The Proposed Community Creative Arts Complex Project Planning Committee ("Planning Committee") was set up by the President of the Hong Kong Institute of Education ("HKIEd") in 2011 to plan and formulate the overall directions and strategies for the on-campus Community Creative Arts Complex Project. The Planning Committee was chaired by Mr. Chris Mong Chan, then Vice-President (Administration) of HKIEd. Professor Richard Tsang Yip-fat, then Dean of Students and Professor of Department of Cultural and Creative Arts of HKIEd, was the Deputy Chairman. It also comprised members of HKIEd and external expert advisors.

Formerly known as The Hong Kong Institute of Education Foundation ("The HKIEd Foundation"), The Education University of Hong Kong Foundation ("The EdUHK Foundation") was established on 10 December 2014 as a high-level organisation unit under the Council of the University, upon the disbandment of the Donation Committee and the Hong Kong Institute of Education Development Fund. It solicits, procures, and accepts donations for the development of the University and the promotion and advancement of science, social sciences, humanities, educational and cultural activities. It also provides long-term strategic advice on fundraising to the Council, and monitors and reports all matters in relation to fundraising activities and initiatives. The EdUHK Foundation is managed by a Board of Stewards constituted of devote supporters from the business and professional community who wish to share their expertise, provide personal support, and guide the Foundation towards achieving its objectives and mission in enhancing the further development of higher education.

The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) was renamed The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) in 2016. The Institute was founded in 1994 following the enactment of the HKIEd Ordinance in March of the same year. It was one of eight subsidized Universities under the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong.

The history of the institution can be traced back to 1853. St. Paul’s College introduced the first formalised program of in-service teacher training. On 25 April 1994, under the recommendation made by the Education Commission Report No 5., HKIEd was formally established by the merger of four colleges and one institute that were governed by the Education Department of Hong Kong Government.

• Northcote College of Education, established in 1939
• Grantham College of Education, established in 1951
• Sir Robert Black College of Education, established in 1960
• Hong Kong Technical Teachers’ College, established in 1974
• Institute of Language in Education, established in 1982

The Strategic Planning Office (SPO) was established in early 1998 as the Office of Planning and Academic Implementation (PAI) and retitled the Office of Strategic and Academic Planning (SAAP) in 2005. It was a central planning unit directly overseen by the President and responsible for supporting the senior management in academic planning (e.g. the formulation of Academic Development Proposals), strategic planning, and academic manpower planning. The Office was led by Dr. Lai Kwok-chan throughout, till its closure in July 2012.

The School of Foundations in Education ("SFE") was part of the new academic structure which came into effect at the Hong Kong Institute of Education ("HKIEd") from the 1998/99 academic year until September 2005, when HKIEd underwent another academic restructuring.

In line with the upgrading of HKIEd to a university-level institution and the development of Bachelor and Postgraduate programmes, a working group was set up by the Academic Board to recommend a new structure after wide consultation with all staff. On 5 June 1998, the Academic Board's recommendation to create four Schools and 12 Departments was endorsed by the Council for commencement in the 1998/99 academic year. Under this new structure, the four Schools were responsible for organising academic programmes, whereas the twelve Departments were reorganised within the four Schools and they could focus on extending their expertise in the different programmes and courses organised by their respective School and reported directly to the School Deans.

The SFE was responsible for organising all primary and special needs education programmes, including HKIEd's flagship Bachelor of Education in Primary programme, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme, and many in-service professional development courses. The SFE was committed to playing an active role in the advancement of teacher quality and professionalism in Hong Kong by integrating the teacher education experiences of the previous Colleges of Education with the latest research and best practice. The SFE also comprised the most number of Departments and Centres out of the four Schools. By July 2005, the SFE consisted of five Departments and four Centres. They included the Departments of Curriculum and Instruction; Educational Policy and Administration; Educational Psychology, Counselling and Learning Needs; Science; and Social Sciences; as well as the Centre for Citizenship Education, the Centre for Special Needs and Studies in Inclusive Education, the Humanities and Social Sciences Learning Centre, and the Professional Studies Learning Centre.

In 2004, after having successfully achieved self-accrediting university status, HKIEd decided to realign its organisational structure by merging the four Schools into two Faculties from September 2005: the Faculty of Languages, Arts and Sciences, and the Faculty of Professional and Early Childhood Education. Major academic and research developments were to be coordinated at the Institute level with implementation taking place at the Faculty and Department levels. The SFE and the other three Schools therefore ceased to exist from September 2005.

The School of Creative Arts, Sciences & Technology (SCAST) was one of the four Schools created at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) in 1998, in replacement of the previous academic structure constituting of three Divisions (Division of Early Childhood Education; Division of Primary Education; and Division of Secondary, Technical and Special Education) and four Boards (Board of Educational Studies; Board of Language in Education; Board of Social and Business Education; and Board of Mathematics, Science and Technology).

There were four Departments under SCAST:

• Department of Creative Arts (known as Department of Fine Arts in 1998/1999);
• Department of Information and Applied Technology;
• Department of Mathematics; and
• Department of Physical Education and Sports Science.

HKIEd underwent restructuring in the academic year 2005/2006 and the four Schools and their respective Departments were reorganized into two Faculties.

