China's STEM students turn to Singapore as Western study options shrink

Commenting on China's top STEM talent – scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians – eyeing Asian universities instead of western destinations for higher education, SMU Assistant Professor of Sociology Liu Jiaqi said that Chinese students and their families are asking whether an overseas education can still deliver academic prestige, employability and long-term security without the political uncertainty now attached to some Western destinations. He shared that Chinese students now see overseas study largely through the lens of risk management, with Singapore emerging as a "lower-risk and high-value alternative". He also cautioned that the meaning of overseas study was shifting in China, where its value was now far more conditional. Asst Prof Liu added that students and families were navigating a fractured global education market, a difficult Chinese job market, and a political climate in which mobility itself has become more sensitive.

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