John Cribbin is a career University Administrator. A graduate in Geography of University College London, he also holds a Masters degree in HRM/ Training from Leicester University and an Ed.D. from Nottingham University. He has worked at Kings College London, the UK Open University and the University of Hong Kong. At HKU he has worked in the Registry, the Faculties of Education and of Arts and HKU SPACE.  In 2019 he was awarded a Fellowship of the University of London.

When he joined HKU SPACE in 1990 it was the Department of Extra-Mural Studies and one of his first tasks was to produce the Working Party Report that led to the establishment of the School of Professional and Continuing Education in January 1992.

HKU SPACE has grown significantly since 1990 when it had some 37,000 enrolments, 80 staff and an income of HK$50 million. In 2023-24, it had an enrolment of more than 95,000, involving 63,192 individuals which is equivalent to 20,088 FTEs, including 11,935 full-time students, a staff of around 880 and an income of over HK$1 billion. HKU SPACE became fully self-financing in 1996 and a University not for profit company limited by guarantee in 1999.

His major duties include corporate governance as the Company Secretary in support of the Board of Directors and its Committees; the servicing of the School’s Academic and Management Board, the work of the School’s Registry Affairs, Quality Assurance and Enhancement Units, and the Maisy Ho Centre for Teaching and Learning. He participates in the senior management of the School as a member of the Directorate team. He is responsible for the application internally of the HK Government’s Qualifications Framework. He has published in the field of lifelong learning and transnational education and has made a number of conference presentations.

He also represented Hong Kong at the Asian Cricket Council and International Cricket Council and served on a number of their committees while Secretary and Chairman of Cricket Hong Kong until 2019.

He is married with 3 children.