(1) regional characteristics. Based on the development potential of resources, ecology, society and cultural industries in different cities in western Yunnan and the actual needs of social development, the school has set up characteristic colleges in different cities to cultivate high-level technical and technical talents in short supply.
(2) The characteristics of poverty alleviation. Poverty alleviation through education, taking Universities of Applied Sciences in western Yunnan as a pilot, fostering high-level technical talents, feeding back industrial technological progress and transformation and upgrading, promoting poverty alleviation in western Yunnan and building a sustainable and accurate poverty alleviation mechanism.
(3) National characteristics. The school makes full use of unique ethnic resources, develops ethnic industries, promotes the development of ethnic culture and makes ethnic resources the source and vitality of economic and social development in ethnic areas by establishing characteristic colleges such as Dai Medicine College.
(4) Characteristics of border areas. The characteristic colleges attach importance to cultivating applied technical talents who master the languages of Southeast Asian countries, enhance the ability of cross-border communication, and effectively promote border trade, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges between western Yunnan and Southeast Asian countries.
(5) Innovative features. The school actively explores and strives to innovate the running mode and talent training mode of undergraduate vocational education, which has made a useful exploration for how to develop higher education and run undergraduate vocational education well in poor areas.