Hong Kong has always been at the forefront of introducing new technology, and the education sector here is no exception. The ability to take educational programmes through online learning has enabled universities worldwide to reach out across the globe to students everywhere. High-speed broadband connections have enabled students to 'attend' lectures anywhere in the world, and to meet, network and learn from faculty and fellow students from dozens of nations. Not only has online learning allowed schools and students to transcend borders, it has also given those people whose hectic work or family lives have restricted their ability to take further learning programmes a chance to learn from home or the office, and in their own time. Hong Kong CyberU is the online arm of Polytechnic University, and provides web-based programmes leading to academic awards such as postgraduate degrees. Launched in August 2000, its courses aim to fulfil the needs of working professionals through part-time studies which offer students maximum flexibility. Among the postgraduate courses on offer are the master's programmes in e-commerce, information systems, knowledge management, project management and software technology. 'CyberU excels in a blended delivery of face-to-face plus online programmes,' says Eric Tsui, professor and associate director, Knowledge Management Research Centre, at Polytechnic University. 'Students spend about two-thirds of their time in a self-paced, peer-to-peer learning mode. The rest of the learning time is split on attending online tutorials and in traditional face-to-face classes of which we also have some.' Tsui explains that he could be giving a lecture or tutorial lesson at the university while students watch online, live. These sessions can also be recorded and viewed at later dates. 'As well as our home-grown programmes, CyberU has teamed up with a number of overseas universities such as Herriot-Watt in Britain and Edith Cowan in Australia,' Tsui says. 'Online learning suits a certain audience. Around 85 per cent of our students are based in Hong Kong, the remaining 15 per cent are based on the mainland and other countries.' CyberU graduates will leave with a master's degree awarded by Polytechnic University. As programme leader for the MSc in knowledge management, Tsui says that the course has been attracting attention from various sectors of industry and from different parts of the world. Knowledge management is a multidisciplinary area that 'encapsulates processes and techniques for the creation, collection, classification, distribution, evaluation and re-use of institutional knowledge'. According to Tsui, there is a shortage of knowledge management professionals worldwide, and the course offered by CyberU is the first of its kind in the world that can help mitigate this shortage. 'In today's new economy we are striving to be competent knowledge workers. Many of us need to deal with a lot of information and knowledge in our daily jobs,' Tsui says. 'We are confronted with issues relating to sourcing information, classifying information, determining the reliability of information, expanding on the information we have and so on. All of these are skill sets and by managing this knowledge we can produce productivity savings, spend less time reinventing the wheel and spend more time being innovative.' Classes on the programme cover topics such as information technology enablement - the role of IT and communications technology in enhancing knowledge discovery, transfer and application - organisational learning, intellectual capital and more traditional subjects such as business intelligence, customer relationship management and data mining, enterprise portals and business process management. Traditionally, IT professionals have been the main participants in knowledge management programmes, and at present about a quarter of participants in the programme are from information and communications technology backgrounds. Other students come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, such as human resources, public administration, legal services, education, logistics, engineering and retail. 'I have found that those who join us from an IT background do so because they have learned enough IT concepts and want to broaden their horizons and learn about things other than IT,' Tsui says. Successful graduates of CyberU's knowledge management programme include the present and previous knowledge management officer of the Hong Kong Police and the present knowledge management officer at the Census and Statistics Department. Many of CyberU's programmes include project work which involves students working together. Students need to get together either physically or online, and work as a syndicate to tackle a problem together. 'By doing this our students come together either physically or virtually, and also meet in the same way with their members of faculty and mentors. We have developed specific collaboration tools for them to use to enhance the effectiveness of virtual collaborations.' Tsui explains that it is not uncommon for students on the course to change jobs into full-time knowledge management roles while they are still on the course. To give an example of the diverse mix of students on the knowledge management programme, Tsui says that one student is a United States Marine officer serving in Afghanistan. The officer joined the course because, according to him, in the US defence department knowledge management is a growing concern - the way knowledge is sourced, acted upon and disseminated can make the difference between life and death. The usual duration of the knowledge management course is from 11/2 to two years, but students can take a maximum of eight years to finish the course. A bachelor's degree, professional qualification or equivalent is required, but candidates who do not hold these but do have appropriate working experience will be considered. 'Around two-thirds of our students join us with at least five years of work experience,' Tsui says. 'We have students from all levels.'
