One particular feature of American higher education that has caught the imagination of the world is its liberal arts.
In Hong Kong, Lingnan University is modelled on this tradition - a small college that offers a mix of broad, personalised education and subject specialisation to help create more rounded citizens.
Robert Oden, president of Carleton College in Minnesota, one of America's more sought-after liberal arts colleges, was in Hong Kong last month to build new ties with local universities.
'Liberal arts is one of the things that the rest of the world thinks is a lavish waste of money,' he told the South China Morning Post. He knows that it is much more respected than that.
This type of education gave students more than expertise in a given subject or professional field and was more about 'shaping consciousness and prompting creativity'. It was preparation for later specialisation. Its students, for instance moved on to graduate schools to study subjects such as medicine, law and business.
In a college such as Carleton, students typically take three to four courses each semester. Two would be in their chosen subject specialty and one to two in subjects that interested them. An economist, for example, could spend time over the term learning the Chinese language and exploring Latin American history.