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One of the questions I am asked often in the last few years is: "What is the
difference between e-commerce and e-business?". One can easily get many answers
if that query is typed into Google search. You will find that it is generally
agreed that e-commerce, that of selling and purchasing on-line through the
Internet, is a subset of e-business, which is the integration of all the
company’s activities, including products, procedures and services with the
Internet, issues and aspects explored in all our 21 modules. Therefore, another
question often asked of me is "Why don’t you simply change the title of the
degree to that of e-business?". This is a valid suggestion, and even with the
regulatory constraints within the University, it can be done. But we have
decided not to do so for a number of reasons.
Over the last 13 years, our curriculum has not been based on a narrow
interpretation of either e-commerce or e-business, and we have adopted a
particular method of teaching that nurtures our students to become critical
thinkers and responsible citizens who use their knowledge to serve their society
and not merely to get rich quickly. Many of our students work in business firms,
but we also have educators, intellectual property lawyers, police inspectors and
others, whose aim is not to make money, but to understand and exploit the use of
technologies to help them become better in their work. Our instructors are
always ready to discuss with our students their concern about the impact of
technology on all levels of human activity and all sectors. So despite the
constraints or even narrowness of our degree title, our students have got much
more than a set of tricks or tips but have emerged as better independent
learners and confident individuals not fazed by the rapid advances of
technologies. Through them, the public and our potential students have come to
know and respect our programme aims.
As I was working on this foreword, I read in today's newspaper on how Google has
launched indoor maps in eight countries and has more than 10,000 venues mapped
including airports, shopping centres, hotels and universities, and is able to
locate the user within 5 to 10 meters through Wi-Fi access points. But I also
learnt that some Australian firms and university researchers are also developing
competing technologies which will help visually impaired people to become more
independent in their homes and indoor public venues. This brings to mind a
recent Expert Address talk of our programme by Associate Professor Peter Looms
from Denmark who reported on the EEC's task force on technology for the disabled
and disadvantaged, an aspect that many governments have started to take note.
The overall aim when we first designed and developed the programme was and still
is to help our students develop a critical understanding of the interdependence
between technology and business and the dynamics of their integration.
Accordingly, our instructors, when teaching modules with an emphasis on
technologies, would also make an effort to instill in students a sense of
curiosity in, and an understanding of, business trends and concepts. Likewise,
when teaching business-focused modules, they will also encourage their business
students to get good foundation knowledge of the underlying and supporting
technologies. Our students also learn to distinguish hype from reality in
e-commerce, and to consider e-business in the larger contexts of ethics, law,
and society.
Such constant refinement and updating of our curriculum is made possible by a
rigorous annual review through the team work of students, instructors and
curriculum consultants. We are therefore justifiably proud of the quality of our
programme, and we wish to provide glimpses of it to you and the public through
our Expert Addresses. It is a series of Expert Addresses given by our visiting
faculty to report on their interpretation of new developments, and in certain
situations, concerns, in this rapidly changing world of ours. I invite you,
therefore, to sample the past expert addresses at
http://www.ecom-icom.hku.hk/seminar/past2012.asp, and eventually to join us
by applying for admission in our programme for the new academic year of
2013-2014.
We have entered a new decade of hope with the momentous leadership events in
China and the United States, so it is an exciting time to consider your own role
in this era, and armed with knowledge gained from our Programme, you too can
make a contribution.
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