The founding of Northcote College of Education was originated from the 1935 Report on Education in Hong Kong and a recommendation laid in 1938 by a Committee on the training of teachers. In 1935, an Inspector of Schools, Edmund Burney, visited Hong Kong and made an enquiry into the local education system. His Report on Education in Hong Kong, also known as the Burney Report, criticised several aspects of Hong Kong's educational policy such as the neglect of primary education and the inadequate training in Vernacular schools in which Chinese was the medium of instruction. One of the recommendations raised at the time, was that it might be necessary to have a new Government Normal School, or considerable additions to the existing premises of the Technical Institute for the training of teachers. In 1938, the Governor, Sir Geoffry Northcote, took up this endeavour in the improvement of teachers' training further by appointing a Committee to review the training of teachers for both English and Vernacular schools. The key recommendation of the Committee was that the Government should act immediately in the provision of a teacher training centre for the training of male and female teachers for both Anglo-Chinese and Vernacular schools - as a result the Teachers Training College was opened on 18 September 1939. The College was housed temporarily in the former Medical Officer's quarters at the old Government Civil Hospital at Hospital Road. It offered a two-year course and had two classes: an Anglo-Chinese class taught in the medium of English and a vernacular class taught in Cantonese. In its first year of operation, each class had 24 students including 12 male students and 12 female students.

The new building of the Teachers Training College at Bonham Road was officially opened on 23 April 1941 by the Governor, Sir Geoffry Northcote, and since then the College became known as the Northcote Training College. The College, however, was forced to close in December the same year because of the Japanese invasion. The Bonham Road building was initially used as the headquarters of the Japanese Military Police but was later mutilated by looters with all of its fittings and equipment removed during the war. Despite of great difficulties in replacing the equipment, the College reopened soon after the war on 13 March 1946.

In order to meet the demand for more trained teachers for the rapidly increasing school population, the College expanded greatly and moved yet again to new premises at Sassoon Road in April 1962, and was officially opened by the Governor, Sir Robert Black, on 31 May 1962. This new premise consisted of a hostel which could accommodate half the full-time enrolment. The vacated Bonham Road building was then used by the United College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong until it moved to Shatin in December 1971, and after considerable renovation reverted to College use and served as an annexe to the College in December 1973. On 18 October 1967, the three government Training Colleges including Northcote Training College, Grantham Training College and Sir Robert Black Training College, were renamed Colleges of Education. The former title, Training College, implied that the function of the colleges was merely to impart basic skills. The three colleges by then, had a much wider function and scope on the further education of students with the introduction of new full-time courses and the discontinuance of one-year courses. A range of student interests and activities were being broadened and subjects were also being studied to a higher level. In consideration of all these developments, Northcote Training College changed its name to Northcote College of Education.

Pursuant to the recommendation of the Education Commission Report No. 5, the Hong Kong Institute of Education ("HKIEd") was formally established on 25 April 1994. Meanwhile, Northcote College of Education, Grantham College of Education, Sir Robert Black College of Education, the Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College and the Institute of Language in Education, the five institutions which were to be amalgamated into the HKIEd, continued their part in delivering teacher education programmes until the end of their last academic year. On 1 September 1994, HKIEd formally took over the administration of the five institutions from the Education Department and amalgamated them into a new, unified autonomous institution; on the same day the campuses and annexes of the five institutions were converted into campuses of the HKIEd until the Tai Po campus was completed in October 1997.

The Institute of Language in Education ("ILE") was established to raise the professional standards of the teaching and learning of Chinese and English as subjects, and the use of these languages for teaching and learning across the curriculum. It began operation in September 1982 in Park-In Commercial Centre at Dundas Street, Mongkok. The ILE was a Division of the Education Department. The Director of ILE was an Assistant Director of Education directly responsible to the Senior Assistant Director of Services and Institutions. All staff members of the ILE were members of the Education Department and civil servants of the Hong Kong Government.

In February 1991, the ILE moved from Dundas Street, Mongkok, to premises at 2 Hospital Road on Hong Kong Island, which were two converted secondary schools, Yu To Sang Memorial Secondary School and Helen Liang Memorial Secondary School, linked physically by two bridges. The new premises were officially opened by the then Director of Education, Mr. Li Yuet-ting on 12 April 1991.

Over the years the range of courses and the number of staff at the ILE have consistently diversified and grown. In the first academic year, the ILE only offered courses for non-graduate Primary teachers of Chines and English with a staff of 24. By 1994, the ILE had been running courses for Primary teachers of Chinese and English, Secondary teachers (both graduate and non-graduate) of Chinese and English, Panel Chairpersons of Chinese and English, Primary and Secondary teachers and would-be teachers of Putonghua, and Secondary teachers of subjects other than Chinese or English but who use one or other of these languages as medium of instruction. The number of staff had also increased to 108.

On 1 September 1994, the ILE was amalgamated with Northcote College of Education, Grantham College of Education, Sir Robert Black College of Education, and the Hong Kong Technical Teachers' College into the Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd), pursuant to the recommendation of the Education Commission Report No.5. Its premises at 2 Hospital Road were converted to Bonham Campus of the HKIEd and remained in use until the completion of the purpose-built campus in Tai Po in October 1997.

The Hong Kong Museum of Education was established in May 2009. It acquires, conserves, preserves, researches and exhibits materials related to the history, culture and development of education in Hong Kong.