Comprehensive Evaluation of High-quality Development of Higher Education in the Cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Using cluster analysis to explore the differences and characteristics of higher education development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the study reveals that: the first category is Guangzhou, the second is Macao, and the third includes Hong Kong and Shenzhen, indicating significant disparities in the level of higher education development among various cities in the Greater Bay Area. The differences in higher education development within the Greater Bay Area stem from influencing factors such as the proportion of international students to total student population, average student enrollment, per-student educational funding, the ratio of educational funding to GDP, the number of countries (or regions) from which international students originate, and the proportion of senior titles among full-time faculty. Based on the analysis of the causes of these differences, combined with the internal characteristics of each city, the study ultimately proposes optimization strategies in three areas: enhancing international educational influence, increasing educational funding, and strengthening the construction of the teaching staff.