with the first cohort of fellows arriving later this year.

“Last, but not least, we’re currently exploring opportunities to establish a faculty office in Shenzhen to broaden and deepen our connection with researchers in mainland China,” she says. “This initiative is still at the very early stage, so more to come.”

Contributing writer: Liana Cafolla