The last students appeared to have finally vacated one of Hong Kong's top universities yesterday, marking the possible end to of the most violent occupations since demonstrations began.

After staff began picking through the chaotic aftermath, Dr Miranda Lou, executive vice president of Polytechnic University, said that no protesters were found.

"We hope we can re-open the school soon to start our work of restoration and reduce the impact on our students and our scientific projects,” said Ms Lou.

Police were on Wednesday night readying to enter the campus on Thursday morning to look for any dangerous materials.

"Our ultimate goal is to restore the safety of the campus, and to reopen the campus as soon as possible," Police chief superintendent Ricky Ho said.