The Alliance of International Education (H.K.) is a young, energetic company located in the heart of Hong Kong. It was established in 1999 following the recent years of economic downturn in Hong Kong and the subsequent concern among professionals, who realized the need to develop their skills and education in order to improve their career prospects. This increased interest can also be attributed to the Government incentive of low-interest loans, which were part of a move to encourage more people to take the steps necessary to fall in line with new technologies and an increasing trend towards globalization. It was also at this point that the founders of AIE became acutely aware of the growing need for an intermediary service that could coordinate exceptionally specialized programmes of study with a network of support. With the assistance of AIE, many students from Hong Kong have so far successfully participated in collaborative programmes at top universities and colleges in the U.S.A., UK and Australia. In the year 2000, their steadfast guidance again proved invaluable to many students for whom AIE made it possible to gain entry into the highly commended BPhil and MPhil/Ph.D. programmes, which are being offered in Hong Kong and validated by the University of Exeter in the UK. Currently, AIE is offering hundreds of students the opportunity to study in an offshore Bachelor of Science programme at Oxford Brookes University in the UK. The singular popularity of this programme was a key factor in their decision to introduce a Masters of Science study programme, also at Oxford Brookes, beginning in May 2003.