THEi was set up in 2012 by the Vocational Training Council of Hong Kong to offer degree programmes with a difference. They are innovative as many are in niche areas, combining areas of study not often found in Hong Kong but much needed by it. They are vocationally and professionally oriented and developed with significant industry input, with the ‘learn and do’ approach enabling students to apply specialised knowledge and skills to real-world issues. All our programmes include meaningful industry attachments with international and local firms in Hong Kong and overseas to provide students with first-hand experience of working in the real world. Our difference is also seen in the way we deal with general education, now compulsory in higher education to help students understand the world beyond their disciplinary studies. It is not all done in the first year, as tends to be the case in most other institutions, but spread over the years, so it is not something to be done quickly and forgotten. Languages studies, meant to enable students to communicate well, are related to the study programmes to make them more relevant and interesting. And subsidised overseas study tours will widen their horizon even more.