Although Mr Wu had 16 years of experience in advertising, he felt that a lack of theoretical knowledge and strategy skills were preventing him from making the most of his business.

Fortunately, he came to know about the Heriot-Watt MBA programme offered by the Polytechnic University's online learning arm, HKCyberU. Mr Wu registered with the university and soon discovered that its innovative approach to learning was just what he had been looking for.

'It has given me a different view of the market in Hong Kong,' he said.

Mike Kan has been involved in the programme as a lecturer since the course started in July last year and believes the strength of the course lies in its flexibility.

'The MBA is a joint effort between Polytechnic University and Heriot-Watt University, and we have over 350 global exam centres,' Mr Kan said.

That helps students who are busy travelling or are taking the course in another part of the world.

In certain aspects, the programme is unique. Students can interact through global discussion forums to explore new concepts and communicate with faculty members by e-mail or phone when they come across any problem.

In addition, the HKCyberU offers 11 hours of tutorials in four sessions for day students. Each session is recorded and the videos can be downloaded online. The last session is devoted to examination preparation, which is particularly important since the grading for the course is based on examinations and not only on marks for projects or assignments.

Mr Kan said top experts at universities in Europe had written and selected all the course material.

'We cater to a special segment of students who should be highly motivated because they are probably very busy with other commitments,' he said.

Thomas Wong, head of HKCyberU, said the best part of the business administration programme was that such students could study at their own pace.

'In Hong Kong, more and more people have to travel for work,' he said. 'Our programme offers them flexibility and gives them an advantage in terms of scheduling.'

Mr Wu said: 'I take a PDF copy of all my course material on business trips and in that way find time to prepare for exams.'

In fact, Mr Wu has taken some of his examinations at centres outside Hong Kong and has met several of his distance-learning counterparts during his travels.

He had been in touch with classmates in Shanghai through e-mail and met them over coffee during one of his business trips to the city.

If students find any difficulty with some of the material in the syllabus, they have access to web links to some marketing companies. These organisations provide the students with advice from marketing professionals and industry experts.

Mr Kan said: 'All the sources for things you need to know have already been incorporated into the course material. That includes associations, web links and updated information.'

Mr Wu has been working on a project to organise a car-racing event and an exhibition in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Macau. For such endeavours, he said he was able to put his newly acquired marketing skills to use.

'I have received a lot of help from my classmates in other countries and industry professionals who helped me modify my marketing plan,' he said.