In the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) Conference and Exhibition held in Hong Kong, SMU Professor of Information Systems (Education) and Vice Provost (Education) Venky Shankararaman, who is also the president of APAIE, said international students were shifting from the West to the East due to Asia’s rise, adding that he expected the trend to continue. Prof Shankararaman also said that there had been a fundamental shift, noting that the “big four”, Canada, US, Australia, and UK, used to draw many students, but the trend had shifted. He noted that Hong Kong, this year’s host, was a “melting pot of East and West” and a gateway to mainland China.