Title contender: university status will transform Hong Kong Institute of Education, says ambitious president

What's in a name? Everything for the Hong Kong Institute of Education's president, Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung.

Turning into a university will mean more public recognition, more donations and more high-calibre students keen to take their degrees there and enter the teaching profession.

This is what drives Cheung.

"As president, [attracting] donations is one of my main tasks," he says. "Many people are very supportive of education - it's just that when you are an institute, they would rather donate to universities instead of you. This has been the difficulty we face."

Cheung - former dean of finance at Baptist University's business school who also chairs the supervisory committee of a bond fund under the Monetary Authority - has many connections in the business sector and government. But without the magic word "university" in HKIEd's title, his hands are tied.

"When I invited some people to make donations, they told me I should get back to them after [the institute] turned into a university," he says. "If you donate money to universities, maybe in return you can get an honorary doctorate degree or title. That makes a difference."