Tsz Kong University

The University of Tsz Kong is a public research university in Tsz Kong. It opened in 1875 as the Tsz Kong Government Medical College, before being formally founded as the University of Tsz Kong in 1909.

History

In 1873, the medical expatriate community petitioned the colonial government to create a medical college to educate the population in hopes of improving the quality of life in the colony. This led to the formation of the Tsz Kong Government Medical College, which would be incorporated into University of Tsz Kong in 1909. The move was spearheaded by Governor William Lupton who wished to make the colony a more useful asset to both the British and French in Asia, believing that this would begin a movement of modern universities based on the European model in the region. The university would open with 3 faculties: Arts, Engineering and Medicine, with other faculties being added over time. Although it opened as an all-male institution, women would be allowed admission in 1921. Sun Yatsen would make a visit to the university in 1923, shortly after visiting HKU.

Although TKU didn't see the same amount of revolutionaries as HKU, there was still a lot of revolutionary activity on campus, with the Tsz Kong solidarity strikes, held in support of the 1925-1926 Canton-HK strikes, greatly affecting the campus. This would also led to the intergration of more Chinese-based courses at the university. The Faculty of Sciences would also be established in 1933.

The campus was damaged in WW2, though thanks to funding it would reopen by March 1946. Over the years, the campus would expand in size as it made use of its land, as well as acquiring some from nearby estates. The Faculty of Social Sciences would be established in 1955, the Faculty of Law in 1959, the Faculty of Architecture in 1968, the Faculty of Education in 1982, the Faculty of Economics in 1998, the Faculty of Dentistry in 2003, and the Faculty of Computer & AI Science in 2031.