Hong Kong delegation explores latest Stevens initiatives
HOBOKEN, N.J. — Members of a Hong Kong delegation on a nine-day study mission to the United States were impressed by what they saw at Stevens Institute of Technology recently. They believe the information they gathered at Stevens and elsewhere will help sharpen Hong Kong’s competitive edge in business, particularly in the area of e-commerce.
"I wish we had come here first," remarked Lam Suen-Fu, a member of the Hong Kong Productivity Council — Hong Kong’s premier organization for trade enhancement — and senior information technology officer for Ocean Office Automation Ltd. He and the other council members were particularly impressed with the kind of education Stevens offers to students.
The study mission’s coordinator and council’s senior consultant, Au Yeung Sui-Ki explained, "We organized this mission with a will to learn more about e-commerce, to exchange information with our counterparts in the United States, and to identify new opportunities."
Hong Kong is estimated to be one to two years behind the United States in e-commerce, while it is also considered a major port of entry for trade into China.
The four members of the Hong Kong Productivity Council who spent the morning at Stevens March 3 saw a presentation on Stevens’ latest research in new product development practices. They also heard about recent developments in Stevens’ growing Technology Transfer Program, its new World Wide Web-based distance learning initiatives, and its new undergraduate degree program in business and technology (e-business), which will begin classes in fall 2000.
The council’s visit was coordinated by Dr. Silvio Laccetti, professor of urban studies and history, in cooperation with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Newark Export Assistance Center.
"Stevens has a mission to increase its national presence, become a national resource and operate on a global scale, so hosting members of this study mission fit in directly," said Laccetti, who is Stevens’ liaison with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.
Making presentations to the council for Stevens were: Laccetti, Dr. Gary Lynn, associate professor of management and engineering management; Michael Epstein, director of technology transfer; Robert Ubell, director of Web-based distance learning; and Louis Laucirica, associate dean of Stevens’ Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management.
The Hong Kong Productivity Council’s web site is at www.hkpc.org.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research. The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.
Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts. Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world. Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.
